Commercial & Contract · Mandatory · Completion

Retention Release Request

A formal request for the release of retention monies held under the contract.

Last reviewed: 29 March 2026 — This guide reflects UK law as of this date. Construction Act 1996 / JCT remains current with no amendments enacted as of 29 March 2026. Next scheduled review: 29 March 2027.

Legal basis	Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Construction Act) & JCT Standard Building Contract 2024 — retention provisions are contractual, governed by the payment and notice framework of the Construction Act
Typical rate	Retention is typically 3–5% of the certified value of work. Half is released at practical completion and the balance is released at the end of the rectification period (also called the defects liability period or making good defects period)
Pay when certified	The Construction Act prohibits pay-when-certified clauses — a payer cannot withhold retention simply because a third party (such as the employer) has not released retention up the chain
Retentions reform	Despite repeated industry calls for reform (including Pye Tait research and the Retentions in the Construction Industry consultation), no statutory change to retention practice has been enacted as of March 2026 in England
Insolvency risk	Contractor insolvency is the biggest retention risk for subcontractors — retention monies are not required to be held in trust under English law (unless the contract expressly provides for it), meaning they are usually lost if the contractor becomes insolvent

1. Retention Release

A retention release request is a formal written request for the release of retention monies that have been withheld from interim payments during the course of a construction project. Retention is a contractual mechanism designed to provide the employer with security for the contractor's obligation to complete the works and to rectify any defects that emerge during the rectification period. Under JCT contracts, retention is typically deducted at a rate of 3–5% of the gross valuation, with half released at practical completion and the balance released at the end of the rectification period (usually 12 months after practical completion) once the certificate of making good defects has been issued.

The same mechanism applies down the supply chain. Main contractors withhold retention from subcontractors, and subcontractors may withhold retention from sub-subcontractors. At each level, the retention serves as security for completion and defect rectification. The release of retention should be automatic upon the occurrence of the contractual trigger event — practical completion or the issue of the making good defects certificate — but in practice, retention is frequently released late or not at all, and a formal written request is often necessary to prompt payment.

The Construction Act 1996 (as amended) establishes the right to stage payments and the payment and notice regime that applies to retention releases. A retention release is a payment due under the contract, and the payer must issue a payment notice and, if applicable, a pay-less notice within the contractual timeframes. Failure to issue a valid pay-less notice means the notified sum becomes due in full. The prohibition on pay-when-certified clauses means a main contractor cannot refuse to release subcontractor retention simply because the employer has not released retention under the main contract.

Contractor insolvency: retention at risk

Retention monies withheld from subcontractors are not required to be held in a separate trust account under English law unless the subcontract expressly provides for it. In practice, most standard-form subcontracts do not include a retention trust provision. This means that if the main contractor becomes insolvent, retention monies held by the contractor are treated as part of the contractor's general assets and are available to all creditors — not ring-fenced for the subcontractors who earned them. Subcontractors are unsecured creditors and typically recover only a fraction of the retention owed, if anything at all. This is the single biggest financial risk associated with retention for subcontractors.

2. Content

A retention release request should be clear, formal, and contain all the information necessary for the recipient to identify the project, the contractual trigger event, and the amount due. The following table sets out the typical content.

Element	Detail
From	The party requesting release of retention — typically the contractor (requesting from the employer) or the subcontractor (requesting from the main contractor). Include full legal name and address.
To	The party holding the retention — typically the employer or the main contractor. Include full legal name and address of the registered office or contract address.
Project reference	The project name, site address, and contract reference number to identify the specific project and contract under which retention was withheld.
Request reference	A unique reference number for the retention release request, enabling tracking and cross-referencing in correspondence and payment records.
Stage of release	Whether this is a request for the first moiety (half of retention released at practical completion) or the second moiety (balance released at the end of the rectification period / issue of the certificate of making good defects).
Trigger event	The contractual event that triggers the release — for example, the date of practical completion (with certificate reference) or the date of issue of the certificate of making good defects. Include the date and the certificate reference.
Retention amount	The total retention withheld, the amount already released (if the first moiety has been paid), and the amount now requested. Show the calculation clearly — for example, total certified value × retention percentage = total retention, less first moiety already released = balance now due.
Payment requested	The specific sum requested for release, stated clearly and unambiguously. State the due date for payment under the contract and the final date for payment.
Signed by	Signed by a person authorised to make the request on behalf of the requesting party, with name, position, and date.

3. Common Mistakes

Not making the request promptly at the trigger event

The contractual trigger for retention release is a specific event: practical completion (for the first moiety) or the issue of the certificate of making good defects (for the second moiety). Once the trigger event occurs, the retention becomes due for release under the contract, but in practice it will often not be paid unless the contractor or subcontractor makes a formal written request. Delaying the request means delaying payment. Worse, if the paying party encounters financial difficulties in the intervening period, the retention may never be recovered. Best practice is to issue the retention release request on the same day as the trigger event, or within days of it, and to follow up promptly if payment is not received by the final date for payment under the contract.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

Can the employer delay releasing retention because of disputes?▾

The employer cannot simply withhold retention because there is a dispute about other matters on the project. Retention is a payment due under the contract, and the payment and notice regime of the Construction Act applies. If the employer wishes to withhold all or part of the retention, it must issue a valid pay-less notice within the contractual timeframe, specifying the amount it considers due and the basis for the withholding. If no valid pay-less notice is served, the notified sum (or, in the absence of a payment notice, the sum stated in the contractor's application) becomes the sum due and must be paid by the final date for payment. Withholding retention without a valid pay-less notice is a breach of contract and gives the contractor the right to refer the matter to adjudication for immediate enforcement. The employer may have a right of set-off for genuine cross-claims, but this must be exercised through the proper contractual notice procedure — it cannot simply be applied unilaterally by refusing to release retention.

Generate your Retention Release Request on Construction Suite

Construction Suite walks you through every required section with a guided Q&A — built to Construction Act 1996 / JCT — and generates a professionally formatted document in minutes.

Get started free