TL;DR
A backcharge is a deduction a general contractor takes from a subcontractor's payment to recover costs the sub caused, such as repairing their damage, cleaning up after them, completing their punch list with other forces, or correcting rejected work. Subcontracts set the procedure, normally requiring written notice and a chance to cure before money is withheld.
What it means
A backcharge is a deduction a general contractor takes from a subcontractor's payment to recover costs the sub caused, such as repairing their damage, cleaning up after them, completing their punch list with other forces, or correcting rejected work. Subcontracts set the procedure, normally requiring written notice and a chance to cure before money is withheld. Disputed ones are a leading source of construction payment fights and lien claims. The same mechanism can run owner-to-contractor when a contract lets the owner remedy defaults and offset the cost.
Where it sits in the glossary
Backcharge is part of the Pricing group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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