How to check a building contractor before commissioning works and paying a deposit

In short: D.Lgs. 81/2008 (art. 90) requires anyone commissioning building works, including a private individual, to verify the contractor's suitability: on sites below 200 man-days and without particular risks, a Chamber of Commerce certificate, a DURC and a self-declaration are sufficient. These are proof of compliance, not of soundness: before paying a deposit, also check protests, insolvency proceedings and the accounts.

What documents must a building contractor give you before starting works?

Those you need, as the client, to verify its technical and professional suitability under art. 90, para. 9, of D.Lgs. 81/2008. On sites below 200 man-days and without the particular risks of Annex XI, the verification is satisfied by a certificate of registration with the Chamber of Commerce, a DURC and a self-declaration on the other requirements.

The decree does not distinguish between companies and private individuals: the client is "the person on whose behalf the entire work is carried out" (art. 89). According to the text on Normattiva, in force from 1 May 2024, para. 9 also requires you to:

• request from the contractor a declaration on average annual headcount and the collective agreement applied (letter b);
• verify possession of the credit licence under art. 27 or, for firms exempt from it, of the SOA attestation with a classification of III or higher (letter b-bis);
• for works requiring a building authorisation, transmit to the administration, before the start, the preliminary notice, the DURC of the firms and a declaration that these checks have been carried out (letter c).

This is not a mere formality: if the DURC is missing where required, para. 10 provides that "the effectiveness of the building authorisation is suspended".

How do I check that it really is a building company?

With a company registry extract from the Registro Imprese, which shows the declared activity, registered office, directors and registered insolvency proceedings. For a building contractor, the activity should fall within section F "Costruzioni" (Construction) of the ATECO 2025 classification of Istat (divisions 41, 42 and 43).

Check that the company name and VAT number on the quote match and that the signatory is the owner or a director. For what the extract contains: company registry extract or solvency report.

Can a private individual download the contractor's DURC on their own?

As a rule, no. According to INPS, the verification on Durc On Line is requested by public administrations, contracting authorities, SOA, banks for certified credits, and by the firm for its own position, including through a delegate. However, an issued DURC may be freely consulted by anyone with an interest in it, and it is valid for 120 days from the request.

In practice, ask the contractor for the DURC and check: heading and tax code identical to the quote, regular result, 120 days not expired at the start of the works. For the credit licence, which has been mandatory since 1 October 2024 for those operating on sites and is issued by the National Labour Inspectorate (Ispettorato nazionale del lavoro), request the details.

How do I tell whether the contractor has the resources to finish the works?

By looking at the data that the DURC and the company registry extract do not contain: protests, insolvency proceedings in progress and the filed accounts, that is, net equity compared with share capital and the date of the last filing. These are public facts, with source and date, which show tensions that have already emerged, not forecasts.

• Recent protests: bills of exchange or cheques not paid.
• Insolvency proceedings in progress: the contract would follow its own rules (see below).
• Net equity below two-thirds of share capital, or negative: less margin to absorb an unforeseen site problem.
• Last filed accounts more than 18 months old: the data you are relying on is out of date.
• Company incorporated less than 12 months ago, or a recently changed director: these are not problems in themselves, but they call for more caution.

For a sole proprietorship the rating is not calculated and the estimated credit line may be missing: the report states this, without inventing figures. If you are a company that subcontracts part of the site to another firm, see the economic soundness of a subcontractor.

How much deposit is it sensible to pay a building contractor?

There is no right percentage for every site. A prudent criterion is to link the deposit to costs the contractor incurs immediately for your work, such as made-to-measure materials ordered, and to pay the rest against verifiable progress stages, so as never to advance much more than the work already performed.

• Link each payment to a checkable phase, not to a date.
• State in the contract whether you are paying a deposit or a caparra: the protections differ. See the supplier asks for a 50% deposit.
• For significant amounts, ask for a guarantee covering the deposit.
• The more fragile the picture that emerges from the checks, the lower the deposit should be: the logic is that of any deposit paid to a supplier.

What happens if the building contractor goes bankrupt during the works?

Under the Business Crisis Code (D.Lgs. 14/2019), bankruptcy is called judicial liquidation (liquidazione giudiziale). Under art. 186, the works contract is dissolved, unless the trustee, authorised by the creditors' committee, declares within sixty days of the opening of the procedure that it intends to take over, offering adequate guarantees.

If the qualities of the contractor were a decisive reason for the contract, the relationship is dissolved in any case, unless you agree to continue it. In the meantime:

• document the state of the works (photos, minutes with the works director) and the payments made;
• if you have paid more than the work performed, the difference is claimed through the application for admission to the liabilities (art. 201), sent by PEC to the trustee at least thirty days before the hearing on the schedule of liabilities;
• take advice from a lawyer: the amounts recoverable are uncertain.

Verifica report at €19 or Negatività at €5.90: which to choose?

For a job involving a deposit, choose the Verifica report (€19): it compares the amount you are about to expose with the estimated operating credit line and shows protests, proceedings, beneficial owner and signals from the accounts. Negatività (€5.90) shows only protests and insolvency proceedings in progress: it is fine as a first filter for small jobs.

In the report you declare the deposit or the value of the contract: the traffic light says whether it falls within, is at the limit of, or exceeds the credit line, which remains an estimate based on historical data. Neither replaces the DURC, the company registry extract and the credit licence.