Punch list template and final payment: stop a small list holding your last check

Published November 4, 2026 · Template and sources checked November 2026

• Free. The files come by email.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). One section, the one before the FAQ, says what it does with a punch list and what it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. The state rules below are general information read from the statutes in November 2026; your state's law and your lawyer have the last word.

A punch list template is the sheet you and the customer fill in at the final walkthrough: every small thing left to finish or fix, room by room, signed by both of you. A short list stops holding your last check when the contract defines "done", sets the walkthrough date, closes the list once it's signed, and lets the customer hold back only what the open items are worth, up to a cap. This template puts a dollar value on each item, so the holdback is a number you can both read. In the kitchen example below it's $804.38 of a $4,860 final payment, not the whole thing.

Get the spreadsheet two ways: make your own copy in Google Sheets or download the Excel version (.xlsx). It has a blank Punch list tab, a Customer copy tab you both sign at the walkthrough, a filled-in kitchen example and a Notes tab with the contract lines to copy. The walkthrough form for your clipboard is a separate file: PDF, Word (.docx) or a Google Docs copy. Pick a format, enter your email and I'll send the links.

Here's the problem it's for. In October an owner posted on r/Contractor: "We completed a 480 SF concrete patio project, and the client later noticed a small crack. We went back and repaired it, but the client is still unhappy and is refusing to pay the remaining $6,000 balance for the entire project because of that crack."¹ The thread drew 186 comments, most of them about liens and small claims. A handyman had the same thing happen in August. "During the final walkthrough, he seemed happy overall and only asked for a few touch-ups, which were completed." A few days later the customer called the work sloppy and sat on the last $3,000. The top reply, with 245 votes: "You did a walkthrough that was successful, and the issues that were identified during walkthrough were corrected. You state that fact, and you demand final payment."² Good advice, and a lot easier to back up with a list the customer signed.

I opened the free templates on page 1 of Google first. The top result, AI Lawyer's, is a table of item number, description, location, responsible party, due date, status and notes, with a sign-off block at the bottom.³ Mitti's, GoCanvas's and Jotform's track the same kind of thing. That's fine for tracking. None of the four has a column for what an item is worth, so none of them tells you how much of the final payment a list can hold. This one does.

The five contract lines that stop a punch list holding your final payment

These go into your terms before the next job, not at the walkthrough. Fill the brackets with your own numbers. They're in the spreadsheet's Notes tab too, ready to paste.

1. What "done" means

If the contract doesn't define done, done is whatever the customer says it is. Owners tie it to the inspection: "you can (should) have a contract clause that final payment is contingent on passing inspection,"⁴ and "Work isn't done til it passes final inspection and the job site is clean."⁵ The usual term for this stage is substantial completion. Minnesota's statute has a plain definition worth borrowing: the date construction is "sufficiently completed so that the owner or the owner's representative can occupy or use the improvement for the intended purpose."⁶

Clause: "The work is substantially complete when [the final inspection has passed, where one is required, and] the [kitchen] can be used for its intended purpose, with only punch-list items left."

In Massachusetts and New Jersey this line does more work. Massachusetts says "No final payment shall be demanded until the contract is completed to the satisfaction of the parties thereto,"⁷ and New Jersey makes it unlawful to ask for the final payment or a signed completion certificate "before the home improvement is completed in accordance with the terms of the contract."⁸ So in those two states, put a substantial-completion payment in the schedule (the balance minus the holdback, due at the walkthrough) and make the final payment the holdback itself, due when the list is done.

2. A date for the walkthrough

Set it in the contract: within a few days of substantial completion, with both of you there. Without a date the walkthrough drifts for weeks, and the list grows while it does.

Clause: "Within [5] days of substantial completion we'll walk the job together and write a punch list. We both sign it at the end of the walkthrough."

3. A deadline for the list

The list needs an end. One owner's version: "Client gets a copy of the punch list, makes any additions and SIGNS it. Punch list gets knocked out and payment is then due."⁹ Anything the customer notices after the list is signed is a warranty item. It still gets fixed. It just doesn't reopen the final payment.

Clause: "The signed punch list is the complete list. Anything noticed after it's signed is handled under the warranty in section [x] and doesn't change the final payment."

