Building contract template
Plenty of small building jobs start on a quote and a handshake, and the argument comes later about what was included, when it would finish and what happens if it changes. A written contract settles that before it starts. These are plain-English contracts for the work a published standard form is too big for: one for a homeowner, with the cancellation rights a consumer has and the model cancellation form; one for a business client, with Construction Act payment terms; and a subcontract agreement for a labour-only or supply-and-fix package. For larger or complex work, a published standard form may suit better, and legal advice is worth taking where the value or risk justifies it.
3 documents, one price each. Helmet colours vary from site to site. This is a common convention, not a legal standard.
Written for this
3 contracts — domestic, business client and subcontract.
Each contract starts with a box that says what to check before you use it, then the parties, the works, the price and payment, and the dates, followed by numbered terms written in plain English.
What comes with every document
The same six things come with a single document or the whole library.
Fill it your way
Guided PDFs with a tooltip on every field, or complete it online. Type your site once and every document in the pack opens with it filled in.
Your logo on every page
Upload it once. It prints at the top of every page of every document you download, included with any purchase.
The law, cited
Each document shows the regulation it rests on. Check our working.
Yours to keep
No subscription, no login, no expiry. Revisions included.
Written from the approving side
By a contractor who reviews subcontractor submissions, and sends them back.
Kept current, free
Every source is re-checked monthly. A change that matters raises a revision, and you get it free.
How it works
Four steps, in this order.
- 1
Choose
A single document, a bundle for one hazard, or a pack for your trade or sector. Pay once.
- 2
Enter your site once
Site, reference, address, client, principal contractor. Every document in the pack opens with them filled in.
- 3
Add your logo
Upload it once. It prints at the top of every page of every document you download.
- 4
Download it finished
Filled, flattened, licensed to your business. When the law moves, the revision is free.
Legal basis
What these documents are built on.
Printed on the forms themselves, so you and whoever reviews your submission are reading the same references. Law and guidance are kept apart, because they are not the same thing.
Statutory provisions
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 ss.2, 49 to 57 and 62 to 69
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 regs 5, 10, 17, 19, 27 to 36 and Schedule 3
- CDM 2015 reg 7
- Building Regulations 2010 regs 11A, 11C, 11D and 11L
- Party Wall etc. Act 1996 ss.1, 3 and 6
- HGCRA 1996 s.106
- HGCRA 1996 ss.104 to 116
- Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998
- Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.13
- Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 ss.2, 3 and 11
- Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998
- CDM 2015 regs 4 to 6
- Building Regulations 2010 Part 2A
- Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 s.1
- Defective Premises Act 1972 s.6(3)
- Insolvency Act 1986 s.233B
- HMRC CIS 340
- Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 Schedule Parts I and II
- Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 ss.8 and 9
- Finance Act 2004 s.61(1)
- HMRC CIS 340 paras 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 3.2, 3.6, 3.13, 3.14 and 3.15
- Value Added Tax Act 1994 s.55A
- Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 reg 14(1)(o)
- HMRC VAT domestic reverse charge technical guide
- CDM 2015 regs 5 and 15
- Building Regulations 2010 regs 11F, 11J and 11L
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 s.1
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998 reg 3
- Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 ss.4 and 13
- Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 s.15
- Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) Order 2007 arts 3 to 6 and 5B
- Employment Rights Act 1996 s.230(3)
- Procurement Act 2023 ss.68 and 73
- Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994 art 4(3)(a)
- Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 reg 5
HSE guidance, British Standards and industry codes are not statute and carry no force in themselves — they are the standard the document is built to. And citing an instrument is not the same as satisfying it: what discharges the duty is a competent person in your business assessing this job and completing the document properly.
Our one rule
We will not tell you this makes you compliant.
No template can. HSE says it of its own examples: “Do not just copy an example and put your company name to it as that would not satisfy the law and would not protect your employees.” SSIP assessors want risk assessments written for a specific project within the last twelve months, and a generic document with your logo on it is unlikely to pass, whoever sold it to you.
What you are buying is the structure and the prompts — every section the law and HSE guidance expect the document to address, with the reference beside it. The judgement stays yours.
Why we don’t say “compliant”Before you buy
Will the main contractor accept it?
No template can promise that, and we won’t. It is written from the approving side of the desk, but your competent person adapts it to the job and signs it off. That step is what makes it yours.
Is VAT included in the price?
No. Prices are ex VAT; VAT is added at checkout.
What format is it?
A fillable PDF with a tooltip on every field. Or complete it online: type your site once and it downloads finished, with your logo on every page.
What happens when the law changes?
Every source is re-checked monthly. A change that matters raises a revision, and you get it free.
Is it a subscription?
No. Pay once. No subscription, no login, no expiry.