Text size100%
BREAKINGStorm Austen: yellow rain warning for every county from 7pm Thursday — what to do before it arrives20 Oct 2026Read

HIRING GUIDES · 6 MIN READ

7 questions to ask before you hire a tradesperson

Home improvements were the second-biggest reason people rang the CCPC last year, with an average of €14,597 at stake each time. Seven questions, asked before any money moves, prevent most of it. Each one has a right answer you can check.

Róisín Dunne · Freelance writer · trades and rates
19 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
ShareSave
A tradesperson walks a customer through a written estimate at the kitchen table. The CCPC's advice: more than one, before any deposit. Photo: iStock.
A tradesperson walks a customer through a written estimate at the kitchen table. The CCPC's advice: more than one, before any deposit. Photo: iStock.

IN SHORT

  • Ask the seven questions in order; the first three are about the person, the next three about the money, the last one about what happens if it goes wrong.
  • Two trades have a legal register: electricians (Safe Electric) and gas installers (RGI). From 1 September 2026, even servicing a gas boiler is legally 'gas works' and must be done by an RGI.
  • Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 a trader must have the skills and do the work with reasonable care. If they don't, you can require a free fix, then a price reduction or refund, and you may withhold payment until it is put right.

1. "Are you registered, and can I check it?"

For most trades there is no register, and the honest answer is "no, but here is my insurance and my references" (questions 2 and 3). For two trades the answer is a legal requirement:

  • Electrical work. Anything beyond a like-for-like switch or socket is restricted work under S.I. 264/2013 and may only be done by a Safe Electric Registered Electrical Contractor. Check at safeelectric.ie, or ring 091 480 974 if the name does not appear (not all contractors list publicly). You should receive a Completion Certificate at the end.
  • Gas work. Only a Registered Gas Installer may work on a domestic gas installation. The new Gas Works Regulations 2026 (S.I. 106/2026), in force since 1 September 2026, spell out that installing, repairing, servicing and maintaining gas appliances all count. Check at rgi.ie and ask for the Declaration of Conformance on any new installation.

For builders, a statutory register (CIRI) exists in law but is not yet mandatory; the CIF says applications will open during 2027, starting with larger developments. Until then CIRI membership is voluntary and worth asking about, nothing more.

2. "Can I see your public liability insurance certificate?"

Public liability cover is not compulsory in Ireland, which is exactly why you ask. A genuine trader has a certificate showing the insured name, policy number, insurer, dates and level of cover; the common limits are €2.6m and €6.5m. If a ladder goes through your neighbour's conservatory, this is what pays. Check the dates cover the job, and that the name on the certificate is the name on the quote.

3. "Can I speak to two recent customers?"

The CCPC's checklist starts with recommendations from people you know, a genuine address and references. Gardaí add a practical one: ask for the names and locations of previous jobs. A trader who has done good work locally will tell you where. One who cannot is the one the Garda warnings are about.

4. "Can I have that in writing, with the VAT shown?"

Get more than one written quote. Each should show the scope of work, materials, VAT, a completion date and the payment schedule, before any deposit changes hands. The CCPC says it in one line: written price, completion date and payment structure, before any deposit. Keep in mind that Citizens Information and the CCPC do not define the difference between a "quote" and an "estimate" in law; treat anything not written as not agreed.

Check the VAT number on the quote in the EU VIES tool (Irish numbers read IE plus seven digits and one or two letters). A valid number is a registered business; a missing one on a large job is a question in itself.

5. "How much up front, and how is the rest staged?"

Avoid full payment up front. For bigger jobs, stage payments against milestones, and for very big ones the CCPC suggests independent sign-off before each stage. Pay in a traceable way: card or bank transfer, never cash. Get a receipt for any deposit and written confirmation of what it is for; Citizens Information notes that blanket "non-refundable in all situations" deposit terms can be unfair and unenforceable.

6. "Who is on site, and what certificate do I get at the end?"

Ask who will actually do the work, and whether any part is being subcontracted (the electrics, the gas, the plastering). Each subcontractor doing registered work needs their own registration. Then ask what paperwork you will hold at the end: a Completion Certificate for electrical work, a Declaration of Conformance for gas, warranties for appliances, and for extensions the certificates your home insurer or a future buyer will ask for.

7. "What happens if I'm not happy?"

The answer you want is a plain one: "You tell me, I come back and fix it, you don't pay the balance until it's right." That is also the law. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 requires a trader to have the necessary skill and to supply the service with reasonable care and attention. If they do not, you are entitled to have it put right free of charge within a reasonable time; failing that, a proportionate price reduction or a refund; and you may withhold outstanding payment until the service is supplied correctly. The CCPC wrote to around 3,000 home-improvement traders in October 2025 to remind them of exactly that, after almost 1,250 helpline contacts about the sector in the first half of the year, mostly traders refusing to resolve problems, long waits after the agreed start date, and not turning up to fix faults.

If it still goes wrong: complain in writing; use chargeback if you paid by card; and for amounts up to €2,000 use the Small Claims Court, where home improvement was the most-referred sector in 2025.

