As a general contractor who owns and runs a construction company, you often hire subcontractors to help you with various jobs. You do more of the managing and making sure everything happens properly than the physical work.
But what if you hire someone and you can quickly see that their work just isn’t up to your standards? Maybe they tend to show up late, rush through the job and then leave with questionable results. You know that the quality of the project all comes back to you, so you can’t stand for this low effort and these poor results. Do you still have to pay? What can you do?
Pay for completed work
Unless the subcontractor has wildly violated their contract in some way, you typically do have to pay for the work they have done. Even so, the initial contract you had them sign should have said they could be released for poor results, so you can tell them not to return and then you can find a replacement.
The key is to make sure you have a solid contract from the beginning. Make it very clear that you get to determine whether or not the quality is what you desire. Otherwise, the subcontractor may claim that the work is fine and will pass inspection. But that doesn’t mean it still fits with the level of quality you want, so you need the right to break the contract even if the work may technically have passed the inspection.
If this does lead to a dispute, your reputation may be on the line, along with your bottom line. Be sure you know about all of the legal options you have.
