Contractor delivers poor work: your rights

When a contractor delivers poor work, your first right under Dutch law is to demand that the defects are put right at the contractor’s own expense. To exercise it you must complain in writing as soon as you find the problem and, in most cases, give the contractor a reasonable period to repair. Only once that period has passed without result do the other remedies open up: suspending payment, having the work done by someone else, reducing the price, dissolving the contract or claiming damages. Acting in the wrong order is the most common reason these claims fail.

What the law calls poor work

A close-up of a construction worker's hands marking a measurement on a wooden plank.

An agreement with a builder, a fitter, an installer or a renovation firm is a contract for work (aanneming van werk), governed by title 12 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code. Article 7:750 defines it: the contractor undertakes to produce a tangible result outside employment, and you undertake to pay a price. Everything that follows flows from that one idea of a promised result.Work is defective when the result does not correspond to what was agreed. The measure is the contract: the specification, the drawings, the quotation, the brand and model of materials, and anything the contractor said to persuade you. Where the contract is silent, the work must have the qualities you were entitled to expect, and that includes compliance with the technical building rules, which since 1 January 2024 are found in the Building Works (Living Environment) Decree (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving) rather than in the former Bouwbesluit.There is a second obligation that clients regularly overlook, and it is often the more useful one. Under article 7:754 of the Civil Code the contractor must warn you about inaccuracies in the assignment, and about defects in materials or in the ground that it knew or ought to have known about. Since 1 January 2024 that warning must be given in writing and in unambiguous terms, and it must draw your attention to the consequences. A contractor who followed your instruction and stayed silent about an obvious problem cannot hide behind your instruction afterwards.

Distinguishing a small defect from a serious one

Not every imperfection carries the same consequences. The distinction is not cosmetic against structural; it is whether the shortcoming is significant enough to justify the remedy you want to use.

Minor shortcomings: paint runs, a misaligned tile, a poorly finished edge. These give a right to repair, and to a proportionate reduction of the price if repair is not carried out, but not to dissolution of the whole contract.
Serious shortcomings: a roof that leaks, electrical work that does not meet the applicable standards, a floor that does not carry, a construction that does not comply with the building rules. These can justify dissolution, replacement of the contractor and a claim for consequential loss.

The reason for the distinction is article 6:265 of the Civil Code: every failure to perform gives a right to dissolve the contract, unless the failure, given its special nature or minor significance, does not justify dissolution. The exception is what does the work in practice, and it is why dissolution over a paint defect fails.

Who is liable when several parties were involved

Larger projects involve an architect, a structural engineer, subcontractors and suppliers, and the instinct to pursue whoever caused the problem is usually wrong. Your contract is with the main contractor, and under article 6:76 of the Civil Code a party that uses others to perform its obligations is liable for their conduct as for its own. The contractor cannot therefore point at its subcontractor or at the supplier of a faulty material; that is a matter between them.The exception is where you contracted separately with the designer or with a supplier. A designer owes a professional duty of care, and a design fault is a different claim with its own limitation period. Where a defective product caused physical damage, the manufacturer may be liable in its own right. Identify at the outset who your contract is with, because that decides who you write to and who you sue.

Delivery is the moment that changes everything

A person is reviewing a legal document with a magnifying glass, with a scale of justice in the background.

Delivery, oplevering, is the formal handover of the completed work, and article 7:758 of the Civil Code attaches heavy consequences to it. Once you have accepted the work, it is deemed delivered, and from that point the risk passes to you and the final payment falls due.The critical rule is in article 7:758 paragraph 3. After delivery the contractor is discharged from liability for defects that you ought reasonably to have discovered at the time of delivery. In other words, everything visible that you signed off without comment is, in principle, your problem. That single sentence explains why the delivery inspection is the most important hour of the whole project, and why you should walk the site with a snagging list, note every point in writing, and have the contractor sign it.For contracts concluded on or after 1 January 2024 the position on non-visible defects has improved considerably. The Quality Assurance for the Building Sector Act (Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen, Wkb) added a fourth paragraph to article 7:758: the contractor remains liable for defects that were not discovered at delivery, unless those defects cannot be attributed to it. The burden has shifted. A consumer client cannot be deprived of this protection by contract; a professional client can agree otherwise, but only if the contract says so expressly.The same Act introduced article 7:757a of the Civil Code, which obliges the contractor to hand over a delivery file at completion: drawings and calculations, a description of what was built, details of the materials and installations used, and the information needed for use and maintenance. Ask for it, and do not make the final payment until you have it. It is the document you will need if a defect appears three years later.

