A home improvement VAT cut would help to lift the UK's housing sector, one expert has suggested.

Construction News editor Alex Hawkes said that such a move "would certainly give a boost" to the market, which has been hit hard by the economic downturn.

"It would probably reduce the differential between people who are the honest builders and the rogue builders who don't pay the VAT," he commented.

Mr Hawkes's remarks were made in response to a report from the Cut the VAT coalition, which stated that a reduction to the levy of five per cent would create more than 50,000 jobs in the UK economy as a whole.

The organisation claimed that in 2010 alone, such a move would contribute £1.4 billion to gross domestic product.

Those making improvements to their houses might benefit from the use of self storage facilities, which enable those without much space to tidy away their clutter.