At the moment, there is only a window of six months after completion of the work in which to prosecute cowboy builders for breaches in building regulations.

The consultation paper is proposing to increase this timescale to two years.

Iain Wright, Minister at Communities and Local Government, said:

"A more efficient enforcement regime should prove to be a more effective deterrent to non-compliance, ensuring that unscrupulous and lazy builders cannot benefit at the expense of the law-abiding majority."