4. A holdback of only what the list is worth

Owners who write a cap use numbers like these. "My new contract states clients cannot withold more than 1% or 2K (whatever is higher) for punch list."¹⁰ Another: "I will allow them to withhold 10% of the final draw but thats 10% of the final draw, not the entire job."¹¹ On the patio thread one reply put it as "10% deficiency holdback is standard if needed."¹² And some owners won't allow one at all: "there's no "hold back" for a punch list. I'm either done, or I'm not."¹³

I'd tie it to the items rather than a flat percentage. Each open item holds back its value times 1.5, and the total can't pass the cap. A $73.75 grout cleanup holds back $110.63, not the check. When an item is done and initialed, its share gets paid. The 1.5 covers the customer's worry that someone else would charge more to fix it. Pick your own multiple, but write one down.

Clause: "At the walkthrough the balance is due less a holdback of [1.5] times the value of each open punch-list item, up to [5]% of the contract price or $[1,000], whichever is higher. Each item's share is paid when that item is done."

Keep the last payment small to begin with. "Typical practice is to have progress payments along the way so that only 5-10% remain for punch list closeout."¹⁴ One remodeler's schedule ends with "5% upon completion of punch list."¹⁵ Setting the earlier payments is covered on the construction estimate template page.

5. Nothing else holds the final payment

Say what doesn't count: items that aren't on the signed list, extras the customer asks for (those are change orders), and warranty items. Then ask for reasons in writing: if the customer holds money back, they name the item and the amount. Virginia's and New Jersey's prompt-payment laws already ask owners for something like that (state section below), and it's a fair line anywhere.

Clause: "The final payment isn't held for items that aren't on the signed list, for extras (those are change orders) or for warranty items. If you withhold any amount, tell us in writing which item and how much within [7] days."

How to run the final walkthrough

The printable form is your final walkthrough checklist. Here's how I'd use it.

• Who comes. You, or the lead who ran the job, and the person who signs the checks. If two people decide, get both, or the second one starts a new list next week. Subs don't need to be there. Their items go on the list with their name.
• When. After the final inspection and the final clean, in daylight, on the date in the contract.
• What to bring. The scope, every signed change order, the form, painter's tape and your phone for photos.
• Write every item. Walk room by room in the order of the scope and write down everything the customer points at, including the things you'd argue with. A written item has a size and a price. A complaint nobody wrote down has no end.
• Number it, photograph it, give it a type. Unfinished, defect, damage, extra or later. An extra is the customer asking for something the contract doesn't include: write it, mark it X and send a change order. Don't price it out loud in the hallway.
• Value it before you leave (next section), so the holdback is settled the same day.
• Both sign the list, and leave the customer a copy.

Some items aren't defects at all. Concrete cracks, wood moves, drywall settles. If your contract excludes them, say so on the list and value the item anyway. From the patio thread: "Our contracts have a line saying, "Owner agrees that __ Construction does not warranty against cracks in any and all concrete slabs.""¹⁶ If the customer still disagrees, mark the item disputed. It then holds back its value times 1.5, which for a hairline crack is the price of a patch, not $6,000.

The signatures matter more than anything else on the form. "Next time… have a document signed by customer that all punch list items were addressed to their satisfaction," was one owner's advice to a contractor whose customer wanted to cut the last payment in half.¹⁷ The form has two signature lines: one when you write the list, one when it's done and the holdback is released. Send the invoice for what's due now the same day you sign the first one.

Valuing each punch list item: a kitchen example

An item's value is what it costs to finish or fix it: your hours times your rate for small work, plus materials. For an item a sub fixes, use the sub's price for the return trip. If the items need a trip of their own, add the trip as an item too. Your minimum charge is a fair value for it, and the handyman price list shows how owners set one. To price a list of small jobs before the work starts, use the handyman estimate template, which has a filled-in punch list quote.

The Example tab is the walkthrough of a kitchen remodel. Every number is made up to show the math, not a benchmark. Contract total with change orders: $48,600. Paid by the walkthrough: $43,740, so the final payment is $4,860. Rate for punch work: $85 an hour. Holdback: 1.5 times each open item's value, capped at 5% of the contract or $1,000, whichever is higher, which comes to $2,430.

So at the walkthrough the customer pays $4,055.62 and holds $804.38 against five open items worth $536.25. As each one is done and initialed, its share is paid. Without the clause the same list could have held all $4,860. The outlet is a $215 change order and the nail pop is a warranty visit; neither touches the final payment. The spreadsheet's check column flags item 4, because it's done but the customer hasn't initialed it.

When they hold the whole final payment over a small item

Keep it short, and keep it on paper.

