Subcontractor Agreement

A Subcontractor Agreement is a document used to put into writing the terms of an agreement between a General Contractor and a Subcontractor who will perform construction work and services for the General Contractor.

The General Contractor is the party who originally entered into a contract with a client directly to perform construction services. The General Contractor communicates directly with the client who owns that property. Frequently, the General Contractor has smaller portions of the larger project that they prefer not to or are unable to do themselves because of their specialized nature. Therefore, the General Contractor contracts those portions out to another party, known as the Subcontractor. The Subcontractor works on the property, often providing specialized construction services like electrical work, flooring installation, or plumbing, and communicates with the General Contractor.

Since the General Contractor is the only one in direct contract with the Client, they are responsible to the Client for all of the work done, including the work done by the Subcontractor. If there is a problem with the Subcontractor's work, the Client would go to the General Contractor to rectify that error.

For a contract directly between the owner of a property and a General Contractor to do a construction project, a Building Construction Agreement or an Independent Contractor Agreement should be used.

How to use this document

This document contains all of the information necessary to outline and describe the details of when and how the Subcontractor will perform the construction services and the duties of both parties during and after that process.

This Agreement includes details such as identifying information about the parties and where they are located, the General Contractor and Subcontractor's contractor license numbers, the address of the worksite where the construction will be taking place, detailed description of the work that will be done by the Subcontractor, the materials each party will provide, and the payment arrangement for how the General Contractor will reimburse the Subcontractor for their materials and time spent on the project.

The Agreement also notes when construction is due to begin and when construction is due to be finished, whether that be a specific date or upon the occurrence of a particular event or milestone. Important provisions regarding indemnification, insurance, change orders, unforeseen conditions, defaults, the nature of the parties' relationship and miscellaneous concerns are also included.

Once the document has been completed and the Parties have agreed to the specifics of the project, both parties should sign the document and keep copies of the document for their own records. Further, the Parties should be sure to attach to the document any other paperwork or documents relevant to the project, such as blueprints, schematics, employee lists, or lists of materials that will be used in the project.

If it is available, the Subcontractor may wish to review the original contract between the client and the General Contractor to be sure that there are no conflicting terms between it and the anticipated Subcontractor Agreement. By inspecting and reviewing the original contract, the Subcontractor can make sure that there are no provisions forbidding the General Contractor from hiring Subcontractors to do portions of the work.

Applicable law

Construction projects and buildings are subject to both federal and state/local laws.

If the Subcontractor employs additional workers during the course of the construction project, they are required to meet the requirements of federal laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees) and the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (requires covered employers to provide employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons).

Further, public buildings are required to meet certain standards laid out by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The parties should be sure to look into federal and local laws to be certain that their building project and labor practices comply.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.