UK homes are cracking: "We can see into the other room"

Two record-hot summers have caused a surge in subsidence claims across the UK, leaving stressed homeowners with cracked walls and long waits for repairs. Subsidence happens when the ground beneath a house sinks or shifts, pulling the building's foundations down with it. It can be triggered by extreme heat, which dries out the soil. Henry Biggs, 49, from Stroud in Gloucestershire, knows the damage well. He and his partner found cracks in their family home in June 2025, a few months after buying it. "We've got one wall with an absolutely huge diagonal crack, through which we can see through to the other room," he said. "You could easily put your fingers in it and chunks of plaster are falling off." Their insurer, Admiral, accepted their subsidence claim in the spring. But monitoring devices were only fitted about a year after they first filed the claim, and they still do not know when repairs will begin.