Do you need a written contract for a small job?

↑ Part of the Quoting series · How to quote a job properly

A contract does not have to be written down to be binding. If you and the customer agree the work and the price and you start, there is a contract, whether it was a handshake, a phone call or a text. What a small job without paperwork lacks is not a contract. It lacks evidence of what the contract says, and for a homeowner the law fills every gap you left with terms of its own. A short written quote that the customer accepts closes both gaps, and on most jobs it is all the "contract" you need.

This page sits under our How to Quote a Job Properly guide. It covers what the law assumes when nothing is written, the minimum worth putting in writing on any job, and how to record that the customer agreed.

Part 1What happens when nothing is written

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When a homeowner hires you, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 puts terms into the contract whether or not you wrote any:

• Reasonable care and skill. The work must be done to the standard of a competent trade.
• What you said counts. Anything you told the customer about yourself or the work, which they relied on, can become part of the contract. "That'll last twenty years" is a term if they took you at your word.
• A reasonable price, if no price was fixed. If you never agreed a figure, the customer has to pay a reasonable price and no more. Who decides what is reasonable is the argument you were trying to avoid.
• A reasonable time, if no time was fixed. The same, for when the work will be done.

None of that is unfair. The trouble is that each one is decided after the event, when the job has gone wrong, by whoever is asked to judge it. A written quote decides them in advance, while everyone is still friendly.

There is a second reason for homeowner jobs. If you agree the job at the customer's home, or remotely by phone, email, text or an online acceptance link, the customer usually has a right to cancel for 14 days, and you have to tell them about it in writing. Our guide to the 14-day right to cancel covers what that notice must say.

Part 2The minimum worth writing down

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You do not need a lawyer's contract for a day's work. You need a document that answers the questions that cause arguments. On even the smallest job:

• Who: your business and the customer, with the address of the work.
• What: the work, specific enough that both of you would agree on whether it has been done. "Replace kitchen tap, customer-supplied" beats "kitchen tap".
• What is not included, where it could be misunderstood: making good, decoration, disposal, the parts the customer is supplying.
• The price, and whether VAT is included. A homeowner's price should show the total they will pay.
• When and how to pay, including any deposit and the due date of the balance.
• When the work will be done, even roughly.
• How long the price is valid for. Our guide on how long a quote is valid for covers what to put.
• What happens if things change: extra work is priced and agreed before it is done.

That is a single page. Our guide to what to put in a quote covers each line in more detail, and it is the same list: a good quote, once accepted, is the written contract.

Part 3Record that they agreed

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A written quote proves what you offered. It is the acceptance that turns it into what was agreed, so keep a record of that too:

• A signature and date on the quote, on paper or on screen.
• A reply in writing: an email or a text saying yes to that quote, by its number or date.
• An online acceptance that records who accepted, which version, and when.

Keep the record with the job. A text saying "go ahead" means little on its own. A text saying "go ahead" in reply to a dated quote with a reference number is evidence of a whole agreement.

Part 4When the job is bigger, or commercial

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On larger domestic jobs, a fuller set of written terms earns its place: stage payments, what happens at completion, a defects period, and what happens if either side wants to end the contract early. On commercial and subcontract work, the other side will often send its own terms or a standard-form contract, and the differences between domestic and commercial work start to matter. Read those terms before you sign them, because their payment and retention clauses decide when you are paid.

Common questionsWritten contracts: quick FAQ

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Is a verbal agreement with a customer legally binding?

Yes. If you agreed the work and the price, there is a contract even if nothing was written. What you lack without writing is proof of what was agreed, and on a homeowner job the law fills any gaps with its own terms.

What should a contract for a small job include?

Who the parties are, the work and anything excluded, the price including VAT, when and how to pay, roughly when the work will be done, how long the price stands, and how changes will be handled. An accepted quote that covers those is enough for most small jobs.

Is an accepted quote a contract?

Yes, once the customer accepts it. That is why the quote should carry everything you would want in a contract, and why you should keep the record of their acceptance.

What if I never agreed a price?

For a homeowner, the Consumer Rights Act says they must pay a reasonable price and no more. That leaves the figure open to argument, which is the main reason to fix it in writing first.

Are text messages good enough?

They are better than nothing, and they can be evidence. A text that accepts a specific, dated quote is much stronger than one that just says "go ahead".

This guide is general information for UK tradespeople, current to the best of our knowledge in 2026, and is not tax, accounting or legal advice. Rates, thresholds and how they apply to you change, so confirm your position with HMRC, a qualified accountant or a solicitor before relying on it. TradeDraft accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this guide. Questions: hello@tradedraft.co.uk.