EazyConstruct Project Agreement

Version 1.2

This is the contract between a Client and a Contractor for one job.

1. The parties and the Project

1.1 This agreement is between the Client and the Contractor named above. Words with capital letters have the meanings in the EazyConstruct Platform Terms of Use ("Platform Terms").

1.2 EazyConstruct is not a party to this agreement. It receives and pays out the Project's payments, and on a Company-managed Project it also sells the materials and inspects the completed work, as the Platform Terms set out.

2. How this agreement is made

2.1 The Contractor accepts this agreement when they send their Quote in the App. The Client accepts it when they sign the Quote in the App. The agreement starts at the date and time of the Client's signature.

2.2 This agreement is made up of, in order of priority:

1. the approved Change Orders, for what they change;
2. the Signed Quote;
3. these terms;
4. the Platform Terms, for payments, fees, the App and disputes.

2.3 Both parties agree that their electronic signatures and approvals in the App are valid and bind them.

3. The work

3.1 The Contractor must carry out the work described in the Signed Quote and any approved Change Orders (the "Work"). Anything not described there is not part of the Work.

3.2 The Contractor must do the Work:

1. with proper care and skill, in a good and workmanlike way;
2. using materials of the kind and quality the Signed Quote specifies;
3. in line with the National Building Regulations, the applicable SANS standards and all other laws that apply to it.

3.3 Before work starts. The Contractor publishes a Work Plan in the App, breaking the Work into stages with expected dates. Before the first stage starts, the Contractor records the condition of the site with photos and notes in the App (the "Site Handover Report"). The Client may add comments to it within 2 Business Days.

3.4 During the work. The Contractor marks each stage as done in the App and uploads clear photos of the completed stage. The Client reviews each stage and, within 3 Business Days, either approves it in the App or says what still needs to be done. A stage counts as done once the Client approves it. The photos must be genuine and must show the actual work on this Project.

4. Price

4.1 The price is the total in the Signed Quote, made up of:

4.2 The price is fixed. It can only change through an approved Change Order.

5. Payment schedule

5.1 The Client pays the amounts below by EFT to EazyConstruct, using the payment reference the App shows. Paying the Contractor directly is not allowed and will not count as payment under this agreement.

5.2 The Contractor does not have to start the Work until the Deposit has been received. EazyConstruct holds the Deposit and pays it out to the Contractor once the Site Handover Report is recorded, unless part of it is paid to a supplier for materials before work starts, as clause 15 of the Platform Terms sets out. On a Company-managed Project, the Work also cannot start until EazyConstruct has confirmed that the materials were delivered. Because the Work Plan can only be published after that delivery, the Deposit on a Company-managed Project falls due after the materials arrive.

5.3 The Final Payment only becomes payable once every stage in the Work Plan has been marked as done with photos and approved by the Client, any required Certificates of Compliance have been uploaded, and the Client has confirmed practical completion.

5.4 Late payment. If a payment is more than 5 Business Days late, the Contractor may give notice in the App and pause the Work until it is paid. The time for completing the Work is extended by the length of the pause.

6. Change Orders

6.1 If anything needs to be added that is not in the Signed Quote, the Contractor raises a Change Order in the App. It must describe what is needed, why, its price, and any effect on the dates in the Work Plan.

6.2 The Client approves or declines the Change Order in the App, and should respond within 3 Business Days. An approved Change Order is payable straight away and becomes part of this agreement.

6.3 If the Client declines a Change Order, the Contractor carries on with the Work as agreed. If the Work cannot safely or properly continue without the change, the Contractor must explain why in the App. Either party may then cancel the affected part of the Work, or raise a dispute.

6.4 The Contractor may not charge for anything that was not in the Signed Quote or an approved Change Order. Verbal agreements to add work or cost are not binding under this agreement.

6.5 Emergencies. If something on site puts people or the property at immediate risk, the Contractor may take the reasonable steps needed to make it safe, and must tell the Client in the App straight away. Any further work needs a Change Order.