“Home improvements can be costly for consumers, especially if things go wrong.”

Grainne Griffin, CCPC, Consumer Helpline Report 2025

2,838
home-improvement contacts to the CCPC helpline in 2025, up 12%
€14,597
average sum at stake per complaint
1,409
referrals to the Small Claims Court — the most of any sector

By the numbers — figures from the sources listed at the end of this piece.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Providers near you with their score, their checks and the date each was made — no account needed to look.
Find a tradesperson near me

WRITTEN WITH

The listed providers who told us what a good customer asks them. Real names, real listings — nobody is invented.

  • Dónal KeaneElectrician · Inchicore · ★ 4.9 · 143 reviews
  • Fitzgerald Plumbing & HeatingPlumber · Clondalkin · ★ 4.8 · 97 reviews
  • Tom ReillyHandyman · Phibsborough · ★ 4.9 · 58 reviews

Questions this piece gets asked

Is a quote legally binding?

A written quote that both sides accept is the contract price; Irish consumer law does not separately define 'quote' versus 'estimate', so make sure the paper you sign says what the price is, what it covers and what would change it.

What is a reasonable deposit?

There is no legal figure. The CCPC's advice is to avoid full payment up front and to stage payments on bigger jobs; a deposit that roughly matches the cost of materials ordered for your job, with a receipt, is the common-sense position.

The trader agreed the job on my doorstep. Do I have a cooling-off period?

Yes. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 you can cancel an off-premises contract within 14 days without a reason, and within 30 days if the visit was unsolicited; if you were never told of the right, the period extends by twelve months.

Sources

FOLLOW HIRING GUIDES

One email a month — the hiring guides piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

Comments 3

0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules
  • REAoife M.Customer · Dublin 8EDITOR'S PICK2 h ago

    Question 5 saved me once. The deposit a roofer wanted was more than the materials for the whole job.

  • PRMarta R.Provider · Plumber · Clondalkin1 h ago

    Good list. I would add: ask who turns up on the second day. The person who quotes is not always the person who does the work.

  • RECiara D.Customer · Cork40 min ago

    Printed. Fridge door.

Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

NEXT IN HIRING GUIDESHow to choose a trusted local service provider5 min read

More in Hiring guides

All hiring guides →

FOLLOW A SECTION

Pick your sections. The month's piece arrives the day it goes out.

Nothing is pre-ticked. Choose one section or all 20; you get at most one email per section per month.

One email per section per month, the day the piece goes out. Stop in one tap. Privacy.

BREAKINGStorm Austen: yellow rain warning for every county from 7pm Thursday — what to do before it arrives20 Oct 2026Read

HIRING GUIDES · 6 MIN READ

7 questions to ask before you hire a tradesperson

Home improvements were the second-biggest reason people rang the CCPC last year, with an average of €14,597 at stake each time. Seven questions, asked before any money moves, prevent most of it. Each one has a right answer you can check.

Róisín Dunne · Freelance writer · trades and rates
19 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
A tradesperson walks a customer through a written estimate at the kitchen table. The CCPC's advice: more than one, before any deposit. Photo: iStock.
A tradesperson walks a customer through a written estimate at the kitchen table. The CCPC's advice: more than one, before any deposit. Photo: iStock.

IN SHORT

  • Ask the seven questions in order; the first three are about the person, the next three about the money, the last one about what happens if it goes wrong.
  • Two trades have a legal register: electricians (Safe Electric) and gas installers (RGI). From 1 September 2026, even servicing a gas boiler is legally 'gas works' and must be done by an RGI.
  • Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 a trader must have the skills and do the work with reasonable care. If they don't, you can require a free fix, then a price reduction or refund, and you may withhold payment until it is put right.

1. "Are you registered, and can I check it?"

For most trades there is no register, and the honest answer is "no, but here is my insurance and my references" (questions 2 and 3). For two trades the answer is a legal requirement:

  • Electrical work. Anything beyond a like-for-like switch or socket is restricted work under S.I. 264/2013 and may only be done by a Safe Electric Registered Electrical Contractor. Check at safeelectric.ie, or ring 091 480 974 if the name does not appear (not all contractors list publicly). You should receive a Completion Certificate at the end.
  • Gas work. Only a Registered Gas Installer may work on a domestic gas installation. The new Gas Works Regulations 2026 (S.I. 106/2026), in force since 1 September 2026, spell out that installing, repairing, servicing and maintaining gas appliances all count. Check at rgi.ie and ask for the Declaration of Conformance on any new installation.

For builders, a statutory register (CIRI) exists in law but is not yet mandatory; the CIF says applications will open during 2027, starting with larger developments. Until then CIRI membership is voluntary and worth asking about, nothing more.

2. "Can I see your public liability insurance certificate?"

Public liability cover is not compulsory in Ireland, which is exactly why you ask. A genuine trader has a certificate showing the insured name, policy number, insurer, dates and level of cover; the common limits are €2.6m and €6.5m. If a ladder goes through your neighbour's conservatory, this is what pays. Check the dates cover the job, and that the name on the certificate is the name on the quote.

