Short answer. No. Article 1234 provides that where the obligation has been substantially performed in good faith, the obligor may recover as though there had been strict and complete fulfilment, less damages suffered by the obligee. You deduct the cost of the defects; you do not withhold the entire contract price.

What the law says

If the obligation has been substantially performed in good faith, the obligor may recover as though there had been a strict and complete fulfillment, less damages suffered by the obligee.

Civil Code, Article 1234 — Substantial Performance in Good Faith. Read the full provision →

The rule that saves the near-complete job

Article 1233 requires complete delivery or rendition before a debt is understood to have been paid, and taken alone it would let an owner keep a whole renovation and pay nothing because a few fittings were wrong. Article 1234 is the correction: If the obligation has been substantially performed in good faith, the obligor may recover as though there had been a strict and complete fulfillment, less damages suffered by the obligee. The contractor is treated as having performed, and your protection is a deduction rather than forfeiture. The law will not let a minor shortfall transfer the value of nearly all the work for free.

What substantial performance and good faith mean

Both conditions have to hold. Performance is substantial when what is missing is minor against the whole — finishing defects, small omissions, work that departs from the specification in ways that can be put right — rather than something that defeats the purpose of the contract. Good faith goes to the contractor's conduct: honest effort at completion, not deliberate cutting of corners, abandonment of the site, or concealment of what was skipped. A builder who knowingly substituted cheaper materials and hoped nobody would look is outside the article, however small the price difference turns out to be.

The deduction is yours to prove

The phrase less damages suffered by the obligee is where your money is, and it is not a discount you announce. You are entitled to what the defects actually cost you — in practice the price of having the remaining work done properly — and you should be able to show it. Get written quotations for the corrective work, photograph the defects, keep the plans and specifications against which the departures are measured, and put the list to the contractor in writing. A documented deduction is an accounting; an unexplained withholding of the final billing is a case you may lose.

Object now, not later

Do not settle the account quietly while intending to complain afterwards. Article 1235 provides that where the obligee accepts the performance knowing its incompleteness or irregularity, and without expressing any protest or objection, the obligation is deemed fully complied with. Accepting turnover and releasing the final payment without recording your objection can extinguish the very deduction Article 1234 was giving you. Issue a written punch list at acceptance, state that payment is made subject to those items, and keep the acknowledged copy.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.