What the Wkb does and does not cover

The public-law half of the Wkb has applied since 1 January 2024 to new building work in consequence class 1, the lowest risk category, which covers matters such as detached houses and small commercial buildings. For those projects an independent quality assurer (kwaliteitsborger) checks the work during construction instead of the municipality assessing the plans in advance, and a completion notification has to be filed with the municipality before the building may be used. Its extension to renovation work has been postponed and has no fixed date. The private-law changes described above, however, apply to contracts for work generally, not only to projects that fall under the new supervision system.

Complain in time: the deadlines that actually apply

There is a persistent myth that Dutch law gives a five-year guarantee against hidden defects. It does not, and relying on that idea is how good claims are lost.Two rules govern timing. The first is the duty to complain. Article 6:89 of the Civil Code requires you to protest within a reasonable time after you discovered the defect, or reasonably should have discovered it. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, but the safe course is simple: write to the contractor as soon as you notice something, describe what you have seen, and date it. A client who waits, hoping the problem will settle, risks losing the right to complain at all.The second is limitation. Under article 7:761 of the Civil Code a claim in respect of a defect in delivered work becomes time-barred two years after you protested about it. That is a short period, and it runs from your own letter. Interrupt it in writing before it expires, or start proceedings.There are also outer limits, running from delivery regardless of when the defect appeared: twenty years for building works, and ten years in all other cases. Those are the figures that the five-year myth has displaced. And where the contractor tells you it will investigate or repair the defect, the two-year period is extended, which is another reason to keep the correspondence.

What to do the day you find a defect

Step	Action	Why it matters
1. Record it	Photograph and film the defect from several angles, with something in shot for scale, and write a dated list describing each point precisely.	Evidence gathered at the time carries far more weight than a reconstruction. A defect described as paint drips on the skirting board in the living room is provable; a bad paint job is not.
2. Read the contract	Check the specification, the agreed standards, the payment schedule and any general conditions such as the AVA or the UAV that were declared applicable.	General conditions frequently contain their own complaint periods, guarantee schemes and an arbitration clause that decides where the dispute will be heard.
3. Protest in writing	Send a dated letter or email describing the defects and stating that the work does not comply with the contract.	This satisfies article 6:89 of the Civil Code and starts the two-year period under article 7:761 running from a date you can prove.
4. Give notice of default	Demand repair and set a reasonable deadline for it, in a separate and clearly worded notice.	Without default, most of the other remedies are not available. This is the step that unlocks them.

The notice of default and why it matters

A person's hand signing a formal legal document with a fountain pen.

Dutch law distinguishes between a contractor who has failed to perform and a contractor who is in default (verzuim). Most remedies, including damages for delay, dissolution and having the work done by a third party, require default. Default normally arises only after a notice of default, the ingebrekestelling, under article 6:82 of the Civil Code: a written demand giving the contractor a reasonable period in which to perform properly after all.A legally effective notice contains four things. It identifies the defects specifically, with reference to the contract and the evidence. It demands repair or replacement at the contractor’s expense. It sets a reasonable period, which depends on the nature of the work: days for a paint repair, weeks for structural work. And it states what will happen if the period passes without result.What counts as reasonable is judged objectively. A deadline that is plainly too short does not make the notice invalid, but it will be read as if a reasonable period had been given, which delays the moment default arises. Err on the generous side; the point of the notice is to make the contractor’s failure indisputable, not to catch it out.Send the notice by registered post as well as by email. Registered post proves receipt and the date of receipt, and an email that the contractor claims never to have seen is worth much less. Our notice of default example shows how such a letter is structured.There are situations in which no notice is required, and they matter. Under article 6:83 of the Civil Code default arises automatically where a fixed deadline for performance has passed, where the obligation arises from an unlawful act, or where the contractor has made clear that it will not perform. Refusal in writing is therefore a gift: it dispenses with the waiting period. Where performance has become permanently impossible, for example because the wrong materials have been built in irreversibly, a notice is likewise pointless.

Your options when the contractor does not repair

A concerned person on the phone looking at a poorly constructed wall in their home.

