Notice to cure template
The letter you send while the contractor is still on the job: what is wrong, what it fails, and how long they have to put it right.
The short version
The letter that comes before the argument
A notice to cure tells a contractor in writing that something is not right, points at the term of the contract it does not meet, and gives them a period to fix it. Construction contracts commonly provide for one.1
It is written to get the work finished properly, and most of the time that is what it does. It also produces the record that every later step is built on, which is why it is worth sending even when you are fairly sure it will be ignored.
Why this one comes first
Find the notice clause in your own contract
Open your contract and look for a clause about notice, about defective work, or about default. Where there is one, it usually says the same three things: that notice has to be in writing, that the contractor gets a period to remedy the defect, and what becomes available if they do not.
Where a clause like that exists, going around it is expensive. A homeowner who withholds payment, brings in another trade, or ends the contract without giving the notice the agreement called for has given the contractor a second argument that has nothing to do with the quality of the work.
If your contract sets the period, use that period. If it sets a way to deliver the notice, use that too.
What it sets out
Five things, and the second is the one people leave out
The defect, specifically
What is wrong and where. “The work is poor” is not a defect a contractor can be asked to remedy; “the flashing at the rear valley is not sealed and water is entering above the kitchen window” is.
The term it fails
The clause, the specification, the drawing or the manufacturer's instruction the work does not meet. This is what makes it a contractual notice rather than a complaint, and it is the part most notices leave out.
A period to put it right
A date. Many contracts set the period themselves, and where one does, that period is the one to use rather than a period that seems fair.
Access
A contractor cannot cure a defect they cannot reach. Saying when they can come, and confirming they will be let in, removes the answer that the homeowner prevented the work.
What the sender will consider if it is not done
Stated in general terms. The remedies that exist are set by the contract and by state law, and a notice that threatens one the contract does not carry is weaker than a notice that threatens nothing.
What it is not
A notice to cure is not a termination, and a bad one can become the breach
This letter asks for the work to be put right. It does not end the contract, it does not withhold anything, and it does not say what you will do next beyond considering what is available to you.
That restraint is the protection. A homeowner who terminates on a notice that did not comply with the clause, or who never gave one at all, can find that the breach being argued about is theirs. Send the notice, keep proof of when it went, and let the period run before deciding anything.
The template
Fill in the brackets and send it
The two brackets that carry the letter are the defect and the term it fails. Be specific in the first and quote the second.
To [Contractor name],
Property: [Property address] Contract dated: [Date of the contract] Reference: [Contract or job reference, if there is one]
Notice to cure
What is wrong
I am writing about work carried out under the contract above. The following is not right: [What is wrong, and where, in specific terms].
What the contract requires
The work above does not meet [The clause, specification or drawing the work does not meet].
The period to put it right
This letter is notice of that defect. Please put it right by [Date the work must be put right by]. Please confirm in writing by [Date to reply by] what you intend to do and when you intend to be on site, so that I can give you access.
If it is not put right
If the work is not put right within that period I will consider the remedies available to me under the contract and at law. I would rather you completed the work correctly, and this letter is written to give you the opportunity to do that.
Yours sincerely, [Your name]
Send it the way you would want to prove later that you sent it, and the way your contract says to.2 Photograph the defect on the day you write, so the record and the letter carry the same date.
If the period runs out
The letter that comes next
A notice that has expired without the work being put right is the groundwork for a demand. The demand letter is written for that point, and it is stronger for a notice sitting behind it: a documented defect, a term it failed, a period given, and a period that passed. The glossary covers the contract words that come up along the way.
Disclosures
- 1.Satisfy is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page describes a convention common in construction contracts and provides a blank letter. Whether your contract requires notice, what period it sets, how the notice has to be delivered, and what becomes available if the work is not put right are determined by that contract and by the law of your state.
- 2.Nothing on this page states a period, a remedy or an entitlement. Withholding payment, engaging another contractor, or ending an agreement can carry consequences of their own, and whether any of them is open to you is not a question this page answers.