Can I refuse to pay for defective work?

Refusing to pay anything at all is only justified if the defects are so serious that the work is not fit for the purpose for which it was commissioned. If the work is usable but has defects, what you can do is withhold the amount it will cost to repair them and pay the rest. That amount must be supported by a report or quotes, because the courts only accept withholding when the defects translate into a figure. If you withhold payment without good reason or more than is needed, the firm can sue you and you will have to pay what you owe with interest and possibly the costs of the proceedings.

Alburquerque Abogados

José Manuel Alburquerque
Civil liability

Withholding is not the same as not paying

A person who commissions building work can stop paying for as long as the firm fails to perform the essentials of the contract. The courts call this a “negativa provisional al pago” (a provisional refusal to pay), because it lasts until the firm performs. It is only available in the event of a serious breach, such as work that is not fit for its purpose.

If the work is usable but has defects, you cannot withhold the whole price. What is accepted is withholding the amount needed to repair them, provided it has been quantified. For example, if 6.000 euros remain to be paid and a quote puts the cost of redoing badly laid tiling at 1.500 euros, the reasonable course is to pay 4.500 euros and withhold 1.500 until it is repaired. If the firm does not repair it, you will be able to deduct that amount from the price.

How to go about it

  • Before you stop paying, get a report from a technical expert or quotes from other firms stating what is wrong and how much it will cost to put right.
  • Tell the firm in writing, by a means that leaves a record, what the defects are, how much you are withholding and why. Pay the rest within the agreed time.
  • Offer to pay the firm the amount withheld as soon as it repairs the defects and suggest a deadline for doing so. An agreement can save you a lawsuit.
  • If the contract provides for part of the price, for example 5 % of the total, to be paid on completion of the work or some time afterwards, what was agreed applies.
  • If the defects are so serious that the work is unusable, or the firm abandons it, you can terminate the contract and claim damages from it.

If the firm claims the price from you

  • In Catalonia it has three years to do so.
  • If you receive a demand for payment from the court, in what is known as a “proceso monitorio” (a fast-track procedure for debt claims), you have twenty working days to file an objection and raise the defects. If you let that time limit pass, you will have to pay what is being claimed and will not be able to ask for it back afterwards.
  • In those proceedings you can raise the defects and ask for the cost of repairing them to be deducted. You will need the report or the quotes.
  • If the judge considers that there was no reason to withhold payment, or that you withheld too much, you will have to pay what you owe with interest. You may also have to pay the costs, which are the other side's expenses in the proceedings.

This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.