Once the deadline in your notice has passed, several remedies become available. They can be combined, but each has conditions, and the wrong choice creates a new problem rather than solving the old one.

Suspending payment

Where the contractor has not performed, you may suspend your own obligation to pay under articles 6:52 and 6:262 of the Civil Code. The requirement is proportionality. If the cost of putting the defects right is a small fraction of the contract sum, you cannot withhold the entire final instalment; the part you retain must bear a reasonable relationship to the value of what is wrong. Suspend too much and you are the party in breach, which exposes you to interest, to collection costs and to a claim of your own.Say what you are doing and why. A payment that simply stops, with no explanation, looks like a payment dispute rather than a quality dispute, and the difference matters when a judge or an arbitrator reads the file a year later.

Having the work done by someone else

This is the remedy most often misunderstood. You cannot, as a rule, simply instruct another firm and send the bill to the first one. Dutch law offers two routes. You can ask the court for authorisation to have the defect remedied at the debtor’s expense under article 3:299 of the Civil Code, which is the clean solution where there is time. Or you can have the work done once the contractor is in default and claim the reasonable additional cost as damages under article 6:74 of the Civil Code, converting the claim for performance into a claim for substitute damages under article 6:87.Whichever route you take, keep the costs defensible. Obtain more than one quotation, choose a proportionate solution rather than an upgrade, and document the state of the work before the second contractor starts. The first contractor is liable for the cost of putting matters right, not for the cost of a better result than you contracted for.

Reducing the price or dissolving the contract

Partial dissolution produces a reduction of the price, and it is frequently the most practical outcome where the defect is real but repair is disproportionate. Full dissolution under article 6:265 of the Civil Code releases both parties from their future obligations and creates obligations to undo what has been performed; because building work cannot be handed back, this usually resolves into a monetary settlement of value already received.Dissolution is available only where the shortcoming justifies it. Where the work is largely sound, expect a court or an arbitrator to reduce the price rather than unwind the whole contract, and to look closely at whether you gave the contractor a genuine opportunity to repair.

Claiming damages

Alongside any of the above you can claim damages under article 6:74 of the Civil Code for loss actually caused by the failure: the cost of repair, consequential damage such as water damage to a floor, the cost of temporary accommodation or storage, and reasonable costs of establishing liability and of obtaining an expert report. Statutory interest runs from the moment of default. Loss has to be proved, so keep invoices and quotations, and commission an independent expert report early where the technical cause is contested. In construction disputes the expert report usually decides the case.

Consumer protections you should not waive

Private clients who commission the building of a home have additional protection, and it is easy to sign it away without noticing.Article 7:768 of the Civil Code gives a consumer who has a home built the right to retain five per cent of the contract price and to deposit it with a civil-law notary instead of paying it to the contractor. The money stays in escrow for three months after delivery, and the contractor cannot demand its release without your consent within that period. Since 1 January 2024 the contractor must inform you in writing, between one and two months after delivery, that the retained sum is held and that you may keep it withheld. It is the single most effective piece of leverage a consumer has, and it works only if it was arranged before the money was paid.Article 7:765a of the Civil Code, also new in 2024, requires a contractor building a home for a consumer to inform the client in writing whether and how it has arranged cover for the risk of insolvency and for liability for defects. Read that statement before signing. A guarantee certificate from a recognised guarantee institution is worth considerably more than a promise from a company with no assets, and the absence of any cover is itself information.Finally, check which general conditions apply. Consumer building contracts are often concluded on the AVA conditions, larger civil and commercial projects on the UAV or the UAV-GC. These set their own periods for complaint and for guarantee, and they usually contain an arbitration clause. Conditions that were never handed to you before the contract was signed can sometimes be set aside, but do not rely on that.

