Door Defect Liability Period (DLP) Guide (India 2026)

When the last door is hung and the painter packs up, your relationship with the fitter is not over — it enters the door defect liability period, or DLP. This is the window after handover, commonly 6 to 12 months on Indian residential work, during which the carpenter or contractor must come back and fix, at their own cost, any door defect that surfaces because of poor fitting or faulty material. Understand it at handover, write it into the contract, and hold back a little money against it, and a sticking lock or a leaf that starts to bow becomes the fitter's problem to solve rather than yours to live with. Get it wrong — no clause, no snag list, full payment on day one — and you have surrendered every bit of leverage you had. This guide explains what the DLP covers, what it does not, and exactly how to make it work in your favour.

What the door defect liability period actually is

The door defect liability period is a defined span of time, agreed in writing before work starts, that runs from the date you take handover of the doors. It is not a free repair service for anything that ever goes wrong; it is a guarantee that defects in workmanship and material will be rectified by the person who created them. On Indian contracts the principle is well established — CPWD specifications and IS 1200 (which govern measurement and workmanship) treat the defect liability period as a standard contractual stage, and the same logic scales down to a single carpenter fitting eight doors in a flat.

The length is negotiable but follows convention. As a rule of thumb: 6 months is common for a small carpentry job, 12 months for a larger fit-out or where a contractor warrants the whole package, and some premium joinery or hardware carries its own manufacturer warranty that runs longer still. The clock starts at handover, not at the start of work, so getting a dated, signed handover is what makes the DLP enforceable. Agree the figure before the first door is delivered — written into the door fitting contract — because a number you settle after a dispute has begun is worth very little.

What the DLP covers — and what it does not

This is where most homeowner arguments start, so be clear from the outset. The DLP covers defects that trace back to how the door was made, supplied or fitted. It does not cover damage you caused, normal ageing, or the consequences of misuse. The line between the two is usually obvious once you name the cause.

The grey zone is warping and swelling. A solid leaf that bows or swells within the first few months — because it was hung before the timber acclimatised, or the top and bottom edges were left unsealed against monsoon humidity — is a workmanship defect and squarely the fitter's responsibility. A leaf that swells after a burst pipe you never reported is not. This is why documenting condition at handover matters so much; it fixes the baseline against which any later defect is judged. For the moisture-and-edge detail behind warp, cross-check door finish defects and the broader common door defects catalogue.

Fitting defects versus wear and tear

The honest test is cause, not appearance. Ask: would this have happened anyway with normal use, or did it happen because of how the door was fitted or what it was made of? A lock that grinds from day one is a fitting defect. The same lock loosening after three years of a thousand uses a day is wear and tear. A self-swinging leaf points to an out-of-plumb frame — a defect. A squeak you can silence with one drop of oil is maintenance, not a defect. Keep this distinction in your head and most DLP conversations resolve themselves.

How snag rectification works during the DLP

The DLP is only as good as the process for calling defects in. It works in two waves: the handover snag list (defects visible on day one) and latent defects (faults that emerge later in the period).

1. At handover, walk every door and build a snag list. Test each leaf with one hand: does it latch first time, swing freely without self-closing, sit on even 2–4mm margins, and lock smoothly? Log every fault. Do this before you release final payment — see door handover and door acceptance criteria for the full inspection routine.

2. Agree a rectification window for the snag list — typically the fitter clears it within a week or two before final settlement.

3. Report latent defects in writing. When a leaf starts to bow in month three or a closer fails in month five, send a dated message with photos. A written, dated report is what triggers the fitter's DLP obligation — a phone call you can't prove is worth nothing in a dispute.

4. Give reasonable access and a reasonable time to return and fix. The fitter's duty is to rectify at their cost; your duty is to let them in and not engage someone else first (which usually voids the claim).

5. Re-inspect and sign off each rectification, the same way you signed off the original work.

For a genuine product fault — a closer that fails internally, a lock barrel that seizes — the path may run to the manufacturer rather than the fitter; that overlaps with door warranty claims, which covers how to escalate a hardware warranty as opposed to a fitting defect.

Retention money — your leverage tool

The single most effective way to make a DLP real is retention money: you hold back a small percentage of the contract value rather than paying everything on completion, and release it only when the defect liability period ends clean. It costs you nothing and gives the fitter a concrete reason to come back when you call.

On a small carpentry job, 5–10% retained for the length of the DLP is fair and normal; a larger contractor may agree a higher figure released in stages. Write the percentage, the release milestones and the DLP length into the door fitting contract so there is no argument later. Retention is not about distrust — a good fitter expects it — it is simply the mechanism that converts a verbal promise into an enforceable one.

How the DLP timeline runs

Documenting at handover so the DLP holds up

A defect liability clause is only worth what you can prove. The handover is your evidence-gathering moment, and a thorough one makes every later claim straightforward. Capture, on the day:

• A dated, signed handover note — this starts the DLP clock and records who handed over to whom.
• The snag list with each door tested and any defect logged and photographed.
• The as-built door and ironmongery schedule, so it is clear what was fitted where — see door as-built documentation.
• Photos of every door's condition at handover — the baseline that distinguishes a later defect from later damage.
• The DLP length, retention figure and contact recorded in writing, ideally in the same pack.
• Warranties and care instructions for the doors and hardware, folded into the handover pack.

Pull this together with the full door handover routine and check your sign-off thresholds against door acceptance criteria. For the overall picture of fitting, finishing and signing off doors well, the complete door guide is the pillar that ties every stage together. Build the punch-list itself with the door snagging checklist generator, and use the door warranty tracker to log each door's DLP end-date and any warranties so nothing lapses unnoticed.

One honest caveat: a DLP only protects you if the person behind it is still reachable and solvent at the end of it. Hire someone with references and a track record, keep the paperwork, and hold the retention — those three things, not the clause alone, are what make the door defect liability period actually deliver.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the defect liability period for doors in India?

As a rule of thumb, 6 months is common for a small carpentry job and 12 months for a larger fit-out or contractor package; some premium doors and hardware carry a longer manufacturer warranty on top. It is negotiable — agree the figure in writing before work starts, and remember the clock runs from the dated handover, not from when the work began.

My door started warping two months after handover — is that covered?

Usually yes. A leaf that bows or swells within the DLP because it was hung before the timber acclimatised, or because the top and bottom edges were left unsealed against humidity, is a workmanship defect and the fitter's responsibility to rectify free. The exception is warp caused by water you didn't report — a leak or flood — which is not a fitting defect. Photos at handover help prove which it is.

What is retention money and how much should I hold back?

Retention is a small percentage of the contract — commonly 5–10% — that you withhold rather than pay in full on completion, and release only when the DLP ends with no open defects. It gives the fitter a real reason to return and fix things. Write the percentage and release milestones into the contract so there is no dispute later.

What if the fitter refuses to come back and fix a defect?

First report the defect in writing, dated, with photos, and give reasonable access and time. If they still refuse, the retention you held back is your leverage — you can use it toward another fitter's rectification. This is exactly why retention money, a signed contract clause and a documented snag list matter; a verbal promise with full payment made gives you nothing to enforce.

Does the DLP cover normal wear and tear?

No. The DLP covers defects in workmanship and material — a lock that grinds from day one, a self-swinging leaf, a leaf that warps early. It does not cover normal ageing, a lock loosening after years of heavy use, scratches and knocks you caused, or damage from misuse. The test is cause: would it have happened anyway with normal use, or because of how the door was fitted or made?