I'm a small builder who also does a bit of property development on the side. How will Home Information Packs (HIPs) affect me?

HIPs come into force on 1 August 2007. Initially, HIPs will be compulsory only for sale of properties with four bedrooms or more. Other types of property will be included at a later date.

I carry out mainly small building jobs, and would normally have the odd cigarette break on site. Is it now against the law?

Smoking in an enclosed or mainly enclosed public space is now against the law, following the ban that came into force on 1 July 2007. So at what point will it be unlawful to smoke on a building site?

As a small builder, am I legally obliged to have a Site Waste Management Plan?

There is currently no legal requirement for any building firm to have a Site Waste Management Plan (or SWMP) in place. However, this may change next year, as the Government is currently looking at proposals to make SWMPs mandatory for all construction projects over £250,000.

I've got a small building business, and I want to set up a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) - what's the best way to go about it?

SWMPs have no set format, and vary according to the size of building company or project. However, as a bare minimum, your SWMP should identify the following:

Builders have three different types of pensions have to choose from. They are:

All builders have different financial commitments, so only you can determine how much money you'll need to retire comfortably. But, you may want to consider these questions when deciding:

Builders and construction workers want a comfortable retirement, like everyone else, but that means taking responsibility for the future and thinking about saving for your pension – now.

There's no guarantee that there will be a state pension by the time you retire, and if you do get one, it's unlikely to provide any luxuries in retirement. In the 2006/07 tax year, the state pension was just £84.25 a week.

As you are responsible for the waste your company produces, you must ensure that whoever you use is disposing of your waste legally.

If you locate a waste collection company yourself, make sure you have checked their credentials thoroughly, or you could end up with a hefty fine.

In short – yes. It’s all too easy to say you didn’t know that the bloke who collects your waste was fly-tipping. That’s why it’s now an offence if your waste is fly-tipped.

So, for your own peace of mind, don’t cut corners, make sure you get the company or person checked out – it only takes a few minutes online, and it could save you a of stress and money in the long run.

Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of waste.

The law says that fly tipping can be anything from a bin bag of rubbish to large amounts of waste dumped by builders from trucks.

And it’s not just rubbish dumped on lay-bys or unused land that is illegal – fly-tipped waste can be found anywhere, even on roadsides.