Where the dispute is decided

Before you start anything, find out where your dispute belongs. The answer is usually in the general conditions, and it is not always a court.Many construction contracts refer disputes to the Raad van Arbitrage in bouwgeschillen, the arbitration board for construction disputes, formerly known as the Raad van Arbitrage voor de Bouw. Its arbitrators are engineers, architects and construction lawyers, which is a genuine advantage where the dispute is technical. Proceedings are private and an award is binding and enforceable, with only limited scope for review by the ordinary courts. A valid arbitration clause takes the case away from the civil court, so read it before drafting a writ.For consumers there is a cheaper route. Where the contractor is affiliated to a trade association that participates in the Geschillencommissie, the disputes committee for building and renovation can decide the matter for a modest fee, generally faster than either arbitration or a court. Check the contractor’s affiliation before you commit to another route.Otherwise the civil courts decide. Claims up to the statutory threshold are heard by the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), where you may appear without a lawyer; larger claims go to the district court, where representation by an advocate is required. Court fees are fixed by law and adjusted annually. Where speed matters, for instance to stop work or to secure a payment, interim relief proceedings before the interim relief judge deliver a decision in weeks rather than months.Mediation remains worth considering, particularly where the relationship has value and the technical dispute is narrow. It resolves nothing on its own, but a mediated settlement of a construction dispute is often reached around an independent expert report that both sides accept, and commissioning that report jointly is frequently the cheapest step available to either party.

Preventing the problem on the next project

Most construction disputes are decided by documents created before the work started. Three habits do most of the work.Check the contractor before you engage it. Verify the registration and the trading history in the Commercial Register at the Chamber of Commerce, ask for and actually call recent clients with specific questions about how problems were handled, confirm that liability insurance is in place, and look up whether the firm participates in a guarantee scheme or a disputes committee. A contractor that has recently changed legal entity while keeping the same trade name deserves a second look.Write a contract that decides the arguments in advance. Specify the materials by brand, type and quantity rather than by description. Tie payments to verified milestones and never pay a large sum in advance. State the standards the work must meet and refer to the applicable technical rules. Fix start and completion dates, and agree what happens if they are missed. Record who is responsible for permits, waste, power and access. Where the project is substantial, have the contract reviewed before signing; the fee is a fraction of the cost of the dispute it prevents.Manage the delivery. Inspect thoroughly, take your time, bring an independent expert if the work is complex or expensive, list every point in writing and have the list signed. Ask for the delivery file. And where you are a consumer having a home built, arrange the retention of five per cent with the notary at the outset. Our articles on defects in newly built homes and on construction defects and who is accountable go further into the liability questions that arise once something has gone wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Can I refuse to pay a contractor for bad work?

Yes, you can absolutely withhold payment, but it needs to be a reasonable and proportional response. You can’t refuse to pay the entire outstanding sum over a minor defect. The right of suspension in articles 6:52 and 6:262 of the Civil Code requires proportionality, so the amount you hold back should bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of putting the specific defects right. Be careful, though—withholding an excessive amount could land you in breach of your own contract.

What if the contractor disappears or abandons the project?

If your contractor simply vanishes after you’ve sent a formal notice of default, you have clear legal options. At that point, you can officially dissolve the contract and bring in a new contractor to get the job done. You can then claim the reasonable additional cost of finishing the work from the original contractor as damages under article 6:74 of the Civil Code. Where there is time, ask the court for authorisation under article 3:299 of the Civil Code before having the work done, because that removes any later argument about whether the cost was justified. Important Takeaway: Always make sure you send a formal notice of default by registered post before you take any other steps. This creates a vital legal paper trail that protects your rights if the contractor completely abandons the project.

How long do I have to make a claim for hidden defects?

Dutch law offers protection against what are known as hidden defects ( verborgen gebreken ). These are defects you could not reasonably have been expected to notice at delivery. Dutch law gives no five-year guarantee. Under article 7:761 of the Civil Code a claim about a defect in delivered work becomes time-barred two years after you protested about it, and in any event twenty years after delivery for building works and ten years in all other cases. For contracts concluded on or after 1 January 2024, article 7:758 paragraph 4 of the Civil Code makes the contractor liable for defects that were not discovered at delivery, unless the defect cannot be attributed to it. The practical rule is to protest in writing as soon as you find a problem and to keep the evidence.

Law and More advises private clients, developers and contractors on construction disputes in the Netherlands: assessing whether work complies with the contract, drafting notices of default, suspending payment safely, recovering the cost of repairs, and conducting proceedings before the civil courts, the Raad van Arbitrage in bouwgeschillen or a disputes committee. If a contractor has delivered poor work, contact us before you stop paying or instruct someone else, because the order in which you act determines what you can recover.

Looking for something else? Our index of Dutch real estate law guides lists everything we have written on this subject, ordered by topic.