Guides · Contract disputes · Series
The builder left, or left it wrong.
What the law says when building work goes wrong: a builder who walks off the job, work that isn't up to standard, a bill that keeps growing, when payment can be held back or the contract ended, what the cost of putting it right covers, the evidence that decides these cases, what is left when the builder has gone bust, the time limits, and the routes to resolving it with or without a court.
9 guides · about 56 minutes to read the lot · England & Wales
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Builder disputes, start to finish
A contractor walked off the job: is that a breach of contract, and what can I claim?
When abandoning work is a repudiatory breach, how damages are measured, your duty to mitigate, and the extra protection consumers have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
4 min02Builder did poor work: your rights under the Consumer Rights Act
The terms the Consumer Rights Act 2015 adds to a homeowner's contract with a builder, the remedies of repeat performance and price reduction, the rules for materials, and the position for business customers.
7 min03Builder wants more money: quotes, estimates and extras
How the law decides what price was agreed for building work, when extras can be charged, what a reasonable price means where none was fixed, and a consumer's right to cancel a contract made at home or at a distance.
7 min04Withholding payment or ending a contract with a builder: the risks
When the law allows a customer to pay a builder less, when a breach is serious enough to end the contract, and why ending it without the right to do so can leave the customer liable to the builder.
6 min05The cost of putting bad building work right: what can be claimed
How the courts measure loss for defective or unfinished building work: the cost of reinstatement, when it is refused as disproportionate, betterment, mitigation, consequential losses and the limited damages for inconvenience.
6 min06Evidence in a builder dispute: expert reports, photos and records
What decides a dispute with a builder: the contract documents, a dated record, proof of payment, independent expert evidence and the court rules that control it, and letting the builder inspect.
6 min07Builder gone bust or disappeared: what are the options?
What is left when a builder cannot or will not pay: sole traders and companies, liquidation, dissolved companies, the builder's insurer, guarantees and warranties, credit card claims and reporting a rogue trader.
6 min08Builder dispute time limits: how long do I have to claim?
The six-year and twelve-year contract limits, when time starts for defective building work, latent damage in negligence, the Defective Premises Act periods, deliberate concealment, and what does and does not stop the clock.
7 min09Resolving a builder dispute: mediation, ADR and court
The routes to an outcome in a dispute with a builder: complaint and letter before claim, scheme-based dispute resolution, mediation, adjudication, the court tracks, recoverable costs and Part 36 offers.
7 minFrequently asked
The building work is poor. What rights do I have?
If you are a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a trader to carry out the work with reasonable care and skill. Where that term is broken the Act provides for repeat performance or a price reduction, and a claim for damages remains available. Businesses rely on the contract and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
Can I stop paying, or end the contract?
Both carry risk. The law allows the price to be reduced for defective work, but unless the contract itself gives a right to terminate, only a serious breach, such as abandoning the job, entitles the customer to treat the contract as over. A customer who ends it without that entitlement can become the party in breach.
Can I claim what another builder charges to put it right?
The usual measure of loss is the reasonable cost of completing or correcting the work, less anything not yet paid under the original contract. A court can refuse that measure where the cost would be out of all proportion to the benefit.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
A claim for breach of contract must generally be started within six years of the breach, or twelve years if the contract was made as a deed (Limitation Act 1980, ss.5 and 8). Complaints and negotiations do not stop the clock.
When you’ve read enough
Work out where you stand in five minutes.
The check asks for the survey date, the date you found the problem, a value band and what you hold. It gives you an estimated deadline, the likely court track and a report you can take to a solicitor — and, only if you ask, an introduction to one.