Handymen in UK Are Dodging More Than Leaky Sinks

Insurance Red Tape Gets Weirder

Then there’s insurance – and this is where things get properly bureaucratic. Every business needs some form of insurance, but handyman coverage has become a maze of overlapping policies and risk assessments.

Public liability insurance starts around £9 per month for £2 million coverage, but that’s just the beginning. Tool insurance, personal injury coverage, employers’ liability the moment you hire anyone – the premiums stack up fast. Riskier trades involving power tools face significantly higher rates.

The insurance industry has basically decided that handymen are walking liability magnets. Fair enough – we’re talking about people who climb ladders with power tools and work in strangers’ homes. The paperwork burden for startups is mental though.

HMRC Wants Their Cut (And They’re Getting Tougher)

Meanwhile, HMRC has tightened the screws on self-employment registration. Miss the 5 October deadline after starting work and you’re looking at £100 fines plus daily penalties.

From April 2026, anyone earning over £50,000 from combined self-employment and property income must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates. That’s right – HMRC expects your average handyman to master Making Tax Digital software alongside everything else. Because clearly what busy tradespeople need is more admin.

These regulatory changes are forcing a complete rethink of how self-employed professionals manage their finances and compliance.

The Toolkit Crisis No One Talks About

Material costs haven’t helped either. Tool and equipment prices remain stubbornly high compared to pre-pandemic levels, with merchants recommending 15-20% markup for timber jobs priced more than a month in advance. Building costs are expected to rise another 13-15% over the next five years.

Starting a handyman business used to mean buying a van, some tools and getting after it. Now you need a war chest for security systems, insurance premiums, software subscriptions, digital infrastructure and enough spare kit to survive multiple thefts.

‘The startup costs have doubled since I began in 2019,’ says Tony Walsh, who runs a south London handyman service. ‘It’s not just the tools anymore – it’s everything around them. The van security, the tracking systems, multiple sets of gear because you know you’re getting robbed – though some are exploring renting tools as an alternative to ownership.

Fighting Back Against the Odds

Despite all this, handyman businesses are still starting up across the UK. Home repairs are booming, especially among homeowners who learned painful DIY lessons during lockdown. The demand is there – success now depends as much on navigating bureaucracy and tech expectations as it does on knowing which end of a screwdriver to hold.

The winners are adapting fast. They’re using digital management systems from day one. They’re building relationships with local suppliers who understand the pricing volatility. They’re getting creative with security – some store tools at secure facilities rather than at home.

Like their American counterparts who are embracing basic digital tools to streamline operations, UK handymen are finding that simple tech solutions often work better than complex ones.

Most importantly, they’re pricing all this modern madness into their quotes from the start. Because in 2025, being good with your hands isn’t enough. You need to be good with insurance forms, tax software and WhatsApp customer service too.

The handyman business has always been tough. Now it’s tough and complicated. For those willing to master both the spanners and the spreadsheets though, there’s still money to be made fixing the nation’s forever-broken homes.