A deposit should only ever cover something real and specific — materials the builder has to order and pay for in advance, or a fee for reserving your slot in their diary. It should never be a round percentage of the whole contract handed over before any work starts on site.
What a deposit is actually for
In a normal domestic building contract, money should follow work. A deposit is the one exception, and it is only a sensible exception when it is tied to something concrete: a kitchen supplier who needs 25% down before they will manufacture units, a window company that orders bespoke frames to your measurements, or a specialist who needs materials on order weeks before your start date.
A legitimate deposit request usually comes with a name attached to it — you can ask to see the supplier's own quotation or order confirmation, and in many cases you can pay the supplier directly rather than routing the money through the builder at all. That single change removes a large amount of risk without upsetting a builder who has nothing to hide.
A slot-reservation deposit, sometimes charged by busy tradespeople to stop homeowners booking multiple builders for the same start date and then cancelling, is a different but also legitimate idea. It should be small relative to the job and should be described as exactly that in writing.
Why a percentage-of-contract deposit is the biggest avoidable risk
The single riskiest request in domestic building work is being asked for a percentage of the whole contract — 20%, 30%, sometimes half — before a single tool has touched your property. There is no material or labour cost that this covers, because no work has happened yet.
If the builder disappears, becomes ill, goes out of business, or simply turns out not to be up to the job, that money is gone. You are an unsecured creditor with no leverage, because you have already paid for work you have not received. Recovering it typically means a small claims court action against someone who may have no assets and no fixed address.
Genuine, busy, well-run building firms are usually the ones with the least need to ask for large advance sums, because they have a stream of previous jobs paying them as work is completed. A demand for a large upfront percentage is more often a sign of cash-flow trouble, or of someone who has no intention of finishing the job at all.
Paying against a supplier's own quotation
Where a deposit genuinely reflects a supplier cost — a bespoke staircase, roof trusses, a boiler on order — ask for the supplier's own paperwork showing the amount and the order. Where possible, pay that supplier directly by bank transfer or card using the account details on their own invoice, not details relayed to you by the builder.
This does two things. It confirms the cost is real rather than invented, and it removes the builder as a step in the chain where money could go missing. Most reputable builders are entirely comfortable with a homeowner paying a named supplier directly; reluctance to allow this is worth asking about.
Card versus bank transfer: what protection actually exists
How you pay changes what protection you have if things go wrong. Paying by credit card for goods or services costing over £100 and up to £30,000 can bring a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which makes the card provider jointly liable with the trader — this only applies to credit cards, not debit cards, and only within that value band.
Debit card and credit card payments below the Section 75 threshold, or where you want your bank to try to reverse a payment, may be eligible for chargeback, a scheme run by card networks rather than a legal right, so outcomes vary and time limits apply.
A bank transfer (Faster Payments) has essentially none of this protection once the money has left your account — if it goes to the wrong or a fraudulent account, getting it back depends on your bank's own fraud processes and the account it landed in still holding funds. Citizens Advice publishes up-to-date guidance on payment protection for consumers, which is worth reading before agreeing how a deposit will be paid: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/
Account-change fraud: a specific scam to watch for
A well-documented fraud involves an email that appears to come from your builder, arriving shortly before a payment is due, saying their bank details have changed. The email address is spoofed or the builder's own email account has been compromised. Homeowners have paid substantial deposits into fraudulent accounts this way with no realistic route to recovery.
Treat any change of bank details as a red flag regardless of how convincing the email looks. Confirm any new account by phoning the builder on a number you already have — not a number in the email — before sending anything.
How the deposit fits into the wider payment schedule
A deposit, if there is one at all, is only the first line of a payment schedule. The rest of the money should be released in stages that match visible, checkable progress on site, with a final amount retained until defects are fixed after completion. See our stage payment schedule guide for how to structure the rest of the contract once the deposit question is settled.
What to put in writing before you pay anything
Before any deposit changes hands, get in writing: the exact amount, what it specifically covers, whose bank account it is going to and why, and how it will be accounted for against the final bill. A one-paragraph email confirming this, agreed by both sides, is enough to remove most of the ambiguity that later turns into a dispute.
