From signed contract to final payment, one stage at a time.
Each stage of the work is paid into regulated escrow before it starts, and released only once the homeowner has approved it. Here’s the full process, where the money sits, and what happens if something goes wrong.
The process, step by step
Steps two to four repeat for every stage, until the project is finished.
Agree the project and sign online
Your builder sets out the scope, the stages and the price of each stage in a contract on Covarah. The homeowner reviews it, asks for changes if something isn’t right, and you both sign online.
- Each stage has its own amount, so everyone knows what’s being paid for what
- The homeowner can send the contract back with comments before signing
- The time, IP address and account of each person who signs are recorded
Fund the next stage into escrow
Before work on a stage starts, the homeowner pays that stage into escrow with Transpact. Only the next stage, never the whole project at once.
- The money goes to Transpact, not to the builder and not to Covarah
- Your builder can see the stage is funded before they start
- Everyone who pays or gets paid is identity-checked by Transpact
Build, with everything on record
The builder gets on with the work. Updates, photos, messages and calls are kept with the project, so both sides can see what’s happening.
- Messages, calls and documents sent through Covarah stay on the project record
- Any change to the work goes through a written variation
- When the stage is done, the builder marks it complete, with notes and photos
Approve, then release the payment
The homeowner checks the work and the evidence. If it’s right, they approve the stage, then release the payment to the builder through Transpact.
- Nothing is released without the homeowner’s approval
- Not right yet? The homeowner says why, the builder puts it right, and the money stays held
- Then the next stage is funded, and the cycle repeats until the project is finished
Where the money is
While the work happens, each stage’s money sits with a regulated payment provider. Not with the builder, and never with us.
- Who holds it
- Transpact, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 546279). Each stage is paid into escrow with Transpact before work on it starts.
- Who can release it
- The homeowner, once they’ve approved the stage. If there’s a dispute, it stays held until there’s an outcome.
- Who never touches it
- Covarah. We’re the platform your project runs on. We never hold, receive or control your money.
Changing the plan shouldn’t cost your builder money.
Plans change. That’s normal. What causes disputes is a change nobody wrote down.
Every change is a written variation you approve before the price changes. No extra charge to your builder. Either of you can write one up: what’s changing, why, what it costs and how it affects the timeline.
Once it’s approved, the contract and the stages it affects are updated, and the variation stays on the project record.
A variation added as its own stage, funded into escrow before the extra work starts.
If something’s disputed, here’s what happens.
A clear path in three steps, and the money stays held in escrow until it’s settled.
Facilitation
Most disagreements just need someone keeping both sides talking. Either of you can raise a dispute on the project and add your evidence. We step in, with the project record already in front of us.
An independent professional
If that doesn’t settle it, you both agree a qualified mediator, adjudicator or arbitrator, and choose the route that suits the dispute. Agreeing who you’d use at the start of the project makes this step quicker.
A decision
Whether it’s agreed between you or decided for you, the outcome settles the money: release the payment, set a deadline for the remaining work, or return the money to the homeowner.
The money stays in escrow throughout, so neither side loses it while the dispute is open. Going to court remains open to either of you as a last resort.
Choosing and appointing your mediator or adjudicator inside Covarah, at the start of the project.
A check-in from our team if you haven’t responded to an approval within three days. Nothing is released without your approval in the meantime.
Covarah doesn’t give legal, financial or construction advice.
What if the builder walks off?
It’s the fear behind most of the questions we’re asked. Here’s what happens.
Work stops
For whatever reason, the builder stops turning up and the stage isn’t finished.
The money stays held
The stage’s money is still in escrow with Transpact. Money for work that hasn’t been approved isn’t released.
A deadline is set
Through the dispute process, a deadline is set for the remaining work to be finished.
It’s resolved either way
If the work is finished by the deadline, the builder is paid. If it isn’t, the money goes back to you.
Your money was never the builder’s until the work was approved, so it’s still exactly where it needs to be.
Paying the stage’s money straight from escrow to a replacement tradesperson, so they can finish the job.
How it all fits together
Every project runs on four layers. Together they’re what make the protection work, and they mean a dispute never starts from scratch.
Agreement
The contract, the scope, the stages and any variations, all agreed in writing before the work they cover starts.
Communication
Messages, calls and documents sent through Covarah stay on the project record, in one place, tied to your project.
Money
The next stage is funded before work begins, held by Transpact, and released only after it’s approved.
Coming soonSplit a stage into parts, so only the part in dispute is held back.
Evidence
Photos, documents, messages and approvals, each showing who added it and when, ready if you ever need them.
“The builder said this was included.”
“No, I said that would cost extra.”
It’s one of the most common disagreements on any build. If it was agreed in a message or a written variation on Covarah, it’s on the project record, with who said it and when. Six weeks later, nobody has to rely on memory.
If something needs resolving, we’re not starting from scratch. The evidence is already there.
Common questions
More answers in the FAQ.
Do I pay for the whole project upfront?
Can the builder get the money before I approve the work?
What if I’m not happy with the work?
Does my builder need to belong to a scheme?
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