What Should Be in Your Renovation Contract?
- Ace's Design
- Jul 31
- 2 min read
A Quotation & Payment Milestone Guide
Most renovation disputes in Singapore don't start on site — they start with a contract or quotation that was too vague to protect either side. A lump-sum quote with no breakdown makes it genuinely hard to say, later, who did or didn't deliver what was promised.
Here's what a properly structured Singapore renovation contract and quotation should contain, and what payment schedule is considered reasonable.
Start With an Itemised Quotation, Not a Lump Sum
A trustworthy quotation breaks costs out by category — carpentry, tiling, electrical, painting, and so on, with material, labour, and brand or model specified where relevant, rather than a single figure covering “renovation works.” Ask for clarification on anything unclear before signing; a firm confident in its pricing will walk you through it line by line without hesitation.
The Payment Schedule: What's Reasonable
Under the CaseTrust Standard Renovation Contract used by accredited firms, the initial deposit is capped at no more than 20% of contract value, with the balance collected in progressive payments tied to completed, inspected milestones rather than the calendar.
Even outside a CaseTrust context, treat this as your benchmark: a deposit above 30%, or most of the contract value requested before any work begins, shifts nearly all of the financial risk onto you as the homeowner.
A typical milestone structure looks like this:
Deposit on signing (10–20% of contract value)
Progress payment on completion of hacking/demolition and rough electrical & plumbing works
Progress payment on completion of tiling and masonry works
Progress payment on completion of carpentry installation
Final payment on handover, released only after snag-list items are closed
What the Contract Itself Should Specify
Full scope of works, broken down room by room
Named materials, brands and quantities — not vague “similar to” descriptions
Start date and estimated completion date, with a clear process for variation orders — changes documented and costed before proceeding, never applied retroactively
Defect liability / workmanship warranty period (12 months is the standard for accredited firms)
Which party is responsible for HDB or MCST permit submissions, and by when
The firm's registered business entity and UEN — confirming this is the same entity you're paying, not a personal account or an unrelated related company
Before You Sign: A Two-Minute Final Check
Does the total in the contract match the total in the quotation you agreed to?
Is every blank field or “TBC” resolved, or one you genuinely understand and accept?
Is the payment schedule tied to inspection-verified milestones, not simply dates on a calendar?
Do you have a named point of contact and an agreed channel — WhatsApp or email — for written confirmations of any changes?
A clear contract isn't a sign of distrust between you and your designer — it's what makes a good working relationship possible, because everyone is measuring progress against the same document instead of memory.
At Ace's Design, every project runs on an itemised quotation and milestone-based payments under our CaseTrust-accredited process, with a fixed point of contact from your first consultation through to handover.
