HOW TO HIRE · TRADES & CONSTRUCTION

How to hire an underpinning contractor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Underpinning is structural work needing approval, an engineer's design and often party wall notice. The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an underpinning contractor in five steps

  1. Find the cause firstAn engineer's investigation of why the building moved.
  2. Get the designMethod — mass concrete, mini-piles or resin — chosen by an engineer.
  3. Get approvalBuilding regulations approval before work.
  4. Serve party wall noticeIn England and Wales, when next to a neighbour.
  5. Keep everythingInvestigation, design, approval and guarantee — buyers will ask.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Anyone may trade as one of the underpinning contractors — no licence or register exists in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland — and what the law regulates in the underpinning is the building work, through approval where it is required. Expect public liability cover for the underpinning, and ask for the insurer's name and the limit. Because you are buying from a trader, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to the underpinning; agreed in your home or at a distance, it usually carries a 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, although work you asked to begin early is paid for and made-to-measure goods are excluded (regulation 28).

Ask whether the underpinning needs building regulations approval, and who is applying for it. Request the current insurance schedule before the underpinning, and look at the profile badges for trader status and ID. gov.uk →

Building regulations approval

The underpinning is structural work on an existing building, so it needs building regulations approval and building control inspects it. In England, a full plans application for the underpinning normally ends with a completion certificate from building control within 8 weeks of completion, provided the work complies.

Get the building control reference for the underpinning before anything starts. gov.uk →

Party wall notice

If the underpinning touches a shared wall or is close to the boundary in England or Wales, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 means notifying the neighbours first; this is separate from building regulations, and Scotland follows other rules.

Agree who serves party wall notice for the underpinning, and when. gov.uk →

Who holds the client duties (CDM 2015)

On a domestic job, HSE explains, the CDM 2015 client duties move to the contractor — or the principal contractor if the underpinning involves more than one contractor.

Ask who is acting as principal contractor for the underpinning. hse.gov.uk →

VAT

Expect 20% VAT, the standard rate, on underpinning an existing home: a business above the £90,000 registration threshold is required to charge it and to show it separately from the labour and materials.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the underpinning contract. gov.uk →

“What caused the movement that needs underpinning?”

A good answer: An engineer's answer — clay shrinkage, a leaking drain, trees — before any fix.

“Which underpinning method, and why?”

A good answer: Mass concrete, mini-piles or resin, chosen for the ground and the building.

“Who designs the underpinning?”

A good answer: A structural engineer, with calculations for building control.

“Who serves party wall notice?”

A good answer: Named, in time, in England and Wales.

“Will the cause be dealt with too?”

A good answer: Drains repaired or trees managed, so the movement does not return.

“What guarantee covers the underpinning?”

A good answer: Written, with its length and who backs it.

Getting the quote right

  • Length of wall and method
  • Design and investigation
  • Building control and party wall costs
  • Drain repairs or other cause-related work
  • Who actually attends — the underpinning crew and the engineer, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line
  • The guarantee

Walk away if

  • Underpins without finding the cause
  • No engineer's design
  • No building control
  • Ignores the neighbour's side
  • No written guarantee
LOW
£5,000
TYPICAL
£13,500
HIGH
£21,000

What an underpinning contractor costs: £5,000–£21,000 per job

Underpinning is priced per job by the length of wall, the method, the ground and access. Underpinning price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Underpinning contractors near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. InvestigateEngineer finds the cause of movement.
  2. Design and approveMethod designed; building regulations approval and party wall notice.
  3. Excavate in sequenceShort sections dug so the wall stays supported.
  4. UnderpinConcrete, piles or resin installed and inspected.
  5. Make goodCracks repaired and the site reinstated.

Mass concrete underpinning
Digging under in sections and filling with concrete.
Mini-piles
Small piles driven or bored under the wall.
Resin injection
Resin injected into the ground to strengthen it.
Subsidence
Downward ground movement under a building.
Heave
Upward ground movement, often after trees are removed.
Party wall award
The document setting out how work near a neighbour is done.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the full fileInvestigation, design, approval, completion and guarantee.
Monitor cracksNote any new movement.
Tell your insurerIf it was a claim, keep their records too.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the underpinning falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the contractor firstEmail or message so there is a record, setting out the defect in the underpinning and what you expect. A trader owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; the remedies it sets are a second attempt, then a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the underpinning under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Unapproved or dangerous workWork like the underpinning that should have had approval and did not is for the council — building control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the building standards service in Scotland, where a missing warrant is the owner's problem. For a dispute about the underpinning with the trader, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the underpinning is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an underpinning contractor: questions people ask

Yes; it is structural work on an existing building.

No licence or register applies; the engineer's design and building control are the checks.

£5,000–£21,000 a job, typically around £13,500. Length of wall, the method, the ground and access set it. Use the Underpinning price guide to see what pushes a job up or down, and the search above to find underpinning contractors in your postcode.

In England and Wales, underpinning next to a neighbour usually does.

Only if the cause is understood; an engineer should investigate first.

Some home policies cover subsidence; check yours before work.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in trades & construction

How to hire: Structural EngineerHow to hire: Concrete & Foundations SpecialistHow to hire: GroundworksHow to hire: Basement ConversionHow to hire: BuilderHow to hire: Damp ProofingHow to hire: General ContractorHow to hire: BricklayerAll 701 hiring guides →

Underpinning contractors near you

Underpinning contractors in LondonUnderpinning contractors in ManchesterUnderpinning contractors in BirminghamUnderpinning contractors in GlasgowUnderpinning contractors in BelfastAll underpinning contractors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — building regulations approval (England)
  2. gov.uk — building regulations: how to apply
  3. gov.uk — party walls and building work
  4. Party Wall etc. Act 1996
  5. HSE — CDM 2015: domestic clients
  6. mygov.scot — if a builder is doing the work for you
  7. nidirect — how to apply for Building Regulations approval
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  12. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  13. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  14. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  15. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  16. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  17. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  18. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register