Yes — you can sue a builder for poor workmanship. Work must be carried out with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (and your contract), and defective work breaches both. But whether you win — or better, settle without court — depends almost entirely on what you do in the next few weeks. Here's the ladder, and the mistake that loses cases before they start.
Your legal grounds in plain English
Breach of contract (the work isn't what was agreed, or isn't to a reasonable standard) and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which entitles you to repeat performance — the builder fixing it — or a price reduction where that fails. For dangerous or structural failures, negligence may also apply. Time limits are generous (six years from breach for contract claims) but evidence decays fast; act early.
The 5-step escalation ladder
1. Complain in writing — email, specific, dated, with photos. Ask for rectification and a response deadline. 2. Allow one genuine chance to fix — courts expect it, and many disputes end here. 3. Get independent evidence — before positions harden (see below). 4. Letter before action — the formal pre-action step: the defects, the evidence, the sum, 14 days. Many builders settle at this letter, especially when an expert report is attached. 5. Proceed — small claims for under £10,000 (you can represent yourself), county court above it, or adjudication where the contract provides for it.
The mistake that loses cases: repairing too soon
Once another builder rips out and redoes the work, proving what was wrong — and what rectification genuinely cost — becomes vastly harder. Get the defects independently inspected before any remedial work starts, except where safety demands emergency action. This single decision does more for your claim than any lawyer's letter.
The evidence that actually wins
Photos and your own opinion carry little weight; the builder simply disagrees. What decides these disputes is an independent expert assessment: what's defective, against which standard (Building Regulations, manufacturer specs, good practice), why the builder's work caused it, and what rectification costs. For matters heading to court, that means a CPR Part 35 expert witness report — read when to hire an expert witness for construction defects for timing. For smaller disputes, a specific defect report is often enough to force a settlement.
Costs and realistic routes
Small claims: modest fees, no cost recovery for lawyers — a defect report is your key document. County court: higher stakes, costs partly recoverable, expert evidence usually directed. Adjudication: 28-day decisions where available. Our construction expert witness team supports all three routes across England and Wales.
Dispute brewing? Get the evidence secured before repairs start — expert CV and fixed quote within 24 hours → contact us.
