Kitchen fitting guarantees: what is covered?

A fitting guarantee covers the work carried out. Examples include units left crooked by the fitting, an incorrectly secured worktop or a leaking connection that was part of the job.

The contract and terms set out what the guarantee covers and how long it lasts. Read the exclusions too. A long guarantee period does not help if the connection in question was outside the agreed work.

Distinguish fitting from the product

A faulty appliance is different from an incorrect connection. Wear, misuse and another contractor’s work may fall outside the fitting guarantee.

Describe what is not working and have the cause established: the fitting or the product. Also keep any warnings the fitter gave beforehand about the floor, wall or existing pipes. They form part of the arrangements for the work. Who to approach depends on who fitted the kitchen.

Record the handover

At handover, check doors, drawers, worktop, taps and connections together. Write down anything that is not right, take photos and agree a repair date. Keep that record with your quote, invoices, agreements on extra work and guarantee terms.

Before accepting the kitchen quote, check who handles fitting errors and damage. You will then know which contractor is responsible for the agreed work.

Report a defect and allow the contractor to put it right

A commercial guarantee sits alongside your statutory rights. The work must meet the contract even without such a guarantee.

Report a problem promptly and in writing. Give the contractor an opportunity to inspect it and put it right. Do not have another contractor change everything without discussing it first, as this can affect the evidence and the opportunity to repair it.

Unsafe conditions or the risk of further damage may call for faster action. If so, record the problem, what you reported and why waiting was not possible.

Have a dispute assessed against your contract

Different legal rules can apply to the kitchen and its fitting. Complaint deadlines and limitation periods also depend on the work and the defect.

If the contract for work on a building was entered into after 1 January 2024, the contractor has broader liability. This also covers defects not discovered at handover, unless they cannot be attributed to the contractor. Whether a standalone kitchen fitting job falls under these building-work rules depends on the contract.

After a written complaint, a claim relating to the defect is generally subject to a two-year limitation period. The law also sets an overall limit from handover: twenty years for building works and ten years for other work. Liability for deliberately concealed defects cannot be excluded.

If a dispute remains unresolved, have a lawyer assess which time limit applies to your job and what action is needed well before it expires. The end of the commercial guarantee does not automatically end all your statutory rights.

What to do now

• ask what is and is not covered by the fitting guarantee before accepting
• record the fitting work and every defect in writing at handover
• put the end date of the fitting guarantee in your diary. After that, you can only rely on your statutory rights