What applies to delay in a consumer construction contract?
On delay the consumer may withhold payment, require performance and claim damages, and rescind where the delay is material. For house construction a statutory penalty also applies under the delay rules.
What the source says
- Section 24 of the Consumer Services Act: the consumer may withhold payment and require performance on delay.
- Section 29: rescission where the delay is of material importance.
- Section 31: damages for delay unless the trader shows an impediment beyond its control.
Source rows
- KonsumenttjänstlagenSFS 1985:716 · The Consumer Agency, with the National Board for Consumer Disputes reviewing claims · Retrieved 2026-08-20
For the owner, landlord or seller
Document impediments continuously, the control test looks at what was foreseeable at contracting.
For the tenant, buyer or client
Complain about the delay in writing and state the time you require, that anchors the remedies.
Next step
Read delay together with the defect rules, the same works are often tested on both.
The page states what the source says under the stated conditions. It is not advice in an individual matter.
Next step
Three ways to put the register to work in your own practice.
Start with your task
Litigation
Find support in a judgment
Search guiding decisions, see what became final and follow changes in the law.
In-house, deals
Map the rules in a transaction
Move from theme to act and on to the article that carries the duty.
Compliance
Assess the risk in a process
Risk scoring per legal area, with the sources behind every score.