New statistics from the latest RICS BCIS study reveal that 3% of GDP is accounted for by the £55 billion spent on building maintenance.
RICS writes:
The £55billion a year spent on building maintenance makes a significant contribution to the economy, accounting for over 3% of GDP
On most buildings, both cleaning and energy costs can be as significant as maintenance, which suggests that we spend up to 10% of GDP each year on the existing building stock.
The maintenance estimate is taken from a recent report by BCIS, which analyses all available statistics on construction maintenance, to produce an overall estimate for the sector. The estimate is compiled from Office of National Statistics figures for construction maintenance output and householders’ expenditure on DIY and insurance, together with an estimate of private sector direct labour output.
The BCIS study also looks at the relationship between the value of building stock, both housing and non-housing, and the amount spent on maintaining these buildings. The figures show that while the value of UK building stock is increasing steadily from year to year, the amount spent on maintaining these assets appears to be decreasing.
Why this relationship has been steadily decreasing over the last ten years is not clear, though it is possible that much of the stock has been renovated over the past 20 years and owners and developers have increasingly considered the whole life performance of a building when constructing and refurbishing a property.
View more information on the BCIS Economic Significance of Maintenance Report 2015, from the BCIS Running Costs Online RICS tool
