Cancellation terms are not written by one side
Why — act while you have leverage
Where the settlement on cancellation is decided by the contractor alone, leaving a bad job becomes as expensive as staying in it.
What to look at
- Termination rights for both parties, not just one
- How completed work is valued, and by whom
- What happens to money already paid
How to check it yourself
Find what happens if either side ends the agreement: how the work done so far is valued, who values it, what happens to your advance, and how long the contractor has to leave site. Both sides should be able to terminate, on stated grounds, with the same method of valuation.
Where this comes from: Kolo review of Kerala construction quotations and agreements (established trade practice)
More construction agreement checks before you sign
- Agreement check passed
- Contractor background verified
- Site handover checklist agreed
- Worker-welfare rules applicability checked
- GST treatment understood before signing
- The payment schedule keeps money back until the end
- The agreement does not contradict itself
- GST is stated, and you know who pays it
- You know who you are contracting with
- Price escalation has a limit you can calculate
- Foundation extras cannot be open-ended
- Curing is the contractor's job, in writing
- The arbitrator is not chosen by the contractor alone
- There is a warranty, and it has a length
- Worker safety stays with the contractor
- Signing for a stage does not sign away everything after it
- There is a way to settle a dispute short of court
- Nobody else builds your house without you knowing
- No blank spaces, no missing dates
- Money goes to the company, not to a person
- You can ask where the money went
- Delay has a consequence for both sides
- The quotation is attached to the agreement
- Force majeure is not a blanket excuse
The whole stage: Construction agreement checks before you sign