Guides · Updated 13 October 2026

The 14-day cooling-off period: what trades need to know

Agree a job at the client's kitchen table and they can usually change their mind for 14 days. Miss one step and that window can stretch to a year, with nothing owed for the work you did.

A contract and pen on a wooden kitchen table
Give the client cancellation details when you agree the work.

When it applies

The right to cancel covers contracts with homeowners agreed away from your business premises - at their home, on site, or at a show - and contracts agreed at a distance, by phone, email or online. It does not cover commercial clients, or a job the client agreed at your own yard or office.

What you must give the client

  • Who you are and how to contact you.
  • What the work is and the total price, or how the price will be worked out.
  • That they can cancel within 14 days of agreeing, and how to do it.
  • A cancellation form they can use (they do not have to use it).

Give this in writing - on paper, or in an email or PDF they can keep - when the job is agreed, not later. A signed quote with the cancellation notice and form attached does the job.

If you never give the cancellation information, the 14 days can run for up to 12 months, and a client who cancels may owe you nothing for work already done. For contracts agreed at home, leaving it out can also be a criminal offence.

Clients sign the quote on their phone, with your terms attached and the date on record.

Try it free

No card needed

Starting within the 14 days

Clients often want you to start next week. You can, if they ask for it clearly and in writing (an email or a line on the signed quote is enough). If they then cancel inside the 14 days, they pay for the work done up to that point - a fair share of the price - but not for the rest.

SituationIf the client cancels in 14 days
No work startedRefund everything, including the deposit
Work started at their written requestThey pay a fair share for work done so far
Work started without a written requestThey may owe nothing for it
Cancellation information never givenCan cancel for up to 12 months, may owe nothing

Urgent repairs

If a homeowner calls you out for an urgent repair - a burst pipe, a roof leaking in the rain - the right to cancel generally does not apply to that repair. It can still apply to anything extra you agree while you are there, such as a new boiler, so treat that as a separate job with its own paperwork.

A quote signed by the client in JobGuard
The client signs the quote, so the date the job was agreed is on record.

General information for England and Wales, not legal or tax advice. For your own situation, speak to a solicitor, accountant or Citizens Advice.

Clients sign the quote on their phone, with your terms attached and the date on record.

Start free See how quotes work

No card needed

Questions

Does the cooling-off period apply if the client came to me?

If they agreed the job at your business premises, generally no. If you then visited them and the contract was agreed at their home, generally yes.

Can I keep the deposit if they cancel within 14 days?

Generally no. You refund it, less a fair amount for any work done at their written request. Materials ordered specially may be treated differently, so get advice if it is a large sum.

When do the 14 days start?

For building work, from the day the contract is agreed - usually the day the client accepts your quote.

More guides