What can I do when a contractor stops showing up?

When a contractor stops showing up, start a paper trail and stop paying. Write down the dates they were absent, send a dated written request that names a return date, and hold back further payments until the work resumes. If the silence drags on, Virginia's Board for Contractors treats a long unjustified stop as a violation you can report.

Is it abandonment or just a delay?

A few quiet days are not abandonment. Weather, a backordered window or a failed inspection can pause a job, and the contractor should still be telling you what is happening. The Board's regulations define abandonment as "the unjustified cessation of work under the contract for a period of 30 days or more."^[2]

Two details matter. The word is "unjustified": the Board's minimum terms for a written residential contract include a plain-language clause on events beyond the contractor's control, and delays caused by such events do not constitute abandonment and are not included in calculating timeframes for payment or performance.^[2] Read that clause in your contract. The contract is also supposed to state when work is to begin and the estimated completion date,^[2] which gives you a yardstick for how late the job really is.

The Board lists related violations too: the intentional and unjustified failure to complete work contracted for or to comply with the terms in the contract, and the retention or misapplication of funds paid, for which work is either not performed or performed only in part.^[2] Those apply even when the contractor has not been gone a full 30 days.

What to do in the first week

Make contact in writing. DPOR advises that you address all problems or complaints directly to your contractor in writing, so that you both have a record.^[1] A phone call that goes to voicemail is not a record. Send an email or text, and a letter if the contract names a mailing address for notices, asking for a start date and the reason for the gap. Keep it short and factual.

Stop the money. DPOR's guide says to never let your payments get ahead of the contractor's work, and to make payments during the project contingent on completed tasks, so that if the contractor is behind schedule your payments are delayed.^[1] If a draw is overdue, pay only for work that is finished and, where the contract ties payment to it, inspected. The guide also says not to pay 100% of the total bill until the work is 100% complete.^[1]

Record the state of the job. Date-stamped photographs and video of every room and exterior area, plus a list of materials delivered and stored on site, protect you in any later dispute. Note anything left unsafe, such as open walls, exposed wiring or missing weather protection, and ask the contractor in writing to make it safe.

Do not agree to changes by text alone. The Board requires that any modification to the contract that changes the cost, materials, work to be performed, or estimated completion date must be in writing and signed by all parties.^[2] If the contractor reappears with a new price or schedule, put it on a signed change order.

If the contractor does not come back

Send a second written notice that gives a firm deadline and says what you will do next. Then you have several routes, and they can run side by side.

• File a complaint with the Board. DPOR's rule is that a report must be made in writing and received by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) within three years of the act, omission, or occurrence behind it.^[3] In some cases DPOR offers Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is free, voluntary, confidential, and non-adversarial,^[3] and can bring a contractor back to the table. Our guide to filing a complaint against a contractor walks through the form and what happens next.
• Know the limit of that route. DPOR and its boards cannot require any individual or business to refund money, correct deficiencies, or provide other personal remedies.^[3] The Board can discipline a licensed contractor, but a refund generally needs a court judgment.
• Look at the Recovery Fund. It pays only after a court judgment, and only for improper or dishonest conduct. The term "improper or dishonest conduct" does not include mere breach of contract, and State law limits a single Recovery Fund claim to $30,000.^[4] Read how the Recovery Fund works before assuming a missed deadline qualifies.
• Speak to an attorney. DPOR's own guide suggests you may also wish to consult an attorney when a contractor will not fix a problem.^[1] A lawyer can tell you whether your contract lets you terminate, what notice it requires and how to claim any money you are owed.

Getting the job finished

Before a new contractor starts, confirm the licence and class and share the permit, plans and your payment record. Expect the new firm to inspect completed work and to price correcting anything wrong, and to take responsibility only for what it does. A clear written scope of what is done and what remains keeps the two contractors' work apart. See what a general contractor does on a home project for the duties you should be getting from the replacement, and what a general contractor charges before you compare quotes.

When to call a licensed pro

Finishing the work is a job for a licensed contractor, not for you. Verify any replacement on DPOR's License Lookup before you sign, and use a written contract that follows the Board's rules. If the original firm held a Virginia licence, that licence number is the one to include in your complaint to DPOR.

Loclis lists licensed businesses with their licence number and class. Browse remodeling and general contracting services, read more remodeling answers, and compare tips for hiring before the next deposit.

To get the job finished, describe it once and licensed local businesses quote it.