7. The Contractor's obligations

7.1 The Contractor must:

1. hold every registration and licence the Work legally requires, and keep it valid for the whole Project;
2. issue any Certificate of Compliance the Work requires (for example for electrical, plumbing or gas work) and upload it to the Project in the App before the final stage is marked as done. If no certificate is needed, the Contractor must say why in the App;
3. keep the site safe, and comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act for themselves and their workers;
4. protect the Client's property, and repair or pay for any damage the Contractor or their workers cause;
5. keep the site reasonably tidy and remove rubble and surplus waste at the end of the Work, unless the Signed Quote says otherwise;
6. supervise their workers and subcontractors, and remain responsible for their work and conduct;
7. pay their own workers and suppliers on time;
8. keep the Client informed through the App, including about any delay or problem.

7.2 The Contractor may not hand the whole of the Work to someone else without the Client's written consent in the App.

8. The Client's obligations

8.1 The Client must:

1. give the Contractor safe access to the site at the times agreed in the Work Plan;
2. make water and electricity available, unless the Signed Quote says otherwise;
3. provide a secure place to store materials on site;
4. obtain any municipal building plan approval and any body corporate, homeowners' association or heritage consent the Work needs, unless the Signed Quote makes these the Contractor's responsibility;
5. pay each amount on time, through EazyConstruct;
6. respond to Change Orders and approval requests in the App within the times in this agreement.

8.2 The Client should ask for any change to the Work through the App, not by instructing the Contractor's workers on site.

9. Materials and ownership

9.1 Self-managed Projects. Where the Client supplies materials, the Client is responsible for their quality and for getting them to site on time. The Contractor must check them on arrival and tell the Client in the App if any are unsuitable. Where the Contractor buys materials for the Project, the Contractor must add the purchase receipts to the Project in the App.

9.2 Company-managed Projects. EazyConstruct supplies the materials under the Platform Terms. The Contractor must check them on delivery and report any shortage or damage in the App within 2 Business Days.

9.3 Ownership. Materials bought for the Project belong to the Client once the Client has paid for them. Materials left over at the end of the Project also belong to the Client.

9.4 Risk. Once materials are delivered to site, the Client is responsible for their loss or theft. The Contractor is responsible for any damage the Contractor or their workers cause to them.

9.5 No retention of the property. The Contractor agrees not to exercise any right to retain possession of the Client's property (a builder's lien) for any amount that EazyConstruct is holding under the dispute process in the Platform Terms.

10. Practical completion

10.1 When every stage has been marked as done with photos and approved by the Client, and any required Certificate of Compliance is uploaded, the Contractor asks the Client in the App to confirm completion. At the same time, the Contractor signs the Final Payment Release in clause 13.

10.2 Within 5 Business Days, the Client must either:

1. confirm practical completion in the App, meaning the Work is finished and can be used for its purpose, even if minor items remain; or
2. decline, giving the reasons in the App, so the Contractor can put them right and ask again.

10.3 If the Client does not respond within 5 Business Days after an App reminder, either party may raise a dispute under the Platform Terms.

10.4 On a Company-managed Project, the Project is only marked complete after EazyConstruct's inspection sign-off, as the Platform Terms describe. If the inspector declines, the Contractor must fix the Work and ask again.

10.5 When practical completion is confirmed, the App issues a Practical Completion Certificate to both parties. The Final Payment becomes due, and the guarantee period in clause 12 starts.

11. Snag list

11.1 When confirming practical completion, the Client may attach a snag list: minor defects or unfinished items that do not stop the Work being used. The App records each item.

11.2 The Contractor must fix every item on the snag list within 10 Business Days, or by another date the parties agree in the App. The Client may confirm each item as fixed in the App.

11.3 An open snag item does not delay the Final Payment. It remains covered by the guarantee in clause 12.

12. Workmanship guarantee

12.1 The Contractor guarantees the workmanship of the Work for 90 days after practical completion (the "guarantee period").

