Nearly four in ten Brits have put off home repairs to save money. Read on to find out how the economic climate is influencing decisions.

By Charlotte Beugge

British homeowners are trying to save money by not repairing their homes or fixing things themselves, according to the AA's Home Emergency Resource Service, which says 18.5 million Brits have put off repairs or maintenance.

As a result, around 20% of homeowners - about three million - now have a collective bill of nearly £1.2 billion to put right the damage caused by their neglect or DIY.

Over the past year, around 14% of homeowners have carried out some DIY work on their home they would previously have employed a tradesman to do and 11% have asked friends to help on a DIY project for free.

About 8% of people have delayed getting their boiler serviced and the same number has put off paying to have work done in the garden. While 5% have put off replacing or repairing a damaged window, 4% have delayed mending a leaky or damaged roof and 2% have held off checking or replacing damaged locks.

But showing that doing it yourself can be a false economy, around three million homeowners have had to spend an average of £398 to rectify the problem.

Just 5% of those suffering problems or unforeseen costs were covered by their standard home insurance policy and only one in five (19%) had home emergency response policies that covered the cost.

Tom Stringer, head of AA Home Emergency Response, says: "Many homeowners seem to be mirroring the government's drive for austerity but this can be a false economy as problems tend to get worse in the home if you leave them unresolved.

"We would suggest that apart from keeping up their home maintenance properly, homeowners should look carefully at their home insurance policy and consider a stand-alone home emergency policy for peace of mind if they are not adequately covered."