How Much Deposit Should a Builder Take in the UK?
The short answer
There is no legal maximum. Take a deposit that covers what you order and commit before you start, have the client pay long-lead items upfront, and make each stage payment due before that stage starts, so the client's money funds the job, not yours.
- No legal cap on deposits in the UK. It must be in the contract, and the client must understand what it pays for.
- Homeowners are told 10–15%, so fund the job with the schedule: stage payments due before each stage starts.
- Long-lead items paid upfront. Kitchens, windows and bespoke joinery are paid by the client when you order.
- Small jobs: 50% upfront and the balance on completion. Variations are paid before or with the next stage.
A client asks how much deposit you need. You say a number, they flinch, and you either drop it or lose the job. Then three weeks in you're paying the merchant, the scaffolder and the lads out of your own account, waiting for the next payment.
The deposit isn't really the problem. The payment schedule is. Here's how much deposit a builder should take in the UK, and how to set the schedule so the client's money funds the job. Want us to check your current terms? Book a free strategy call.
This is general information from a contractor's experience, not legal or financial advice.
The legal limit on a builder's deposit
No. In the UK there is no law that caps what a builder can ask for upfront. The deposit is whatever you and the client agree in the contract.
Two things limit you in practice:
- What the client has read. Homeowner guides commonly tell people to expect around 10% and to be wary of more than 10–15% upfront. A client who has read that will walk if you ask for 40% on a £60K extension.
- What you can justify. A deposit that clearly pays for materials you're ordering and secures a start date is easy to defend. A big deposit with no paperwork looks like a builder who needs the money for his last job.
Using a new client's deposit to finish an old job. It works until one job goes wrong, then every job is short at once.
How much deposit to take, by job size
Work out what you'll spend or commit before the first stage payment lands. That's your real deposit need. Then pick the structure:
| Job | Typical structure | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Small job, a few days to 2–3 weeks | 50% upfront, 50% on completion | Short, easy to explain, you're never far out of pocket |
| Medium job, 1–3 months | 10–15% deposit, then stage payments | Matches what clients expect, stages carry the cash |
| Large job, 3+ months | 10–15% deposit, more stages, long-lead items paid on order | Keeps each payment small and frequent |
| Commercial client | Monthly or stage applications per the contract | The Construction Act gives you interim payments on jobs of 45 days or more |
Two examples from our clients' wins chat. Clayton started a £10K project on day one with £5K upfront, with staged payments after. Sergey turned a £2K enquiry into a £15K first deal at 50% upfront. Individual results, not typical or guaranteed.
Still paying the merchant out of your own account?
Book a free call with our team. We'll look at your deposit, your stage schedule and where your cash goes.
Stage payments: the schedule does the heavy lifting
Most builders copy the homeowner version of a schedule: the client pays after each stage is finished. On that schedule you fund every stage yourself and wait to be paid back.
Flip it. Make each stage payment due before that stage starts (see the cash gap it closes). The client still never pays far ahead of the work, but your money is no longer the bank.
Here's an example for a £65K single-storey rear extension (illustrative figures, adapt to your job):
| Stage payment due | % | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| On signing (deposit) | 10% | £6,500 |
| Before groundworks and foundations start | 15% | £9,750 |
| Before walls and roof structure | 20% | £13,000 |
| Before roof covering, windows and doors (ordered items) | 20% | £13,000 |
| Before first fix and plastering | 15% | £9,750 |
| Before second fix and finishes | 15% | £9,750 |
| On completion and snagging signed off | 5% | £3,250 |
Our cash flow guide uses the same logic on a £120K refurb. It takes 15% on signing and stage payments before strip-out, second fix and finishes. Then 10% at practical completion and 5% when snagging is signed off. To build a schedule like this for your jobs, book a free strategy call.
The clients who argue about paying upfront are usually the same clients who pay late at the end. A clear schedule filters them out before they cost you money.
Long-lead items: never on your account
Kitchens, bespoke windows, glazing, staircases, joinery and specialist kit can each cost more than the deposit. They're ordered weeks ahead and they're often non-refundable.
Pick one rule and write it into every quote:
- Client pays the supplier directly. You specify and coordinate; the item never touches your cash.
- Client pays you the full item cost when you place the order, against the supplier's quote.
- Provisional sum with payment on order. For items not chosen yet, a PC or provisional sum, paid when the client confirms the choice.
Variations: paid before or with the next stage
Extras are where schedules quietly fall apart. A client adds a £4,000 change, you do it, and it sits unpaid until "the end", by which time they remember it as included.
- Price it in writing before you do it. A one-line email the client replies "agreed" to is enough.
- Small variations Added to the next stage payment.
- Big variations Paid upfront like a long-lead item, or as their own stage.
If a client is already refusing to pay the last invoice, see what to do when a client won't pay the final invoice.
Want a payment schedule that keeps you on the client's money on every job?
Book a free call and we'll go through yours.
How to word it in your quote
Put the payment terms on the quote itself, so the client agrees to them when they accept the price. Plain wording beats legal wording. Something like:
Payment terms. A deposit of 10% (£6,500) is due on signing to secure the start date and order materials. Stage payments are due before each stage starts, as set out in the schedule above. Kitchen, windows and doors are paid in full when ordered. Variations are priced in writing before the work and paid with the next stage payment. Each invoice is payable within 7 days. Work on the next stage starts once the stage payment has cleared.
Check two consumer points before you send it:
- Cancellation rights. If you sign at the client's home or by phone and email, they usually have 14 days to cancel and get the deposit back. See what you can charge if a client cancels within 14 days.
- Fair terms. Terms in a consumer contract must be fair and clear. A schedule tied to visible stages is; a 60% "admin" deposit isn't.
How to ask for it without losing the job
Clients don't object to paying. They object to paying without knowing what for. Present the schedule as protection for them:
| Step | What you say |
|---|---|
| 1. Show the schedule | "Here's exactly when payments fall due and what each one covers." |
| 2. Explain the deposit | "The deposit secures your start date and pays for the materials we order this week." |
| 3. Explain 'before each stage' | "You never pay for more than the next stage. If anything goes wrong, you've only paid for work that's starting." |
| 4. Long-lead items | "The kitchen you can pay the supplier directly, so the money never sits with us." |
| 5. Confirm | "Happy with that? I'll send the contract tonight with the schedule in it." |
A client who refuses any deposit or wants everything "on completion" is telling you how the final invoice will go. That's useful to know before you start, not after.
What changes on commercial jobs
On commercial work (businesses, developers, landlords, not a homeowner's own home) the Construction Act applies. On jobs of 45 days or more you have a legal right to interim payments. The contract has to set out how much is due and when. Deposits are less common; you protect cash with monthly or stage applications, notices and payment dates.
For how the notices work and what to do when a payer goes quiet, see our pay less notice guide and main contractor not paying. To score your cash flow against the other five areas of your business, take the free 4-minute Construction Business Scorecard.
Payment terms checklist
Want someone to set up your contracts, schedules and payment applications properly? Our commercial management service does it the way a working contractor does, because it is one.
The bigger fix is the owner's system. In 1-to-1 mentoring with Sviat, who runs Craftex today, cash flow is one of the first things we fix. It aims for results in about 4 months, not a 1–3-year program. On the tools and under £500K a year? Watch our free training first.
Before you send your next quote
- Deposit sized to what you commit before day one
- Every stage payment due before that stage starts
- Long-lead items paid on order or direct to the supplier
- Variations priced in writing and paid with the next stage
- Payment terms written on the quote, invoices payable within 7 days