1. Offer to fix it, in writing, with a date. If you already went back, say when and attach the photos.
2. Send one clear letter. The signed list, what's done and initialed, what's open and its value, the holdback your contract allows, the amount due now and the date you expect it. Ask them to name in writing any item they're holding money for, and how much. On the patio thread the advice was a certified letter, "very professional, not threatening, simply stating a fact."¹⁸
3. Offer a way out on a real judgment call. Credit the item's value, or let them hold that item's share until it's fixed. Never more than that.
4. Watch your lien deadline. As a general rule it runs from the last day of real work on the contract, so punch-list and warranty visits usually don't extend it. Colorado's statute says so directly: a "trivial imperfection in or omission from the said work" doesn't "postpone the running of any time limit" for filing.¹⁹ Utah counts its deadline from final completion, which its code ties to the final inspection or the certificate of occupancy where there is one.²⁰ Check your own state's deadline, and don't let a punch-list argument run past it.
5. Small claims for the rest. As one owner put it, "small claims court depending on your state's limit might be the only other viable option."²¹

Warranty work after final payment, kept separate

The warranty is what keeps the punch list short. Owners tie it to payment: "I put on my quotes that warranty is included and begins after full payment is received,"¹² and "Warranty isn't active until final payment has been received per the contract."²² A handyman had customers sign "I will warranty my work, and only my work, for one year".²³

Minnesota is the exception to copying that. Its statute sets the warranty on home improvement work and starts it on "the date on which the home improvement work was completed", and those rules "cannot be waived or modified by contract or otherwise" except through a separate modification in bold type.²⁴ Its payment law adds: "Withholding retainage for warranty work is prohibited."²⁵ In Minnesota, write the state's warranty into the contract and keep payment out of it.

Everywhere, keep the two apart on paper:

• Anything noticed after the list closed is a warranty request, not a punch item. Date it, schedule it as its own visit, and leave the final invoice alone.
• Write the exclusions into the contract: normal cracks in concrete, wood movement, materials the customer bought.
• Don't fold a warranty fix into "one more punch item." It reopens the list, and the holdback with it.

Retainage and prompt-payment rules in the 13 list states

Most state retainage and prompt-payment laws were written for commercial jobs and leave homes out. Louisiana and Minnesota are the two whose rules clearly reach a home job, and both limit what an owner can sit on. New Jersey and Virginia have prompt-payment laws whose text covers any private owner and asks for written notice of what's withheld; I'd have a lawyer confirm they reach your home jobs. Massachusetts and New Jersey also limit when you can ask for the final payment (contract line 1 above).

On most home jobs in these states, your contract is the only rule about the final payment. Each state's link above goes to its contract page, with the deposit rules and what the contract must say.

How to use the punch list template in Excel or Google Sheets

1. Copy the Google Sheet or open the .xlsx. On the Punch list tab, fill in your company block once and the yellow settings: contract total with change orders, paid so far, your rate for punch work, the holdback multiple and the cap. Match the last two to your contract.
2. Print the walkthrough form and walk the job.
3. Enter each item: room, what's wrong, type, hours and materials. For a sub's item, type the sub's price over the Value cell.
4. Check the bottom: holdback allowed and due now. Print the Customer copy tab, both sign it, and invoice what's due now.
5. As items get done, mark them Done and get the initials. The holdback drops as you go.
6. Delete the two example tabs before your first real job.

More for new contractors

• How to find work as a new contractor: where your first customers come from, with a free first customers plan.
• Angi vs Thumbtack: should you pay for leads yet, with a free lead cost calculator.
• Google Business Profile for contractors: setup, verification and your first reviews, with a free checklist.
• How much to set aside for taxes: self-employment tax, quarterly payments and your state, with a free calculator.
• Hiring your first employee: W-2 or 1099, workers comp and what a helper really costs, with a free checklist.
• Contractor insurance: what you need from day one, what it costs and what can wait, with a free checklist.
• Change order template and hidden damage clause: rot behind the wall, charge more or eat it.
• Should you pull a permit for someone else? The asks you will get, and the answers.
• When a customer won't pay, the lien deadlines and a demand letter, by state: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Virginia.

