I’ve written many articles for this magazine, but this topic is one close to my heart. Paying builders and trades on time is a huge issue for us. It may surprise you, but everyone I know in the building trade has suffered with not being paid on time or even at all. There are many reasons for this, and I’ll go through them to help explain so this situation never arises for you when employing tradespeople.
Paperwork and preparation are key and will help prevent problematic situations. Get this right and the job should run smoothly. There are no official rulings about payment terms or anything around this often-sticky area. For that reason alone, even on a small job, I recommend drawing up a contract.