12.2 If a defect in the workmanship appears during the guarantee period, the Client reports it in the App with photos. The Contractor must respond within 3 Business Days and fix it at their own cost within 10 Business Days, or by another date the parties agree in the App.

12.3 The guarantee does not cover fair wear and tear, misuse, damage caused by someone else, or defects in materials the Client supplied. Materials bought by the Contractor are covered by the supplier's or manufacturer's warranty. Materials sold by EazyConstruct are covered by the Platform Terms.

12.4 When the guarantee period ends with no open defects, the App issues a Final Completion Certificate to both parties.

12.5 This guarantee is in addition to the Client's rights under the Consumer Protection Act and the common law, including for defects that only become apparent later.

13. Final Payment Release

13.1 When the Contractor asks for practical completion under clause 10.1, the Contractor signs the following in the App, which takes effect once the Final Payment has been paid out to them:

I confirm that, once the Final Payment is paid out to me, I will have been paid in full for the Work and every approved Change Order. I have no further claim against the Client for this Project, other than any defect repair I owe under the guarantee. I have paid, or will pay from this payment, every worker, subcontractor and supplier I used on this Project. I give up any right to retain possession of the Client's property. I indemnify the Client against any claim by those workers, subcontractors or suppliers for payment.

13.2 After the Final Payment is paid out, the App issues a Payment Receipt and the signed Final Payment Release to both parties.

14. Cooling-off period

14.1 The Client may cancel this agreement without giving a reason, within 7 days after signing the Quote. The 7 days end at midnight, South African time, on the 7th day after the day the Quote was signed. Everything the Client has paid is refunded in full.

14.2 If the Client asked the Contractor to start work, or EazyConstruct to order materials, within those 7 days, the Client pays for the work done and the materials bought before cancelling.

15. Cancellation

15.1 Either party may cancel the Project through Cancel Project in the App. The EazyConstruct Cancellation and Refund Policy sets out what is paid and refunded at each stage. The App shows both parties the amounts before the cancellation is confirmed.

15.2 Breach. If a party seriously breaches this agreement and does not put it right within 5 Business Days after written notice in the App, the other party may cancel. The party in breach is responsible for the other party's reasonable, proven losses caused by the breach.

15.3 Abandonment. If the Contractor stops the Work for 5 Business Days in a row without a valid reason under clause 16, and does not respond to a notice in the App within 2 Business Days, the Client may treat the Work as abandoned and cancel.

16. Delays

16.1 The Contractor must work to the dates in the Work Plan and tell the Client in the App about any expected delay, with the reason and a new date.

16.2 The time for completing the Work is extended by any delay caused by:

1. the Client, including late payments, late decisions or no access to the site;
2. approved Change Orders;
3. weather that makes the Work unsafe or impractical;
4. load-shedding or water outages;
5. late delivery of materials the Client or EazyConstruct supplies;
6. any other event outside the Contractor's reasonable control.

17. Disputes

17.1 The parties will try to resolve any disagreement through the App's messages first. If that does not work, either party may raise a dispute in the App. The dispute process in the Platform Terms then applies, including EazyConstruct holding back any amount not yet paid out. The parties may also settle the dispute between themselves in the App, as clause 20.7 of the Platform Terms sets out.

17.2 Nothing in this agreement takes away the Client's rights to approach the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, the National Consumer Commission or the Small Claims Court.

18. General

18.1 This agreement, the Signed Quote and the approved Change Orders are the whole agreement between the parties about the Work.

18.2 This agreement can only be changed by an approved Change Order, or by a written change both parties accept in the App.

18.3 Notices under this agreement are given through the App. Each party's address for legal notices is the address on their EazyConstruct account.

18.4 This agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

18.5 EazyConstruct keeps a copy of this agreement and the full Project record, and either party may download it from the Documents tab of the Project.