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Kaagazaat

Defect Notice to Contractor

At a glance

Price
Free
Stamp duty
Not a stamp-dutiable instrument — a notice, not an agreement or a conveyance.
Registration
Not registrable.
Witnesses
Not required.

Free

Documents are free. Only kits are paid.

Guided questions, full draft on screen, download in Word.

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Also called

  • notice of defects in construction
  • snag list notice
  • workmanship complaint letter to contractor
  • thekedar nu kami da notice
  • ਖ਼ਾਮੀ ਦਾ ਨੋਟਿਸ ਠੇਕੇਦਾਰ ਨੂੰ
  • construction defect complaint
  • notice under defect liability clause

When you need it

A defect appears in construction or interior work — after handover but within the defect liability or warranty period agreed in the contract — and you need to put the contractor on formal written notice, with a clear list of defects and a reasonable time to fix them, before you get someone else to do it and deduct the cost, or take the matter further. Read alongside the construction or interior contract itself, which is where the defect liability period and any retention amount were actually agreed — this notice exercises that clause; it does not create a new one.

Whether you can fill this in here

You can fill this in here

You can fill this one in on this site, and read the whole draft on screen before you decide anything about it. It is a carefully drafted template; it is not advice about your own facts.

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See stamp duty, registration and witnesses

What follows is written for Punjab and Chandigarh. It states the position there rather than describing how it varies, so the amounts below are the ones that apply — worth confirming at the sub-registrar’s office, because rates change. If the property is anywhere else in India, none of this is yours.

Stamp duty

Not a stamp-dutiable instrument — a notice, not an agreement or a conveyance.

Registration

Not registrable.

Notarisation

Not required. Sending it in a way that proves delivery — registered post, courier with acknowledgement, or email with a read receipt where the contract allows notice by email — matters far more than notarising it.

Witnesses

Not required.

Request Stamp Paper

Sample preview — placeholder answers, not your data

To,
Décor Craft Interiors
SCO 212, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh

From:
Anmol Kaur
Flat No. 604, Sector 82, Mohali

Date: 2 April 2026

NOTICE OF DEFECTS

Reference: Interior Work Contract dated 12 March 2026, for work at Flat No. 604, Sector 82, Mohali, handed over on 1 April 2026, carrying a defect liability/warranty period of 12 months from handover.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I/We write to place on record the following defects in the work carried out by you, first noticed/reported on 2 April 2026, which fall within the defect liability/warranty period referred to above:

  1. 1. Water seepage below the kitchen sink, first noticed 3 June 2026.
  2. 2. Two wardrobe shutters in the master bedroom not closing flush.
  3. 3. Cracks in the false ceiling in the living room, appearing within two months of handover.

This has already been raised informally: Raised on a phone call with the site supervisor on 5 June 2026, and again by WhatsApp message on 10 June 2026, with no response

You are called upon to depute your workmen to inspect and rectify the above defects, at your own cost, within 15 days of the date of this notice.

I/we draw your attention to the retention/security amount of ₹80,000 (Rupees Eighty Thousand only) held under the original contract, which remains available to meet the cost of rectification if you do not attend to it within the time given.

Please note that if the defects listed above are not rectified within the time given, I/we will get the defects rectified through another agency and deduct the cost from the retention amount held, or recover it from the Contractor, without further reference to you.

This notice is sent without prejudice to any other right available under the original contract or in law.

Sent by: Registered post with acknowledgement due, and by email to the Contractor’s registered email address

Yours faithfully,

_________________
Anmol Kaur
Mohali, 2 April 2026

What this document is for

A homeowner sends this to a contractor when a defect turns up in construction or interior work, after handover but still within the defect liability or warranty period the original contract promised. It lists the defects specifically, gives the contractor a stated number of days to fix them, and says plainly what happens if that deadline passes.

It exercises a right the underlying construction or interior contract already gives — it is not a fresh claim on its own. Read it together with that contract, which is where the defect liability period and any retention amount were actually agreed.

Stamp paper and registration

Stamp paper needed

No

Typical stamp duty — Punjab

Ask us

Typical stamp duty — Chandigarh

Ask us

Registration at the Sub-Registrar

No — Not registrable — a notice, not an agreement or a conveyance, and not lodged with any registry.

Notary or witnesses

Not required. What actually matters is proof of delivery — registered post, courier with acknowledgement, or email where the original contract allows notice by email — kept for later use if the matter escalates.

What you will need before you start

  • The original construction or interior contract, and the defect liability or warranty period it actually promised
  • The handover/completion date, so you can check the defect falls within that period
  • A specific, itemised list of the defects — room by room or item by item, not a vague complaint
  • Any earlier informal complaint already made, with its date, if you want it on record
  • A decision on what you will actually do if the contractor does not respond — get someone else to fix it and deduct the cost, pursue damages, or go to arbitration/court as the original contract provides

Common mistakes

  • Sending a vague complaint instead of a specific, itemised list of defects — harder to act on and harder to prove later if the matter escalates.
  • Having no proof the notice was actually delivered, which weakens the case if the contractor later denies receiving it.
  • Deducting the repair cost from a retention amount without checking whether the original contract actually allows a unilateral deduction, or requires a certificate or process first.

Questions people ask before using this document

Is this notice a legal claim on its own, separate from our construction contract?

No — it exercises the defect liability or warranty clause the original construction or interior contract already contains. If that period has already expired, or the contract set a different rectification process, this notice on its own has no independent force. Check the original contract's own terms before sending it.

Does it matter how we send this notice?

Yes. Keep proof of delivery — the postal receipt, the courier's proof of delivery, or the email's sending record — whichever method you use. A notice the contractor can credibly claim it never received is of limited use if the matter later goes to arbitration or court.

Can we just deduct the repair cost from money we are still holding back?

Only if the original contract actually gives you that right without a further process — some contracts require a certificate or a specific procedure before a deduction from a retention amount is valid. Confirm what the original contract actually says before deducting unilaterally; doing so without following the agreed process can itself be treated as a breach by the owner.

Does this notice need to be on stamp paper?

No — it is a notice, not an agreement or a conveyance, so it carries no stamp duty of its own.

We are also about to sign a final bill and no-claim letter with the same contractor — does the order matter?

Yes. Do not let a full and final no-claim letter be signed before these defects are actually fixed, or make sure that letter's own defect-liability clause is set to say the defect liability period continues rather than closing it — otherwise the no-claim letter can undercut the very notice you are sending here.

Related documents, and when you would need them

Questions about this document

Does the Defect Notice to Contractor need stamp paper or stamp duty in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Not a stamp-dutiable instrument — a notice, not an agreement or a conveyance.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses
Does the Defect Notice to Contractor need registration in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Not registrable.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses
What does the Defect Notice to Contractor cost on Kaagazaat?

Free.

Documents are free. Only kits are paid.

Does the Defect Notice to Contractor need witnesses?

Not required.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses

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