A defect persists and you want to engage another contractor. That may be practically attractive, but the bill is not automatically recoverable from the original contractor. First prepare the legal transition and evidence of the existing condition. This guide concerns repairing construction defects for private and business clients. Where matters are urgent, costs high or repairs stalled, a construction lawyer can assess the step needed before work begins.
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1. Establish what needs repair and why
Create a defined defect list and link each item to the original agreement. State matters not yet established, such as the cause of damp or required load-bearing capacity. A successor contractor may propose broader renovation than necessary to achieve the agreed result. Keep repairs, improvements and new wishes separately identifiable during preparation, including estimated costs for each element.
Collect the contract, drawings, handover documents and earlier repair agreements. Describe which contractor executed the element and who your contracting party is. This is not always the person who made the latest visit. Where needed, have a technical expert establish what must change in the existing condition. A new quotation shows one possible solution but does not itself prove legal responsibility for the problem.
2. Check the opportunity to remedy offered
For post-handover defects for which the contractor is liable, Article 7:759 of the Dutch Civil Code starts from giving the contractor an opportunity to remove them within a reasonable period, subject to the statutory exception based on circumstances. Establish what you specifically reported, what access was offered and the response received. General dissatisfaction with cooperation does not replace that assessment.
Assemble visits and promises in a timeline. Include appointments you moved yourself, access refused and unanswered proposals. Such information may feel unfavourable but is necessary for an accurate assessment. Ask your adviser whether the repair opportunity was sufficiently clear and workable and whether another step is needed before commissioning someone else.
3. Have default and the legal route assessed
The transition may involve substitute damages, termination for breach or another appropriate route. Conversion to substitute damages under Article 6:87 of the Dutch Civil Code has its own requirements, including default where required and written notification. Have the route suitable for your file assessed. Requesting a quotation from a second contractor does not itself perform every legal act potentially necessary towards the first.
Make clear in correspondence whether you still seek repairs or now wish to exercise another claim. Avoid contradictory standard letters. A lawyer can align the wording with earlier correspondence, the seriousness of the breach and the contract. Business construction appointments may involve special conditions and procedures; a consumer model letter should not be copied without substantive adjustment as formal termination or conversion.
4. Limit emergency measures to what the situation requires
An acute safety risk or continuing leak may require rapid protection. Record the threat, why waiting is problematic and possible temporary measures. Warn the original contractor where practicable and obtain expert help for danger. A necessary emergency provision is substantively different from immediately demolishing and replacing the entire component with a dearer system offering extra features.
Keep before-work photographs, urgency messages and the contractor’s invoice. Ask the person carrying out the work to record as specifically as possible what they found and why they took each measure. Even in an emergency, cause, necessity and costs remain relevant to a later claim. This guide therefore gives no general permission to undertake any desired permanent renovation at another’s expense by invoking urgency.
5. Preserve evidence before the works disappear
Repairs may remove exactly the material needed to investigate the earlier work. Arrange an appropriate expert’s inspection before destructive work. Ask which photographs, measurements, samples and descriptions are needed and how they should be retained. Make identifiable the originally present components and changes made by the second contractor so cause and consequence do not later become confused.
In consultation with your adviser, consider inviting the original contractor to a joint inspection. Record the invitation and any response. Agree with the successor how unexpected findings will be documented before work continues. This is file-preparation advice, not a guarantee that a court will consider your evidence sufficient. The other party’s opportunity to respond may also become disputed.
6. Request a defined quotation and monitor costs
Have the replacement quotation distinguish investigation, necessary repairs, finishing and improvements. Request an explanation if a solution goes far beyond the original work. For substantial sums, a second comparison may help if time and safety allow. Record why you choose the method and contractor and which alternatives were rejected on technical or practical grounds during investigation.
Do not assume every amount actually paid can simply be passed on. Liability, connection with the breach and reasonableness of costs may all be contested in a claim. Keep quotations, appointment confirmation, supplementary instructions and invoices together. For business clients, treatment of deductible VAT also deserves attention when calculating loss; have this assessed separately instead of automatically claiming the invoice total.
7. Fictional example: combining repairs with an improvement
An owner wants another contractor to repair a leaking shower. They also choose larger tiles and a different layout. In this fictional example, neither the leak’s cause nor whether the first contractor received sufficient opportunity to remedy has been established. The extent of the second appointment must therefore not be equated with recoverable loss without investigation.
The owner first has the existing condition recorded and requests a quotation separating necessary repairs from desired changes. Their adviser assesses earlier letters and the legal transition. New findings are documented during execution. A supported cost statement can then be prepared with uncertainties and personal improvements still visible. This preparation helps define a claim but does not predict its outcome.
8. Arrange the new appointment and keep the first file open
Record the repair objective, activities, pricing arrangement and documentation with the successor contractor. Discuss who reports unexpected defects and when extra work requires approval. The second contractor has a separate appointment and does not automatically become responsible for every original error. Ensure their instructions align with the technical repair plan and any outstanding investigation into the previous execution.
Keep correspondence with the two contractors separate and maintain a shared timeline. An older agreement and a later repair appointment may also engage different contractual or statutory rules. Give the lawyer the original contract date and all amendments to assess liability and transitional law. Do not close the file when the home becomes usable again: cost recovery and preservation of rights require separate attention.
Frequently asked questions
May I switch contractors after one failed repair attempt?
There is no general rule to that effect. Seriousness, earlier opportunities, the contractor’s response and the circumstances require assessment before the legal transition.
Are the second contractor’s costs automatically damages?
No. Examine liability, the chosen legal route and the necessity and extent of repairs. Improvements and new wishes must remain clearly separate.
What should I keep for an emergency repair?
Document the threatened damage and original condition. Keep messages, expert findings, photographs and itemised costs; have the need for immediate intervention explained.
Sources
These sources relate to this page. For a specific case, check current rules and your own documents.
- ACM ConsuWijzer — niet goed uitgevoerd werk Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7 — artikel 759 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 6 — artikel 87 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Staatsblad 1991, 600 — tekst BW Boek 6 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- IPLO — aansprakelijkheid en Wet kwaliteitsborging Accessed: 2026-10-23
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