How much deposit should a builder ask for in Scotland?
Payments should broadly track the work done and materials supplied. A small deposit for materials may be reasonable, but a large sum paid up front is risky.
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Building and home improvement contract (Scotland)
A home improvement building contract records what work is to be done and for what price, how stage payments fall due, when the job starts and finishes, how any changes are agreed and costed, who handles permissions and insurance, and how defects are dealt with. Homeowners engaging a builder also have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that no contract term can take away.
When you need one
Have one in place for an extension, a loft conversion, kitchen or bathroom work, roofing or a renovation, and preferably before you hand over any deposit.
What it should contain
Specification and drawings
Precisely what is to be built, to which standard, using which materials.
Price and stage payments
Either a set price or clearly stated rates, paid in instalments linked to finished work and never far ahead of it.
Timetable
When work starts and must finish, and the effect of any overrun.
Variations
Any change is agreed in writing, with its price, before it is carried out.
Permissions and regulations
Responsibility for building control approval and planning permission.
Defects
A set period following completion during which the builder has to remedy defects, in some cases secured by a retention.
Points specific to Scotland
- The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies in Scotland. Many works need a building warrant from the local authority before they start, and a completion certificate afterwards.
Different rules can apply elsewhere in the UK: see the England and Wales version of this guide.
Common mistakes
- Handing over a substantial deposit at the outset, before any work starts or materials arrive.
- Settling changes by word of mouth, then arguing over the cost.
- Without a written specification, there is no way of proving what was promised.
View a specimen building and home improvement contract, a brief example showing its structure and main clauses in the layout the app produces.
Quick answers
What if the builder does poor work in Scotland?
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a homeowner can insist that the work is done again or seek a reduction in the price, and these rights sit alongside anything the contract provides.
Prepare your building and home improvement contract today
Be Contract Wise (Scotland)'s powerful, carefully prepared drafting tools turn a short set of plain-English questions into a building and home improvement contract under Scots law, laid out to a professional standard, with an explanation of every clause. Simple or complex, export to Word or PDF.
Start drafting — freeBrowse all guidesReviewed 2026-09-24. General legal information about Scots law, not legal advice.