Defects liability period (DLP)

The defects liability period is the window after practical completion - typically 12 months - during which the contractor must return and rectify defects, and during which the final portion of retention is usually held.

Two pieces of drafting decide whether a DLP is ordinary or punishing. First, whose completion starts it: your trade's completion, or the head contract's, which can be months later. Second, whether rectifying a defect RESTARTS the period for that work - restart drafting can extend the tail, and the retention held against it, well beyond the period you priced.

Why it matters to subbies

Your retention waits on the DLP's end. A 12-month period tied to head-contract completion with restart drafting can hold your money for two years or more - price it, or negotiate a fixed outside date.

General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice - contract drafting and state legislation vary and change; your document and your state's Act govern. Written by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.