Deadline- or Contract Extension

You may need a contract extension agreement because
almost every building or remodeling project will take longer than anticipated.

The contractor and homeowner should firstly be realistic when drawing up the construction schedule. They should agree on an allowance for bad weather days and specify that in the schedule.

Hourglass

For the contractor it will be especially important to get any extension in writing, lest he be held liable for penalties as may be applicable according to his contract.

Our free contractor agreement makes provision for deadline extension if done so in writing and signed by the homeowner.

Please Note:
Links to all the related information and more free legal forms for contracting can be found on our main Contractor page.

Deadline Extension Amendment

The parties to this Deadline Extension Amendment are:

__________________________________________________

"The Owner"

AND

__________________________________________________

"The Contractor"

1. Whereas the parties entered into a Contractor Agreement on

the ______day of__________________________20____

and hereby agree to extend the deadline as stipulated in paragraph 4

of said agreement by______________days.

2. The parties agree that liquidated and ascertained damages as in paragraph 4.5 of the same agreement shall only become effective after the amended deadline as stated above.

Signed at_______________________________

on this _________day of__________________________20____.

Owner: _________________________________

Signed at_______________________________

on this _________day of__________________________20____.

Contractor: _________________________________

***

The contract extension form supplied here can be adapted to cover agreements between contractor and subcontractor or employer and independent contractor. Take note of the paragraphs referenced in our extension agreement and edit it according to your contractor agreement.

And one more thing...

Contract Extension and Variation Orders

If the homeowner has a good working relationship with the contractor, any changes to the planned construction should not cause major friction since the homeowner totally understands that this may require additional time for the project to be completed.

The problem is that the homeowner's perception of the costs involved may not be in line with that of the builder or the market.

For example:

The contractor made provision in his pricing for replacing the plumbing in a bathroom and duly completed this work.
The homeowner then decides the placement of the faucets will not work with the fixtures he bought and requests moving the plumbing points.
The contractor obliges and adds an amount for this labor which may be substantially more than the homeowner anticipated. Presented with this fait accompli the homeowner feels hard done by or taken advantage of.

The solution is very simple: Discuss the Variation Order, agree on a price and then note it in writing - signed by both parties. You could simply add a couple of lines to your Contract Extension agreement to make provision for this.

E.g.
3. The parties agree to the following Variation Orders and their associated costs:
3.a. Repositioning of bathroom plumbing - $_______
3.b. Repainting of hall area to newly specified color - $________
etc.