Making good

The term ‘making good’ or ‘to make good’ is used in construction to refer to the process of repairing or bringing something up to a finished standard, or restoring it to its previous condition.

It is a term which is often used in relation to defects which must be ‘made good’ through remedial works before a specified date after practical completion has been certified. When the contract administrator considers that all defects been made good they issue a certificate of making good. This has the effect of releasing the remainder of any retention and brings about issuing of the final certificate.

For more information, see Certificate of making good.

The term can also be included as a standard clause in the transfer of freehold or leasehold property, where the departing owner or tenant covenants to make good any damage.

This is often described as ‘make good any damage caused by the removal of items’. This could be interpreted as meaning that any holes in walls left by picture hooks, curtain rails, nails, and so on, should be filled in and repainted, or it can be interpreted as meaning any damage that is caused while moving items out of the property should be repaired (e.g. paintwork scraped when moving furniture).

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[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Certificate of making good.
• Decoration.
• Defects.
• Defects liability period.
• Latent defects.
• Leasehold covenants.
• Patent defects.
• Refurbishment.
• Remedial works.
• Renovation.
• Restoration.