The value of building maintenance & repair costs

The maintenance and repair of buildings is a significant contributor to the wealth and wellbeing of the nation. New estimates from the Economic significance of maintenance report ¹ complied by the BCIS shows the value of the building maintenance market in 2020 was £64bn, more than £1.23bn a week.

The BCIS Life cycle cost benchmark estimates², indicate that maintenance (fabric and services maintenance and decorations) represents around 42% of total facilities management costs (maintenance, cleaning, and utilities). This would value the FM market at around 7.15% of UK GDP.

According to the BCIS latest Economic significance of maintenance report ¹, in 2020:

• £64bn was spent on maintenance accounts for just under 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of the £64bn maintenance expenditure, £35bn was spent on housing and £29bn on non-­housing.
• At constant prices, this shows an annual reduction of 7.75%, the first year of the Covid-19 lockdown. This is a rate of decline after the seventh successive annual increase; output having increased by just over 11% since 2012.
• The value of the gross capital stock of building and works, at replacement cost, was £6,354bn. This suggests that spending on maintenance represented just over 1% of the value, at replacement cost, of the stock of the building and works maintained.
• Contractors’ output for repair and maintenance represented 34.1% of total construction output in 2020, slightly up on the previous year’s figure of 32.5%.
• Spending on housing maintenance by householders (materials, services, and insurance) was 1.54% of total consumer expenditure, up from a peak of 1.47% in 2011.
• At current prices, householders spent £9,920m on DIY goods.

The BCIS economic significance of maintenance report estimates the value of the work carried out in the building maintenance sector. The report looks at the annual national expenditure on maintenance work on a consistent basis and compares the results with the value of the stock of buildings and works to be maintained and the general level of national expenditure (GDP).

The estimates have been compiled from a variety of sources with adjustments made to show the overall trends in maintenance expenditure. Where possible, the information has been taken from official sources – mainly departmental reports from Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures for construction maintenance output, householders’ expenditure on DIY and insurance, together with an estimate of private sector direct labour output. In some instances, BCIS have produced estimates based on the combination of information sources.

¹ The full Economic significance of maintenance report 2022 is published in the Briefing section, as part of the BCIS Building Running Costs online service.

² Life cycle costs. Part of the BCIS Building Running Costs online service, which provides benchmark estimates for the maintenance, cleaning, and utilities for most types of buildings.