Marketplace coming later

Find a tradesperson, and check them yourself

There is no PropertyVault trades marketplace yet. Until there is, the useful part costs nothing: gas and electrical work have official registers anyone can search, and knowing which checks exist is most of the job.

We have not vetted anybody. PropertyVault runs no trades directory, checks no credentials and takes no commission on work. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of a particular firm — the registers below are run by other people, and two of them are official.

What to check, by trade

Two trades have a register you can search before anybody comes to the property. The rest do not, which changes what you ask for rather than whether you ask.

Anything involving gas

Gas engineers, boiler and cooker fitters

Register: Gas Safe Register
What it is: The official register of gas engineers in the UK. You can search by postcode, or check a specific business or licence number.
Before they start: Ask for the Gas Safe ID card and look at the back. It lists the specific appliance types that engineer is qualified for, and the expiry date. A card for cookers does not cover a boiler.

Electrical work

Electricians

Register: NICEIC, NAPIT and other competent person schemes
What it is: A government-run search across the recognised electrical competent person schemes, so you do not have to know which one an electrician belongs to before you look.
Before they start: Ask which scheme they are registered with and check that name on the search. Ask what certificate you will be given when the work is finished, and get that in writing before they start.

Building, plumbing, roofing, decorating

General trades

Register: No official register exists
What it is: There is no statutory register for most trades, and no protected title. Trade association membership and directory badges are voluntary — they can mean a real check or very little, and the badge itself will not tell you which.
Before they start: Ask for public liability insurance and check the certificate is current. Ask for two landlord references rather than homeowner ones — repeat work for a landlord is the harder test. Get the quote itemised, in writing, with exclusions.

Whatever the trade

Check the register yourself rather than a logo on a van or a website. A badge is an image file.
Get it in writing, itemised, with what is excluded and what happens if the job grows.
Ask who is actually turning up. Quoting and doing are often two different people, and only one of them was on the register you checked.
Keep the certificate. For a rental it is the evidence that the work was done and by whom, long after you have forgotten the name.

Where landlords look today

Official registers publish their standard, so you can see what membership means. The commercial directories each run some form of check and none of them publish it in the same way — worth reading before you rely on a badge.

Gas Safe Register

Official

Official. Search registered gas engineers by postcode.

Electrical Competent Person

Official

Official. Searches every recognised electrical scheme at once.

Checkatrade

Commercial directory. Runs its own checks on member firms and publishes customer reviews.

MyBuilder

Commercial directory. Post a job and interested trades reply with quotes.

Rated People

Commercial directory. Matches a posted job to local trades who then quote.

TrustMark

Government-endorsed quality scheme covering work in and around the home.

PropertyVault is not affiliated with any of these and receives nothing if you use them. Links open on external websites.

If we built a trades marketplace

The idea is a place to post a job, get quotes from local trades, and keep the certificates against the property afterwards so the paperwork survives the job. None of it is built, and there is no date.

Whether it gets built depends on how many people want it, so this list is the decision rather than a mailing list. Tell us which trade you are chasing most often and we will use that. Landlords and tradespeople both welcome.

Looking for a broker, conveyancer, surveyor or letting agent rather than a trade? Those have registers too.

Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Always seek independent professional advice before making property or investment decisions. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage.

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