The construction contract: what to write before you build your villa

Parties and project

The contract starts by identifying both parties precisely: the owner’s name and ID, and the contractor’s name as on the commercial registration, with its number and address. Then the project: plot location and deed number, building permit number, and the approved drawings the work follows, with their revision date.

Tying the contract to a specific drawing revision matters: if drawings change later, it’s clear the change needs agreement and isn’t part of the original scope. Sign every page of the attached drawings, both of you. If there’s a supervising engineering office, name it and its role, and make its approval a condition for progressing between stages and payments.

Scope: exactly what the price covers

Scope is the heart of the contract. Write in detail what it covers: shell or turnkey? Rock excavation? Soil replacement? Foundation waterproofing? Ground and roof tanks? Walls? Annex? AC provision, or units too? Anything not mentioned will be disputed.

More important than the list of inclusions is an explicit list of exclusions. If the contractor writes “the offer excludes walls, kitchens, AC units and utility connections”, you know upfront what you’ll pay outside the contract.

For shell-with-materials or turnkey, state who supplies each material and who carries transport, storage and waste. For labour-only, set when the owner supplies materials and what happens if they’re late.

Specification and materials schedule

“Excellent materials” or “to standard” doesn’t protect you. Ask for a specification schedule giving the material, brand or standard for each item: steel per the drawings, concrete strength, block type, waterproofing and insulation systems, tile grade, door and window types, and sanitary and electrical brands.

For items you’ll choose later, write a set allowance per item and how differences are settled. Write sample-approval dates and who carries delay if the owner is late approving. Require that any substitution of a specified material with an “equivalent” needs written approval from you and the supervising engineer before ordering. Read finishing levels.

Duration and schedule

Set the start date and total duration, ideally with a schedule of key stages attached: foundations, frame, blockwork, services, finishing, external works. A schedule helps you spot delay early, not in the final month.

Write what happens on delay: is there a delay penalty at a set rate with a cap? What are acceptable reasons to extend — owner delays in payments or approvals, change orders, force majeure? Don’t overdo penalties so serious contractors refuse to sign, but don’t leave it blank. Also note working hours and the summer rest-period rules, which affect the schedule.

Payments

Tie each payment to a completed stage approved by the supervising engineer, not to a date — paying by date means you may pay for work not done. Avoid a large advance; if one is needed for mobilisation or materials, keep it reasonable and matched to what it buys.

Keep a retention from each payment or from the total until final handover and the end of the snagging period. That retention is your assurance that snags get fixed after the contractor has moved on to another job. Read payment schedules.

Change orders

Hardly any project has no changes: a window enlarged, a room divided, a material swapped. The problem isn’t change but doing it without written agreement on price and time, then disputing it at the end.

Write that any change needs a written change order signed by both parties before work, stating the work, its price and its effect on duration — and that the contractor isn’t entitled to payment for extra work done without one. Also set how changes are priced: by unit rates from the original offer where they exist, or by new agreement. This clause alone prevents many disputes.

Warranties and handover

Write warranties in detail: on what, for how long, from which date. The most important are structure, waterproofing and services. Regulatory warranty requirements vary by project type, so ask a professional what applies to yours. Ask for suppliers’ warranty certificates for installed systems and equipment.

Define handover: a joint inspection with the engineer, a written snag list, a period to fix it, then final handover. Write what the owner receives: as-built drawings, warranty certificates and system operating manuals.

Disputes and termination

Write how disputes are resolved: direct negotiation first, then mediation, arbitration or the competent court. Write when each party may terminate — the contractor stopping work for a set period without cause, or the owner failing to pay — and what happens: measuring and settling completed work, and handing back the site. Nobody likes thinking about these at signing, but they protect you when a project really stalls. Have them reviewed by a legal professional.