What Deepsel does with a punch list, and what it doesn't

The signed list stays on paper or in the spreadsheet for now. Checklists in Deepsel attach to an estimate and are internal: the customer never sees them and can't sign them. Each answer is stamped with who checked it and when. What Deepsel handles is the return trip and the money. A job holds as many visits as it needs, so the punch-list trip goes on the same job as its own visit, with notes on the work performed and photos. On Free, each job gets one invoice. Its online pay link always charges the whole remaining balance, so the amount due now is a payment you record yourself (cash, check, card, bank transfer, Zelle or Venmo). The invoice then shows as partially paid with the balance due, and the invoice email and the customer's invoice page show what's been paid and what's left. When the list is done, the pay link collects the rest by card, if you've turned on card payments. There's no holdback or retainage line, so the holdback is simply that balance. On Pro, progress billing can hold it as the last payment on the job's schedule instead: each earlier payment goes out as its own invoice, and the final invoice bills what's left once the list is done.

Your shop-wide terms are copied onto every quote, so the five contract lines go in once. A warranty callback can go on a job of its own, so it never touches the paid invoice. Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with no card to start; Pro is $29 a month for unlimited estimates and invoices. Every plan is on the pricing page, and how a finished job turns into an invoice is on how to invoice as a contractor in Deepsel.

Frequently asked questions

What is a punch list in construction?

A punch list is the list of small items left at the end of a job: work that isn't finished, things that aren't right, and damage to fix. You write it with the customer at the final walkthrough, once the work is substantially complete, and you both sign it. On a home job it usually decides when the last payment comes in, so give each item a value and a fix-by date.

What should be included on a punch list?

The job, the walkthrough date and who walked it. Then one row per item: the room, what's wrong or left to do, the type (unfinished, defect, damage, an extra that needs a change order, or a later warranty item), its value, who fixes it, a fix-by date, the status, a photo number, and the customer's initials when it's done. At the bottom: the final payment, the holdback the contract allows, what's due now, and both signatures.

How do you create a construction punch list?

Walk the job with the customer after the final inspection and the final clean, room by room in the order of the scope. Write down everything they point at, number it and take a photo. Mark each item's type, put a value on it (hours times your rate plus materials, or the sub's price) and set a fix-by date. Both sign the list at the end. Then work through it and get the customer's initials on each item as it's done.

Can a customer refuse to pay a contractor over punch list items?

They can hold back what the contract lets them hold. Without a holdback clause it comes down to your contract and your state's law, and collecting means a letter, a lien inside your state's deadline, or small claims. Some states set limits. In Louisiana, since August 1, 2026, an owner in a good-faith dispute still has to pay the amount that isn't in dispute. In Minnesota, after substantial completion, an owner may withhold no more than 250% of the cost to correct or complete known work. A clause that caps the holdback at the value of the open items settles it before it starts.

What is substantial completion?

The point where the work is finished enough to use for its purpose, with only punch-list items left. Minnesota's statute puts it as the date construction is sufficiently completed so the owner can occupy or use the improvement for the intended purpose. Write your own definition into the contract, for example the final inspection passed and the room in use, because it triggers the walkthrough and the holdback.

What is retainage, and does it apply to a home remodel?

Retainage is a share of each progress payment the owner keeps until the end of the job. It's common on commercial work, and the state caps I read are 5% (Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota and Utah). Most state retainage laws leave homes out: Colorado's, Utah's, Nebraska's, Connecticut's and New York's do, and Idaho's 5% cap doesn't apply to an owner-occupied home of up to four units. Minnesota's has no home exception. On a remodel, a punch-list holdback tied to the signed list does the same job with a smaller number.

