Terms and conditions for a window and door installer

Windows and doors are made to measure, sold in the customer's home, paid for in large part before they exist, and certified under rules the customer has never heard of. Every one of those facts has a legal consequence, and the terms have to deal with each. I draft them for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Window, door and conservatory installers in England and Wales selling supply-and-fit to homeowners, and the same work to landlords, agents and small developers as business customers. The terms are written for both, with the consumer provisions applied where the law requires.

What matters in window and door installation terms

Surveys, measurements and made-to-measure goods

The terms should say that the order is manufactured to your survey, that the customer's specification is fixed once the order is placed, and that changes after that point are chargeable in full. Where the customer supplies their own measurements or products, the terms should say the fit is at their risk. The survey should also record what the price assumes about the condition of the openings.

Deposits, cancellation and bespoke goods

A contract signed at the customer's home is an off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with a 14-day cancellation right that extends by up to a year if the cancellation information is missing. Goods made to the customer's specification are excluded from the right once the exception applies, but the installation service is not, so the order paperwork has to record the customer's express request before manufacture starts inside the period. Deposits should be proportionate and explained as covering the manufacture of the customer's frames; against a consumer, a term keeping a large deposit on cancellation without a matching obligation on you is the kind the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats as unfair.

Building Regulations and certification

Replacement windows and doors must comply with the Building Regulations and the work is usually certified through a competent person scheme. The terms should say who registers the work, when the certificate is issued and that it covers the work you did, because the customer will need it when they sell the property and will assume you provided it whether or not you did.

Guarantees and making good

Your installation guarantee should be defined in scope and length and kept separate from the manufacturer's guarantee on frames, glass and hardware, which is theirs and subject to their conditions. If you offer an insurance-backed guarantee, the terms should say what it covers. Making good plaster, decoration, tiles and sills around the new frames is usually excluded or limited, and the terms should say which; a customer who expects a redecorated reveal is the commonest post-installation complaint.

Permissions, disposal and payment

Planning permission, listed building consent, conservation area rules and any landlord's or freeholder's consent are the customer's responsibility, and the terms should require the customer to confirm that they have what is needed. Old frames are waste, and if you take them away you must be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency. The balance should be due on completion of installation, with a short snagging window that does not entitle the customer to withhold the whole balance, and business customers can be charged interest and compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

The customer cancelled two weeks after signing and the frames are in production. Can I charge?

If the cancellation information was given properly, the 14-day period has passed and the terms apply, so the cancellation charges in the terms apply. If the information was not given, the period may still be running, which is why the paperwork matters as much as the terms.

Can I offer a ten-year guarantee?

You can offer any guarantee you choose, provided the terms say exactly what it covers and excludes, whether it transfers to a new owner, and that it is separate from the manufacturer's guarantee. An undefined guarantee is a liability with no edges.

What if the opening is not square or the lintel is missing?

The terms should treat structural problems found on installation as extras to be reported, quoted and agreed before you continue, and should give you the right to stop if continuing would be unsafe.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495, if a main contractor or business customer has sent you their terms to sign
• Terms and conditions for a builder doing domestic work, if you also build conservatories and extensions

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.