The agreement, clause by clause
The full structure is below. Read it alongside your own draft and note which groups are missing — that is the useful exercise.
1 · Parties, premises and effective date
- Full legal names, addresses and PAN of both parties.
- The premises identified by flat number, building, society and carpet area.
- Effective date, and a statement that the drawings and BOQ listed in Schedule A form part of this agreement.
- Where the client is not the registered owner, an owner's consent letter is annexed.
2 · Scope of work
- Scope is defined by the BOQ in Schedule A and the drawing set in Schedule B, listed by number and revision date.
- Anything not in Schedule A is out of scope and priced as a variation.
- Exclusions are listed expressly: loose furniture, curtains, appliances, air conditioning, art and society charges.
- Civil work, where included, is bounded by a written scope and a structural undertaking.
3 · Specification and substitution
- Plywood grade named per zone, with IS 303 / IS 710 marking required.
- Laminate, veneer, paint, stone and tile named by brand, code and finish.
- Hardware named by brand and series, with load rating where relevant.
- No substitution without the client's prior written approval; a substitution of equal value still needs consent.
4 · Contract value, GST and variations
- Contract value stated ex-GST, with GST shown separately at the prevailing rate.
- Unit rates for extra work fixed now, in the same units as the BOQ.
- Every variation recorded on a change request form, signed by both parties before the work starts.
- Price validity period stated; escalation, if any, capped and triggered only by a named event.
5 · Payment
- Milestone payments tied to verifiable site events, not to calendar dates.
- Final instalment of not less than 10 per cent payable after snag closure.
- Retention of 5 per cent released after 30 days of occupancy.
- Interest on late payment stated; equally, a remedy for a delayed milestone.
6 · Programme and delay
- Start date, completion date and total working days, with society working hours acknowledged.
- Client-caused delay defined: late approvals, late selections, delayed access, unpaid milestones.
- Contractor-caused delay carries a stated consequence, as liquidated damages or as an extension of warranty.
- Force majeure defined narrowly; ordinary monsoon weather is not force majeure in Mumbai.
7 · Site conduct, insurance and liability
- Society NOC, deposits and rule compliance allocated between the parties.
- Workmen's compensation and third-party liability insurance carried by the contractor.
- Damage to common property is the contractor's liability.
- Material on site is at the contractor's risk until handover.
8 · Warranty, defects and closure
- Warranty periods stated separately for joinery, hardware, waterproofing and finishes.
- Defects liability period with a stated response time for a call-out.
- Handover documents listed: snag closure, warranties, brand schedule, as-built drawings, manuals.
- What voids the warranty listed, and limited to reasonable causes.
9 · Intellectual property, confidentiality and exit
- Design ownership and the client's licence to use the drawings after payment.
- Photography and portfolio use of the completed home requires the client's written consent.
- Termination rights for both parties, with notice, and a method for valuing work in progress.
- Dispute resolution: negotiation, then arbitration seated in Mumbai.
How to use the template
- Attach the schedules. An agreement without an attached BOQ and drawing list is a letter of intent, whatever it is titled.
- Fill the blanks before circulating. Warranty durations, the extra-work rate and the retention period are the three most often left open.
- Have it reviewed if the contract value is above about Rs 15 lakh. This is a structure, not legal advice.
- Keep the drafting notes visible while negotiating and delete them from the signed version.
What a missing clause costs
- No substitution clause. A “equivalent” laminate arrives, and you have no basis to refuse it.
- No definition of client-caused delay. Every delay becomes the contractor's fault, which makes the delay clause unenforceable in practice.
- No photography consent. Your home appears on a portfolio site and you find out from a friend.
Audit any draft against the contract clauses checklist, and read our warranty terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is this template legally binding as written?+
It is a structure, not a completed contract, and it is not legal advice. Filled in properly, signed by both parties and with the schedules attached, an agreement of this shape is enforceable in India. Have a lawyer read it before signing anything of consequence.
What are Schedules A and B?+
Schedule A is the BOQ — the measured schedule of work that defines scope. Schedule B is the drawing set, listed by drawing number and revision date. Together they are what makes the agreement specific. Without them, clause two says almost nothing.
Should the design fee be inside the same agreement?+
On a design-and-build contract, yes, shown as a separate line so it is visible. If you are appointing a designer separately from a contractor, use two agreements — the designer's obligations and the contractor's are different, and mixing them makes both harder to enforce.
What warranty durations are reasonable?+
Ten years on plywood carcass, three to five on laminate and surface finishes, five to ten on waterproofing, three on electrical and plumbing installation, and the manufacturer's term on hardware. State them separately by element; a single blanket figure is usually either meaningless or unaffordable.
Where should disputes be resolved?+
Negotiation first, then arbitration seated in Mumbai under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Naming the seat matters. An agreement that is silent on dispute resolution defaults to the civil courts, which for an interior dispute is slower than the project itself was.