Why This Matters for Contractors Working in People's Homes
You're on the job, halfway through a job, when the client asks: "Do we need any paperwork for this?" They look at you like you've asked them to solve a puzzle. They just wanted a new bathroom. They didn't realise they'd signed up for a legal framework that affects how their extension gets built.
That's CDM 2015. For domestic clients, homeowners having work done on their own property, the rules are different from commercial projects. The law recognises that someone managing a kitchen renovation isn't the same as a principal contractor running a major project.
The problem is that nearly all domestic clients don't know what CDM 2015 requires of them. And as the contractor on site, you're often the only person in the room who does. This article is for contractors so you know exactly where you stand when a domestic client has no idea what they're supposed to be doing.
Who Is a Domestic Client Under CDM 2015
A domestic client is any individual who has construction work carried out on their own home, or the home of a family member, where that work is not done in connection with a business. A homeowner getting an extension built is a domestic client. A landlord having work done on a rental property is generally acting as a business and is treated as a commercial client.
The distinction matters because the legal duties that apply to each are different. Commercial clients carry full client obligations under CDM 2015. Domestic clients don't, at least not directly.
What Happens to the Domestic Client's Duties
CDM 2015 doesn't let domestic clients off the hook. It redistributes their duties to other people on the project. Specifically:
- Single contractor project — the contractor takes on the client's legal duties in addition to their own. This is the most common scenario for small residential work.
- Project with more than one contractor — the principal contractor takes on the domestic client's duties.
- Project with an architect or designer managing the work — the architect can take on the client duties as well as their principal designer role, but only with a written agreement in place.
If there's no written agreement with the designer confirming they're taking on the client duties, those duties automatically pass to the principal contractor, even if the domestic client thought they'd appointed someone else to handle it.
The Domestic Client Who Thinks They're Not Responsible
This is the situation you'll most often encounter. The homeowner has heard of CDM, knows their contractor talks about it, and decided it's entirely the contractor's problem. They signed a contract. They paid a deposit. In their mind, that's where their involvement ends.
They're half right. The legal duties have transferred to you as the contractor. But the domestic client still has a role. CDM 2015 says the domestic client should make sure that whoever they bring in to do the work is capable of doing it safely.
What does capable mean in practice? The client should:
- Appoint a contractor who has the skills, knowledge and experience to do the work safely.
- Provide relevant information about the site and property that might affect the work.
- Not get in the way of safety arrangements once the project is underway.
A domestic client who appoints a cowboy builder and then washes their hands of the project can still be implicated if something goes wrong. The duty transfer doesn't let them off completely. It just means the legal burden sits with the contractor or principal contractor, not the homeowner.
When You Do and Don't Need to Notify HSE
One of the most common questions about CDM 2015 on domestic projects is whether you need to submit an F10 notification to HSE. The answer depends on the project's size and duration.
You must notify HSE (via an F10 form) if the project meets either of these thresholds:
- The construction work is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days AND involves 20 or more workers working simultaneously at any point, OR
- The project exceeds 500 person-days of construction work in total.
For most domestic projects, a loft conversion, a single-storey extension, a kitchen refit, these thresholds are not met. No F10 is required. But the notification obligation falls to whoever is acting as the client for the project's duration. If you're the contractor on a single-contractor domestic project, that duty sits with you.
If a domestic project involves multiple contractors and has a principal contractor, the principal contractor is responsible for notification, not the domestic client.
F10 Forms and Construction Phase Plans on Domestic Projects
The F10 notification is just one part of the documentation picture. CDM 2015 also requires a construction phase plan for every project, and this is where domestic projects get interesting.
For projects with more than one contractor, the principal contractor must produce a written construction phase plan. This plan sets out how health and safety risks will be managed on site. It's not box-ticking. It's a working document that should reflect what's actually happening on the ground.
For single-contractor domestic projects, a formal construction phase plan isn't required in the same way. But the contractor still has to plan and manage the work safely. The client duties transferred under Regulation 7 include making sure the work is carried out without risks to health and safety. That means you need a proper risk assessment and method statement in place, even if the paperwork isn't called a construction phase plan.
How to Protect Yourself With an Uninformed Domestic Client
The risk is the domestic client who doesn't know their obligations. If a client doesn't know they should be checking you're competent, doesn't know they have a duty to provide pre-construction information, and doesn't know they can be implicated in enforcement action, they can create problems.
Here's what to do:
- Document competence clearly. Keep records of your qualifications, experience, and any relevant CSCS cards or CITB training. When you appoint sub-contractors, do the same for them. If a domestic client ever questions your capability, you have evidence.
- Get everything in writing. Appointments, scopes of work, client-provided information about the property, discussions about CDM duties. If you had a conversation on site about asbestos in the property, put it in an email afterwards.
- Don't assume the client has provided all relevant information. Ask specifically about hidden hazards, asbestos, structural modifications, services behind walls. Put the question in writing and get a written response.
- Produce proper RAMS. Not because CDM 2015 demands a formal construction phase plan on every domestic project, but because if something goes wrong, your RAMS documentation is your first line of defence in demonstrating you managed the project competently.
- Be clear about what you've taken on. If you're acting as the domestic client's duty-holder on a single-contractor project, explain this in plain terms. Most clients won't care about the legal nuance. But they will appreciate working with someone who clearly does.
What Happens When Things Go Wrong
HSE enforces CDM 2015 regularly. Domestic projects don't get a free pass. If a worker is injured on a domestic site and the investigation finds the RAMS were inadequate or the site wasn't managed safely, HSE will look at who had the duty and whether they discharged it.
A contractor who has had domestic client duties transferred to them, and who then failed to discharge those duties, can face enforcement action, improvement notices, prohibition notices, or prosecution in serious cases. Fines for CDM 2015 breaches can be substantial. Prison sentences are possible for the most serious failures that result in death or serious injury.
The domestic client's lack of knowledge doesn't protect them. And it doesn't protect you either, if you've taken on their duties and failed to meet them.
Key Takeaways
Three things to remember every time you're working on a domestic project:
- On a single-contractor domestic project, you're acting as the client for CDM 2015 purposes. That means you carry duties that go beyond your role as contractor.
- No F10 is needed for most domestic projects. But you still need to plan the work, assess the risks, and manage the site safely.
- Document everything. Competence records, RAMS, client communications. If something goes wrong, your paperwork is your proof that you acted competently.
The domestic client who doesn't know their duties isn't your enemy. But they're also not someone who can help you if things go wrong. The protection is in the paperwork, and in making sure that when you took on that project, you actually understood what you'd taken on.