Construction contract checklist: What to remember

You may have talked your way into a great deal with your builders or renovators, but without a written contract, all your bargaining is pointless. As the demand for new homes and renovations grows, so does the awareness of the importance of a legally binding contract.

But even though more homeowners are signing contracts before pushing through with their building projects, many still don’t know what their contracts should contain. Of course, contracts can be simple or extensive, depending on the scale of the project. However, there is still some basic information that almost every construction contract should have.

Construction contract checklist

The complete names of both parties are a given, but you should also take note of other important personal information. Make sure that the full name of the business, updated business address and contact information, and other business identifiers are clearly stated in the contract.

• Warranty and liability are two important things to look for in a contractor. A copy of your contractor’s Builder's Warranty or Home Warranty Insurance should be part of your contract. This will help ensure that you’re covered in case your builder can’t complete your project for some reason. You should also make sure that your contract states that you can’t be held liable for any injuries or damage to property during the building process.
• Job schedule is vital if you want to make sure that the job gets started and completed on time. Long-running renovation projects disrupt your daily routine, and you don’t want to be ready to move into your new home only to find out that it still won’t be ready for occupancy for an entire month!
• A detailed description of the building process should also be included in the contract so you can make sure that you won’t be left with a lot of mess to take care of. If your building project involves tearing down some part of your wall, you have to be sure that they will definitely patch it up and restore it to its original condition if you agree on that during your talks. Don’t forget about site cleanup as well. This benefits both the builder and homeowner since the builder can’t cut down on certain stages of the building, and the homeowner can’t demand services beyond what is stated in this part of the contract.
• Material costs should also be included in the contract, with some room for fluctuations in price throughout the building schedule. It would also be helpful to include details about the materials to be used, including brands, colours, and so on.
• Labour costs and payment schedules should definitely be stated very clearly in the contract. You and your contractor might agree on one full payment after everything is done, or you might prefer to pay every time a particular stage of the building process gets completed. No matter what you prefer, everything should be laid out in the contract.