Home maintenance
We asked 2,000 homeowners about how much they spend on home maintenance, from unexpected emergencies to everyday wear and tear.
We found:
- Most people (92%) set some money aside to spend on property emergencies
- 23% of people say they don’t have the time to deal with maintenance issues
- More than a quarter of people admitted to ignoring minor faults around the home until they become bigger, potentially serious, problems
- A fifth deliberately turn a blind eye so they can spend money on other things
- One in 10 say they ignore problems in the hope that someone else will deal with them
- If faced with an unexpected bill of £5,000 for essential maintenance due to wear and tear, 58% of homeowners told us they would be able to cover the cost from savings
- A small number of respondents mistakenly would expect their home insurance to foot the bill of damage resulting from wear and tear, revealing confusion about what home insurance protects
