Builder has gone bust during your project: what should you do first?
Make the site safe, preserve the records and establish the builder’s actual status before making new payments or replacing them. A company that has stopped attending is not necessarily insolvent. The route for unfinished work, materials and money already paid depends on the legal entity, contract and payment method.
Check the facts
Identify the name and registration number on your contract and invoices. For a limited company, check the official liquidation search and Companies House information. A sole trader has a different position; the Individual Insolvency Register may be relevant in England and Wales. An unanswered phone or rumour is not formal proof. If an insolvency practitioner is appointed, verify their identity through official channels.
Protect the house and evidence
Photograph the whole site, openings, exposed services, materials and any defects.
Arrange urgent weather, security and electrical safety measures with competent people.
Keep the contract, drawings, emails, payment proof, certificates and delivery notes.
List completed work, incomplete work, defects and items that might belong to suppliers or subcontractors.
Tell your home insurer about the changed site condition and ask what protection it requires.
Do not assume materials on site automatically belong to you, particularly if they are unpaid for or supplied on special terms. Avoid removing goods or letting others take them before the ownership position is checked.
Work out the financial position
Prepare a ledger of the agreed price, variations, payments, work properly completed, outstanding work and likely cost to finish. Check payment protection through your card provider, finance provider, warranty or insurance if applicable. Citizens Advice explains options when a company stops trading, but recovery is not guaranteed. Get advice on any claim, termination or new contract before taking a step that could affect your rights.
Restart methodically
A replacement builder needs an independent condition and remaining-works schedule, access to approved design, inspection status and a clear scope for making safe, correcting defects and completion. Their price is unlikely to equal the unpaid balance of the first contract. Read what to do when a builder leaves and how to recalculate the cost to finish.
Build Advocate can help a homeowner establish the practical state of the work and the next construction steps. Legal rights, insolvency claims and specialist safety decisions need the relevant qualified advisers. See the Rescue Initial Assessment and other services.