Practical checklist
- Ask what the deposit specifically pays for, in writing
- Request the supplier's own quotation for any materials the deposit covers
- Where practical, pay the named supplier directly rather than via the builder
- Treat any request for a round percentage of the whole job as a serious warning sign
- Check whether the builder is VAT registered and whether that matches how they invoice
- Confirm the bank account name matches the trading name on the quotation
- Never change payment details based on an email alone — phone to confirm
- Understand whether you are paying by credit card, debit card or bank transfer, and what protection each gives
- For amounts over £100 on a credit card, check whether Section 75 could apply
- Ask the builder how they usually structure payments on similar jobs
- Keep every payment request and confirmation in writing, not just verbal agreement
- Get a receipt or acknowledgement for every payment made
- Check the deposit amount against the size of the whole job — is it proportionate?
- Ask what happens to the deposit if you cancel before work starts
- Ask what happens to the deposit if the builder cancels or cannot start
Good and bad examples
What good looks like
A builder asks for £1,800 towards a bespoke staircase, attaches the joinery supplier's own order confirmation showing that exact figure, and is happy for the homeowner to pay the joinery firm directly using the bank details on their invoice.
What to push back on
A builder asks for 30% of a £40,000 extension — £12,000 — transferred to their personal bank account before scaffolding has even been booked, with no supplier invoice, no written breakdown, and no start date confirmed.
Worked example
Illustrative example only: how a deposit might sit within a wider schedule for a £15,000 job
| Stage | What it covers | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Named kitchen units on order with supplier | £1,200 (paid direct to supplier) |
| On start | Site set-up, first fix begins | £3,000 |
| Mid-point | Structural work complete, verified on site | £6,000 |
| Near completion | Second fix and finishes complete | £3,600 |
| Retention | Held back until snagging resolved, typically 2–5 weeks later | £1,200 |
Commonly missed items
- No written confirmation of what a deposit actually covers
- No supplier paperwork to back up a materials-based deposit
- No agreed process for confirming a change of bank details
- No mention of what happens to the deposit if either party pulls out
- No record of how the deposit is deducted from the final invoice
Warning signs
- Being asked for a percentage of the whole contract before work starts
- Pressure to pay quickly, by bank transfer only, before you've had time to check anything
- An email mid-project saying bank details have changed
- Reluctance to let you pay a named supplier directly
- No written record of what the deposit is for
- A personal bank account rather than a business account for a registered company
Questions to ask
- What exactly does this deposit pay for?
- Can I see the supplier's own quotation for this?
- Can I pay the supplier directly instead of paying you?
- What happens to my deposit if you can't start on the agreed date?
- What happens if I need to cancel before work begins?
- How will the deposit be shown on my final invoice?
- What's the account name I should expect to see on your bank details?
When to seek professional advice
- If you've already paid a deposit and the builder has gone quiet with no start date
- If you're asked to send money to a different account than previously agreed
- If you suspect you've paid a fraudulent account, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud
- If a dispute over a deposit can't be resolved directly, Citizens Advice can explain your consumer rights options
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
- Is it normal to pay a builder a deposit?
- It can be normal where the deposit covers something specific, such as materials the builder must order and pay for in advance. It is not normal, and is risky, to pay a large percentage of the whole job simply to secure a start date with nothing tangible behind it.
- What percentage deposit should I pay a builder?
- There is no fixed percentage that is automatically safe, because a deposit should be based on an actual cost — such as a named supplier's invoice — rather than a proportion of the contract. If a builder quotes a percentage rather than a specific covered cost, ask them to break it down.
- Can I get my deposit back if the builder doesn't turn up?
- It depends how you paid and what was agreed in writing. A credit card payment between £100 and £30,000 may be covered by Section 75; a bank transfer generally is not protected in the same way. This is why keeping a clear written record of what the deposit was for matters so much.
- Should I pay a deposit by bank transfer or card?
- Where you have the choice and the amount qualifies, a credit card offers stronger legal protection through Section 75. Bank transfer offers almost none once the money has left your account, so it is worth checking the trading name and bank details carefully before sending anything that way.
- What if a builder suddenly asks me to pay a different bank account?
- Treat this as a serious warning sign of possible fraud. Do not pay until you have confirmed the change by phoning the builder on a number you already have, not one supplied in the email.
Builder Proof UK publishes general educational information for homeowners. It is not legal, structural, surveying, planning, electrical, gas, insurance or financial advice, and it does not replace advice from a suitably qualified professional for your specific project.