Redditor asks: Can I withhold a reno contractor’s final payment?

A renovation can be a tricky thing, especially when the client is unhappy with a renovator’s work.

One unhappy client took to Reddit to find out if he can withhold a renovation contractor’s final payment, writing on the r/singapore thread on Friday (Dec 16) “To keep a long story short, my resale reno is ending soon and there are many defects that don’t seem like they will be fixed.”

One example of this kind of issue is the following:

“Defect raised long time ago. Subcon performed a half-fk/band-aid solution. Now other finishing work performed over it, original issue would require significant additional work to rectify.”

Reddit user nicky9499 added that there had been weeks when no work was done, which means that the contractor cannot use the no time/owner rushing” as a valid excuse.

The poster added that it makes no sense for the main contractor to blame the subcontractor, as he is “paying maincon a sizeable amount for project management as well.”

The Redditor also mentioned that the main contractor has “a host” of other quality control and professionalism issues, and that because they are so close to the finishing line, he is “absolutely not letting him do any more rectification work.”

Additionally, the main contractor “seems blissfully or intentionally oblivious to many of these issues,” he added.

The poster then asked: “Has anyone ever withheld final payment, or know someone who did, or know what repercussions may arise, if I choose to withhold the final 5 per cent payment because the money to fix these problems need to come from somewhere just in principle alone I am already against paying this main con the outstanding.”

In the comments, a netizen wrote that yes, this is possible.

Another, however, said no.

One person who had withheld payment and brought the matter to small claims court (and won) shared his story.

However, the warned that “End of the day, the effort and dragged out time from this entire ordeal was not worth it from a monetary stand point. But really just wanted to teach them a lesson cause they were damn guailan. One of the big name firms out there btw, last time always on TV with a rhyme one.”

Another Reddit user who faced the same situation also shared their story.

One commenter asked if the poster can negotiate with the contractor.

/TISG

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