Short answer. Yes. Article 1715 of the Civil Code requires the contractor to execute work with the qualities agreed upon and free of defects that destroy or lessen its value or fitness. If the work falls short, you may require the contractor to remove the defect or redo the work, and if he refuses, have it done at his cost.
What the law says
Should the work be not of such quality, the employer may require that the contractor remove the defect or execute another work. If the contract fails or refuses to comply with this obligation, the employer may have the defect removed or another work executed, at the contractor's cost.
Civil Code, Article 1715 — Quality of the Work; Remedies for Defects. Read the full provision →
The standard the contractor must meet
Article 1715 requires the contractor to execute the work in such a manner that it has the qualities agreed upon and has no defects which destroy or lessen its value or fitness for its ordinary or stipulated use. That is the benchmark against which the finished work is measured — not perfection in the abstract, but conformity with what you agreed on and freedom from defects serious enough to affect value or usability.
Your first remedy: require correction
Where the work does not meet that standard, the article gives you the right to require that the contractor remove the defect or execute another work. You are not required to simply accept substandard work and negotiate a discount; you can insist the contractor fix what is wrong or redo the job so that it actually meets what was agreed, before the matter goes any further.
If the contractor refuses
Article 1715 anticipates that the contractor might not cooperate: if the contract fails or refuses to comply with this obligation, the employer may have the defect removed or another work executed, at the contractor's cost. That lets you bring in someone else to fix or redo the work while the original contractor bears the expense, rather than leaving you stuck paying twice for the same job because the contractor will not act.
Building your position before acting
Document the defects with photos and dates, compare them against your contract's plans and specifications, and put your demand to the contractor in writing so there is a clear record of the refusal if it comes to that. Before hiring someone else to redo the work at the original contractor's cost, it is worth having a lawyer review the contract and the defects, since disputing the cost afterward is harder without that groundwork.
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.
- Owen Prosper A. Mackay vs. Spouses Dana Caswell and Cerelina Caswell, G.R. No. 183872, November 17, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- FAJ Construction & Development Corporation vs Susan M. Saulog, G.R. No. 200759, March 25, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Engineering & Machinery Corp. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 52267, January 24, 1996 — read the decision on LawPhil →