Contracts · 28 August 2026 · 5 min read
Written contracts on domestic work:the clauses that prevent most disputes
A contract is not there to fight with. It is there so that two reasonable people remember the same agreement six months later.
For domestic work sold in the customer's home, written information and cancellation rights also carry legal weight.
Clauses that earn their place
- Scope of works, with a clearly stated list of exclusions
- Milestones with values and completion criteria
- A written variation process, priced and agreed before work proceeds
- Provisional sums and how they will be reconciled
- Delay and extension of time, including customer-caused delays
- Access, working hours, welfare and site conditions
- Practical completion, snagging window and handover documentation
- Complaints procedure and escalation route
Cancellation rights
Where a contract is agreed in the customer's home, statutory cancellation rights typically apply and must be given in writing.
Getting this wrong is one of the most common and most avoidable compliance failures in the sector.
This article is editorial information for professional contractors, not legal advice.
Sources & further reading
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
legislation.gov.uk
- Consumer Rights Act 2015
legislation.gov.uk
This article is editorial information for professional contractors, not legal advice. Builder Standard is an independent commercial platform. It is not a government body, statutory regulator or the Chartered Trading Standards Institute Approved Code Scheme, and it is not affiliated with any third-party scheme.
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