Sources

1. r/Contractor, "Client withholding $6,000 over a small crack in a concrete patio. Suggestions?" - "We completed a 480 SF concrete patio project, and the client later noticed a small crack. We went back and repaired it, but the client is still unhappy and is refusing to pay the remaining $6,000 balance for the entire project because of that crack." reddit.com, October 8, 2026.
2. r/handyman, "Would you waive final payment?" - "During the final walkthrough, he seemed happy overall and only asked for a few touch-ups, which were completed."; the owner's reply: "$3k left"; top reply: "You did a walkthrough that was successful, and the issues that were identified during walkthrough were corrected. You state that fact, and you demand final payment." reddit.com, August 7, 2026.
3. AI Lawyer, "Punch List Template: Tasks, Defects and Repair Deadlines" - table columns "Item No. | Description of Work | Location | Responsible Party | Due Date | Status | Notes", then a sign-off for the owner or project manager and the contractor. Also opened: Mitti, GoCanvas and Jotform punch list templates; none has a value column. ailawyer.pro, read November 4, 2026.
4. r/Contractor - "you can (should) have a contract clause that final payment is contingent on passing inspection." reddit.com, February 1, 2026.
5. r/Contractor - "Work isn't done til it passes final inspection and the job site is clean." reddit.com, July 25, 2026.
6. Minnesota Statutes 541.051, subd. 1(a) - "Date of substantial completion shall be determined by the date when construction is sufficiently completed so that the owner or the owner's representative can occupy or use the improvement for the intended purpose." revisor.mn.gov, read November 4, 2026.
7. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 142A, Section 2(6) - "No final payment shall be demanded until the contract is completed to the satisfaction of the parties thereto". malegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
8. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Home Improvement Practices - (a)6.v: unlawful to "Request the buyer to sign a certificate of completion, or make final payment on the contract before the home improvement is completed in accordance with the terms of the contract"; (a)10.ii: "copies of inspection certificates shall be furnished to the buyer by the seller when construction is completed and before final payment is due". law.cornell.edu, read November 4, 2026.
9. r/Contractor, "Final payment" - "Final payment is due when the punch list has been satisfied. Client gets a copy of the punch list, makes any additions and SIGNS it. Punch list gets knocked out and payment is then due." reddit.com, April 6, 2026.
10. r/Contractor - "My new contract states clients cannot withold more than 1% or 2K (whatever is higher) for punch list". reddit.com, December 16, 2025.
11. r/Contractor - "I will allow them to withhold 10% of the final draw but thats 10% of the final draw, not the entire job." reddit.com, March 29, 2025.
12. r/Contractor, reply on the patio thread - "I put on my quotes that warranty is included and begins after full payment is received."; "10% deficiency holdback is standard if needed". reddit.com, October 9, 2026.
13. r/Contractor - "But there's no "hold back" for a punch list. I'm either done, or I'm not." reddit.com, March 15, 2025.
14. r/Contractor, "Client Refuses to Pay over Minor Cosmetics he isn't satisfied with" - "Typical practice is to have progress payments along the way so that only 5-10% remain for punch list closeout." reddit.com, October 3, 2026.
15. r/Contractor, "What is your payment schedule for renovations?" - "35% deposit, 20% upon start of demo, 20% upon start of drywall, 20% upon start of finish carpentry & MEP trim-out, 5% upon completion of punch list." reddit.com, October 2, 2025.
16. r/Contractor, reply on the patio thread - "Our contracts have a line saying, "Owner agrees that __ Construction does not warranty against cracks in any and all concrete slabs."" reddit.com, October 8, 2026.
17. r/Contractor, "Condo owner wants to cut final payment in half." - "Next time… have a document signed by customer that all punch list items were addressed to their satisfaction." reddit.com, August 28, 2026.
18. r/Contractor, reply on the patio thread - a certified letter "requesting the final payment by X date"; "very professional, not threatening, simply stating a fact." reddit.com, October 9, 2026.
19. Colorado Revised Statutes 38-22-109(5) and (7) - lien statements filed "before the expiration of four months after the day on which the last labor is performed or the last laborers or materials are furnished"; "No trivial imperfection in or omission from the said work ... shall be deemed a lack of completion, nor shall such imperfection or omission ... postpone the running of any time limit within which any lien statement shall be filed". Annotation: a claimant "may not extend the filing period by doing work related to a trivial imperfection" (Richter Plumbing & Heating v. Rademacher, 729 P.2d 1009, Colo. 1986). olls.info (Colorado Revised Statutes 2026), read November 4, 2026.
20. Utah Code 38-1a-502(1)(a) and 38-1a-102 - notice of construction lien no later than "180 days after the date on which final completion of the original contract occurs, if no notice of completion is filed"; "Final completion" means the permanent certificate of occupancy, or "the date of the final inspection of construction work by the local government entity" where an inspection but no certificate is required. le.utah.gov, read November 4, 2026.
21. r/Contractor, reply on the patio thread - "small claims court depending on your state's limit might be the only other viable option." reddit.com, October 8, 2026.
22. r/GeneralContractor - "Warranty isn't active until final payment has been received per the contract." reddit.com, April 25, 2025.
23. r/Handyman - "I had them sign to "I will warranty my work, and only my work, for one year"." reddit.com, March 31, 2025.
