Companies House Crackdown Won’t Stop Rogue Tradespeople FMB Warns

New Companies House reforms designed to crack down on dodgy companies will not protect homeowners from rogue tradespeople, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

The warning comes amid calls for construction industry licensing to close the consumer protection gap.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) – the biggest overhaul of UK corporate transparency since 1844 – is being implemented in phases, with critical deadlines approaching this year.

From spring 2026, accountants filing on behalf of clients must register as Authorised Corporate Service Providers, while all existing company directors face a November 2026 deadline to complete identity verification or face fines and removal from the register.

Homeowners Vulnerable

The FMB warns that while the reforms will verify who tradespeople are, they will not verify what they can do – leaving homeowners vulnerable to incompetent work, abandoned projects, and financial devastation.

The warning follows research which found homeowners have lost an estimated £14.3 billion to rogue builders in the past five years.

Zero Protections

Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “We welcome the Companies House reforms as an important step in tackling economic crime, but they don’t go far enough to protect homeowners from rogue builders. These reforms will verify a builder’s identity, but they won’t verify their competence, their insurance, or their track record. Anyone can still call themselves a builder with zero barriers to entry and zero protections for consumers.”

“Homeowners are being left in horrific situations – we’ve seen vulnerable people living without working toilets for over a year, wheelchair users left homeless on their own property, life savings wiped out. The legal system is failing them. That’s why we’re calling for mandatory national licensing with minimum competency standards for all builders. ECCTA tells you who they are. Licensing would tell you if the builder is qualified and competent builder. Complete consumer protection requires both.”

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