3. "Can I speak to two recent customers?"

The CCPC's checklist starts with recommendations from people you know, a genuine address and references. Gardaí add a practical one: ask for the names and locations of previous jobs. A trader who has done good work locally will tell you where. One who cannot is the one the Garda warnings are about.

4. "Can I have that in writing, with the VAT shown?"

Get more than one written quote. Each should show the scope of work, materials, VAT, a completion date and the payment schedule, before any deposit changes hands. The CCPC says it in one line: written price, completion date and payment structure, before any deposit. Keep in mind that Citizens Information and the CCPC do not define the difference between a "quote" and an "estimate" in law; treat anything not written as not agreed.

Check the VAT number on the quote in the EU VIES tool (Irish numbers read IE plus seven digits and one or two letters). A valid number is a registered business; a missing one on a large job is a question in itself.

5. "How much up front, and how is the rest staged?"

Avoid full payment up front. For bigger jobs, stage payments against milestones, and for very big ones the CCPC suggests independent sign-off before each stage. Pay in a traceable way: card or bank transfer, never cash. Get a receipt for any deposit and written confirmation of what it is for; Citizens Information notes that blanket "non-refundable in all situations" deposit terms can be unfair and unenforceable.

6. "Who is on site, and what certificate do I get at the end?"

Ask who will actually do the work, and whether any part is being subcontracted (the electrics, the gas, the plastering). Each subcontractor doing registered work needs their own registration. Then ask what paperwork you will hold at the end: a Completion Certificate for electrical work, a Declaration of Conformance for gas, warranties for appliances, and for extensions the certificates your home insurer or a future buyer will ask for.

7. "What happens if I'm not happy?"

The answer you want is a plain one: "You tell me, I come back and fix it, you don't pay the balance until it's right." That is also the law. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 requires a trader to have the necessary skill and to supply the service with reasonable care and attention. If they do not, you are entitled to have it put right free of charge within a reasonable time; failing that, a proportionate price reduction or a refund; and you may withhold outstanding payment until the service is supplied correctly. The CCPC wrote to around 3,000 home-improvement traders in October 2025 to remind them of exactly that, after almost 1,250 helpline contacts about the sector in the first half of the year, mostly traders refusing to resolve problems, long waits after the agreed start date, and not turning up to fix faults.

If it still goes wrong: complain in writing; use chargeback if you paid by card; and for amounts up to €2,000 use the Small Claims Court, where home improvement was the most-referred sector in 2025.

“Home improvements can be costly for consumers, especially if things go wrong.”

Grainne Griffin, CCPC, Consumer Helpline Report 2025

home-improvement contacts to the CCPC helpline in 2025, up 12%2,838
average sum at stake per complaint€14,597
referrals to the Small Claims Court — the most of any sector1,409

By the numbers — figures from the sources listed at the end of this piece.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Providers near you with their score, their checks and the date each was made — no account needed to look.
Find cleaners near me

WRITTEN WITH

The listed providers who told us what a good customer asks them. Real names, real listings — nobody is invented.

  • Dónal KeaneElectrician · Inchicore · ★ 4.9 · 143 reviews
  • Fitzgerald Plumbing & HeatingPlumber · Clondalkin · ★ 4.8 · 97 reviews
  • Tom ReillyHandyman · Phibsborough · ★ 4.9 · 58 reviews

Questions this piece gets asked

Is a quote legally binding?

A written quote that both sides accept is the contract price; Irish consumer law does not separately define 'quote' versus 'estimate', so make sure the paper you sign says what the price is, what it covers and what would change it.

What is a reasonable deposit?

There is no legal figure. The CCPC's advice is to avoid full payment up front and to stage payments on bigger jobs; a deposit that roughly matches the cost of materials ordered for your job, with a receipt, is the common-sense position.

The trader agreed the job on my doorstep. Do I have a cooling-off period?

Yes. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 you can cancel an off-premises contract within 14 days without a reason, and within 30 days if the visit was unsolicited; if you were never told of the right, the period extends by twelve months.

Sources

FOLLOW HIRING GUIDES

One email a month — the hiring guides piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

Comments 3

0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules
  • REAoife M.Customer · Dublin 8EDITOR'S PICK2 h ago

    Question 5 saved me once. The deposit a roofer wanted was more than the materials for the whole job.

  • PRMarta R.Provider · Plumber · Clondalkin1 h ago

    Good list. I would add: ask who turns up on the second day. The person who quotes is not always the person who does the work.

  • RECiara D.Customer · Cork40 min ago

    Printed. Fridge door.

Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

NEXT IN HIRING GUIDESHow to choose a trusted local service provider5 min read

More in Hiring guides

All hiring guides →

FOLLOW A SECTION

Pick your sections. The month's piece arrives the day it goes out.

Nothing is pre-ticked. Choose one section or all 20; you get at most one email per section per month.

Show all 20

One email per section per month, the day the piece goes out. Stop in one tap. Privacy.