What to Do If a Contractor Abandons a Job in Denver & Colorado Springs

You hired a contractor, paid them, and then the contractor abandoned the job. Now you’re facing a half-completed project and limited funds.

Colorado homeowners encounter this problem more often than they should. If you’re wondering what you can do if a contractor doesn’t complete work, our real estate attorneys have the answer.

A contractor can face legal action if they abandon a project without a legal right to terminate the contract. However, legal justifications exist for walking off a job, such as:

• The contract contains a provision for nonpayment.

• Injury of one or more key laborers or subcontractors.

• An inability to acquire key materials.

These are just a few examples; however, none of them has to lead to a contract cancellation and subsequent legal action.

If your contractor has walked off the job, you might consider these options before filing a lawsuit.

Try to talk to your contractor to see if a resolution is possible. Can the contractor’s issues with your project be addressed with a temporary delay? Are you willing to mutually part ways with the contractor in return for a partial refund?

Most professional contractors are licensed and may be bonded. A bond is an insurance policy licensed professionals are required to carry. It pays out claims to clients who have been harmed by the contractor’s failure to do their job.

If your contractor is bonded, you can file a complaint with their licensing board against their surety bond to get at least a partial reimbursement for damages or costs.

Keep a record of your attempts to contact your contractor. Save text messages and emails, even if the contractor doesn’t reply. Save invoices. Take pictures of the project's state. Hopefully, you took photos before and during the work. 

If you can’t work out a way to get your contractor back on the job, you can end the work relationship and treat the situation as a breach of contract.

If the contractor indicates they will not perform the work that is due—called anticipatory repudiation of the contract—then you’re justified in treating the contract as having been breached. 

Finally, if the contractor has made it clear through words or action that they do not intend to perform their contractual duties—a “repudiation” of the contract—you can claim a breach of contract and seek legal remedies.

Depending on how much money you’re trying to recover, you’ll decide whether to go to small claims court or hire an attorney.

Small claims court is an option if your damages do not exceed $7,500, as that’s the most you can recover. If your losses exceed $7,500, your best course of action is to hire a litigator with experience in Colorado contractor breach law. 

An attorney will help you determine if a lawsuit is worth pursuing. In many scenarios, when a contractor fails to finish a project, they can be held liable for your damages, including the costs you incur in completing the project beyond the contracted amount.

In order to file a lawsuit, you must demonstrate that the individual contractor or company you’re suing failed to fulfill contractual duties. Either they:

• didn’t complete the work as agreed upon (breach of contract), or

• did work that failed to meet reasonable or industry standards.

You and your attorney will build a case around the scope of work in your contract. Knowing the answers to the following questions will prepare you for the meeting with your attorney:

• How much of the work did the contractor abandon in relation to the scope of work described in the contract?

• How much have you already paid the contractor?

• What is the balance you owe?

• Did the contract contain a provision that would justify stopping the project? Often, the contractor’s first defense is that he was prevented from completing the project.

• Besides abandoning the job, could another factor have caused an indefinite delay?

If you win a judgment in a simple contractor default case, the damages are straightforward: The contractor must reimburse you the cost of repairing or completing the work they abandoned.

Example: You hired a contractor for a kitchen and laundry room renovation and paid in full up front. Partway through, the contractor abandoned the job, and you had to bring in someone else to finish it. Because you overpaid for unfinished contractor work and had extra costs to complete the project, the original contractor may owe you compensation for both the incomplete work and the additional expenses — plus any attorney fees or legal costs allowed under your contract.

If a contractor took funds designated for your project and diverted them elsewhere, they could be liable for three times the actual damages—called treble damages—and possibly theft charges.

It follows that if a contractor takes all the money for a project up front but leaves the job unfinished, they have possibly violated the trust fund statute. 

Let’s go back to the example from above. The contractor already owed you money for abandoning the project, but ignored your earlier requests for repayment. Because of that, the damages may increase significantly. Instead of owing only the original amount, the contractor now faces a much larger judgment that includes penalties, attorney fees, costs, and interest allowed under the law.

It can be incredibly frustrating to deal with a contractor that doesn’t complete work, especially when you’re left with limited recourse. Our real estate litigation attorneys take on all contractors attempting to exploit Colorado homeowners. If you want to know your legal options if a contractor abandons a job, we can help. Contact our real estate litigation attorneys to discuss your legal options. We handle contractor abandonment cases in the Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas.