Keeping building work on track

Building work on a home can carry on for weeks or months.

The contract

The FMB, the Federation of Master Builders, describes a contract as protection for both sides. It sets down what was agreed, so there is less room for misunderstanding later.

A recognised form can save writing one from scratch. The FMB names the JCT Building Contract for a Home Owner/Occupier as one that may suit, depending on the project.

The FMB suggests a contract that covers:

Citizens Advice adds delays to that list: why they might happen, and what the builder will do about them. It also suggests agreeing who clears the rubbish, and who pays for any skips.

Paying in stages

On larger projects, the FMB says payments are usually split into agreed stages. The contract sets out the schedule. Before each payment, check that the stage it covers has been finished, and keep a note of each sum you hand over.

Citizens Advice advises against paying everything up front, in case something goes wrong or the builder stops turning up. On a long project a deposit may be hard to avoid. Its advice then is to keep the deposit as low as possible and to agree to no more than 25%.

Some contracts hold back a small part of the price until after completion, or until a defects period has run. The FMB calls this a retention. The amount, and when it is released, go in the contract.

Citizens Advice suggests paying by debit or credit card if you can, by bank transfer if you can't, and never in cash. If a builder never turns up and keeps a deposit, the card provider might recover the money through the chargeback scheme.

The FMB asks for particular care if the builder's bank details change partway through. Confirm the change using contact details you already hold before sending anything.

Changes and extras

The FMB says building work can turn up surprises once it starts. It suggests agreeing every change in writing, with its effect on the price and the timescale, before the extra work goes ahead wherever possible.

A quoted price can go up only for set reasons, Citizens Advice says. You might ask for more work. The builder might warn you that further work is needed, and you then accept the extra cost. Or the quote might hold an error that was obvious to you when it arrived.

A rise in the builder's own costs since the quote is no reason to charge more, Citizens Advice says.

The law on your side, and the builder's duties

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies across the whole UK. Its section 49 says a trader who supplies a service to a consumer has to carry it out using "reasonable care and skill".

Section 52 deals with a contract that names no date or period for the work, where nothing the builder told you sets one either. The builder must then finish within a reasonable time.

Section 51 deals with a service you have not yet paid for, where no price was fixed and no way of fixing one was agreed. You then owe a reasonable price, and nothing above it. In both sections, the law treats what is reasonable as a question of fact.

Section 50 makes the builder's own words count. If you relied on something they said or wrote about themselves or the project, when you chose to go ahead or in a later decision, it is treated as part of what you agreed. Anything they said at the same time to limit it counts too, and so does any change you both agreed.

Safety on site falls under CDM 2015, short for the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. In its guidance, the Health and Safety Executive describes a homeowner having work done on their own home, or on the home of a family member, as a domestic client. A domestic client's duties normally pass to the builder, or to the principal contractor when several contractors are involved.

Sign-off and certificates

Building regulations approval ends with a certificate. On a full plans application, GOV.UK says the completion certificate usually arrives within 8 weeks of the end of the work, provided the work complies.

Some tradespeople in a competent person scheme sign off their own work instead. GOV.UK says their certificate reaches you within 8 weeks of completion, and solicitors' searches pick it up when the home is sold.

GOV.UK also warns that work done without approval leaves you without the compliance certificates a sale may need.

Before the final payment, the FMB suggests walking through the finished work with the builder and agreeing how small faults, called snagging, will be put right. Collect the paperwork that goes with the work. That may include the completion certificate, gas or electrical certificates, guarantees, warranties and product information.

If something goes wrong

Raise any concern with the builder as soon as it comes up. Citizens Advice suggests having your evidence ready when you do:

Your complaint goes to the builder you hired, even where they handed some of the work to a subcontractor.

A builder who agrees to fix the fault should do so in reasonable time, causing you as little disruption as they can, Citizens Advice says. If they can't or won't, you may ask for a partial or full refund, in line with how serious the fault is. Once an amount is agreed, the law gives 14 days for the refund to reach you.

If a builder runs late, Citizens Advice says you have to give them a second chance to finish. When you do, set a firm date for the work to be done, and put it in writing.

The exception is where you made it clear that finishing by a certain date was important. Then you can tell the builder in writing that you no longer want them to carry on. You pay for what has been done, and Citizens Advice says a discount for the disruption can be requested. Where very little was done, you might choose to pay nothing.

If the builder belongs to a trade body, its dispute scheme may help. The FMB offers free mediation between its members and their customers. Its mediation covers workmanship that needs putting right. Claims for compensation and contract disputes fall outside it.

Before applying for the FMB's mediation, set out the problem to the builder in writing, with how you want it resolved, and allow at least 10 working days for a reply.

For complaints about a TrustMark registered business, TrustMark's process has three stages. The business hears the complaint first, then its scheme provider, and then the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman. The ombudsman stage has its own conditions, including a limit of 12 months from your first complaint.

In England, advisers at the Citizens Advice consumer service answer by phone or online chat. They also pass reports of dangerous or unsafe work to Trading Standards.

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