24. Minnesota Statutes 327A.01, subd. 8 - "In the case of a home improvement, the warranty date is the date on which the home improvement work was completed."; 327A.02, subd. 3 (one, two and ten years by type of work); 327A.04, subd. 1 - "the provisions of sections 327A.01 to 327A.08 cannot be waived or modified by contract or otherwise", except by the bold-type written modification in subd. 2. revisor.mn.gov, read November 4, 2026.
25. Minnesota Statutes 337.10, subd. 4 - "Retainage on a building and construction contract may not exceed five percent"; release "no later than 60 days after substantial completion"; after substantial completion an owner "may withhold no more than: (1) 250 percent of the cost to correct or complete work known at the time of substantial completion; and (2) one percent of the value of the contract or $500, whichever is greater", with "a written statement detailing the amount and basis of withholding"; "Withholding retainage for warranty work is prohibited." Subd. 5 and 337.01, subd. 2: a "building and construction contract" is "a contract for the design, construction, alteration, improvement, repair or maintenance of real property". revisor.mn.gov, read November 4, 2026.
26. Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2784, as amended by Act 822 of 2026 - the owner pays "no later than thirty-five days following receipt of the written request" for "properly performed work"; in a good-faith dispute, which "may include a dispute regarding whether the work was performed in a proper manner", the owner "shall pay the amount that is not in dispute"; penalty "one and one-half percent of the unpaid amount per month"; a contract for a single-family residence may allow payment "not later than sixty-one days"; costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party. legis.la.gov. Résumé digest of Act 822: "Prior law did not apply to improvements made on immovable property used for residential purposes. New law repeals prior law pertaining to the improvements made on immovable property used for residential purposes." "Effective August 1, 2026." legis.la.gov. Both read November 4, 2026.
27. Code of Virginia 11-4.6(B)(1) - "In any construction contract between an owner and a general contractor, the parties shall include a provision that requires the owner to pay such general contractor within 60 days of the receipt of an invoice following satisfactory completion of the portion of the work for which the general contractor has invoiced"; an owner who withholds "shall notify the general contractor within 45 days of the receipt of such invoice, in writing ... with the reason for nonpayment, specifically identifying the contractual noncompliance and the dollar amount being withheld." "Owner" means "a person or entity, other than a public body". law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 4, 2026.
28. N.J.S.A. 2A:30A-1 and 2A:30A-2(a), the Prompt Payment Act - the owner pays "not more than 30 calendar days after the billing date"; "The billing shall be deemed approved and certified 20 days after the owner receives it unless the owner provides, before the end of the 20-day period, a written statement of the amount withheld and the reason for withholding payment"; "Owner" means "any person ... who has an interest in the real property to be improved and who has contracted with a prime contractor". law.justia.com (2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes), read November 4, 2026.
29. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, Section 29E - "Contract for construction" means a contract with "an original contract price of $3,000,000 or more; provided, however, this shall not include projects containing or designed to contain at least 1 but not more than 4 dwelling units." malegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
30. Connecticut General Statutes 42-158i(2) - "construction contract" does not include "a contract between an owner and a contractor for an amount of twenty-five thousand dollars or less" or "a contract for a building intended for residential occupancy containing four or less units." cga.ct.gov, read November 4, 2026.
31. New York General Business Law 756(1) - covers projects whose aggregate cost "equals or exceeds one hundred fifty thousand dollars" and excludes contracts for "an individual one, two or three family residential dwelling" and "any residential construction project where the aggregate size of such project is four thousand five hundred square feet or less". nysenate.gov, read November 4, 2026.
32. Nebraska Revised Statutes 45-1207 - "The Nebraska Construction Prompt Pay Act does not apply to improvements to real property intended for residential purposes when the residence consists of no more than four residential units." nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
33. Colorado Revised Statutes 38-46-102 and 38-46-103 - the article applies to contracts with "a price of at least one hundred fifty thousand dollars" and "does not apply to: (a) A single contract that governs the building of either: (I) One single-family dwelling; or (II) One multifamily dwelling with no more than four family dwelling units"; retainage of no "more than five percent". olls.info, read November 4, 2026.
34. Utah Code 13-8-5(1)(a) - "Construction contract" means an agreement for work on improvements to real property "for nonresidential commercial or industrial construction projects"; on a mixed project the section "applies only to that portion of the construction project that is nonresidential". le.utah.gov, read November 4, 2026.
35. Idaho Code 29-115(2) and (3) - "The five percent (5%) maximum shall not apply to any contract for the performance of a private work of improvement to residential real property consisting of one (1) to four (4) units occupied or to be occupied by the owner."; "Within thirty-five (35) days from the date of final completion of the work of improvement, the retention withheld by the owner shall be released, except in the event of a dispute between the owner and the original contractor, the owner may withhold from the final retention payment an amount not to exceed one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the estimated value of the issue in dispute." legislature.idaho.gov, read November 4, 2026.