Subcontractor Poor Workmanship: Who Pays to Fix It?
The short answer
To your client, you pay: the defect is your responsibility. Then recover it from the sub with evidence, a written notice to remedy and, if needed, a valid pay-less notice.
- Your client looks to you, not your sub. You answer for everyone on your job.
- Evidence first. Photos, the spec, the drawing, who signed what off and when.
- Give a written notice to remedy with a deadline before you bring anyone else in.
- Deduct only with a valid pay-less notice, on time, stating the sum and how you worked it out.
The plaster is cracking, the tiles are out of line or the second fix fails inspection. The client is angry and wants it fixed now, and the subcontractor has moved on to the next job.
Two questions: who pays to put it right, and how do you get that money back without ending up in a dispute you lose? Here's the order to do it in. If this keeps happening, book a free strategy call and we'll look at your subcontractor setup.
This is general information from a contractor's experience, not legal advice. For your situation, speak to a construction solicitor.
Who pays: the short answer
Think of it as a chain. Each link answers to the one above.
| Who | Owes what | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| You (the builder) | Work done with reasonable care and skill, as your contract says | Your client |
| Your subcontractor | Its package done with reasonable care and skill, as the subcontract says | You |
So to the client, you pay first: fix it, quickly. If the client is a homeowner, consumer law lets them ask you to redo the work or reduce the price.
Then you recover from the subcontractor. A business that supplies a service must carry it out with reasonable care and skill. That's your basis for asking the sub to fix it, or to pay for the fix.
The next 24 hours
Don't argue on site and don't pay the next invoice in full yet. Build the file.
- Photos and video of every defect, with a tape measure or level in shot and the date.
- The spec and drawings that show what should have been built.
- Who signed off what: sign-off sheets, messages, site diary entries. If building control won't sign the job off, read your duties as principal contractor.
- What the client said, in writing.
- What you still owe the sub: the next application, retention, any payment notice already issued.
Bringing in another trade to fix it straight away, before you've told the original sub. Unless it's dangerous or urgent, give them the chance to put it right first. Without that, your deduction is much harder to defend.
Firefighting the same problems every week? The free 4-minute Construction Business Scorecard shows your weakest area first. Need an experienced operator for a day or two a week? See our fractional COO service, or book a free strategy call.
Day 1–2: the notice to remedy
Send a written notice by email. Keep it factual. Here's a template you can adapt.
Subject: Notice to remedy defects, [site address], [package]
Dear [name],
We have inspected your [plastering] works at [address] on [date]. The following defects do not meet the specification [ref] or the standard of reasonable care and skill:
- [Location]: [defect], photo 1
- [Location]: [defect], photo 2
Please confirm by [date + 2 working days] when you will attend, and complete the remedial works by [date + 7 days]. If the works are not completed by then, we will arrange for them to be completed by others and the reasonable cost will be deducted from sums due to you, in line with the subcontract and the payment notice rules.
Regards, [name], [company]
Check your subcontract for a defects clause and notice period, and use the timescale it sets if it's different. On the other side of the table, see how subcontractors challenge contra charges: send your evidence with the notice.
Dealing with a subcontractor dispute right now?
Book a free call and we'll go through your paperwork with you.
Day 3–7: decide the route
| Situation | Route | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Sub agrees and comes back | Let them fix it; sign it off together | Dated photos after, signed sign-off |
| Sub ignores the notice | Get it fixed by others, then recover the cost | Notice, quotes, invoices, photos |
| Sub disputes it's defective | Get an independent view (e.g. a surveyor), keep talking | Report, correspondence |
| Minor defect, client accepts | Agree a price reduction with the client and the sub | Written agreement |
| Dangerous or causing damage | Make safe at once, notify the sub the same day | Photos, invoice, notice |
Deducting money the lawful way
A subcontract between you and your sub is a construction contract, so the Construction Act payment rules apply, even if your client is a homeowner. That cuts both ways: it protects the sub's money unless you follow the rules.
1. Payment notice. No later than 5 days after the payment due date, state what you consider due and how you worked it out.
2. Pay-less notice. To pay less than the notified sum, send a pay-less notice stating the sum you consider due and the basis of calculation. If your subcontract is silent, the statutory Scheme says no later than 7 days before the final date for payment.
3. No valid notice, no deduction. Miss the deadline and the notified sum must be paid. You can still claim the cost back later, but you'll have paid first.
- Show the working: remedial invoice £1,850 + your supervision 4 hours, minus nothing you can't evidence.
- Deduct only reasonable cost of putting the defect right, not a penalty.
- Use retention if the subcontract provides for it, and keep a note of why you're holding it.
- Expect adjudication. Either side can refer a dispute at any time and the adjudicator decides within 28 days of referral. Your file is your case.
How long can you claim for? Usually 6 years from the breach on a simple contract, 12 years if the subcontract was signed as a deed.
For the other side of the same rules, see pay-less notice received: what a subcontractor can do. And if the sub has gone altogether, read subcontractor walked off the job.
The Systems Blueprint for UK Builders
Delivery checklists, signed variations and handover packs: the 6 core systems and the order to build them.
Get the free guideStop it happening on the next job
Most bad work is found too late: after the next trade has covered it. The fix is a simple system, written down once and used on every job.
- Hold points per trade. First fix inspected before boarding, boards before skim, substrate before tiling, waterproofing before tiles.
- A checklist for every package, signed by the sub and your site lead at each hold point.
- Daily site report with photos. Two minutes a day, and the evidence exists if you ever need it.
- Signed variations before the work, so "you never told us" never comes up.
- A written subcontract with the spec, defects clause, notice periods and payment terms.
When the same defect shows up twice, write the fix into the checklist so it can't happen a third time. Subcontractor control is one of the systems we teach from running Craftex.
Want subcontractors who get it right first time?
Book a free strategy call.
Your checklist for defective subcontract work
- Defects photographed and measured before anyone touches them
- Spec, drawings and sign-offs pulled into one file
- Written notice to remedy sent, with a clear deadline
- Any deduction made only through a valid, on-time pay-less notice
- Hold points and sign-off sheets on the next job
