Yea. I have yelped and called some lawyers

You would be asking the contractor to guarantee that all materials and labor would be available from now till completion, which is currently not the case. If I were contractor I'd ask for contract increase if a penalty was involved.

I'm not an attorney (thankfully.) Penalty clauses for late completion are not typical in residential construction (new home or remodeling) contracts in my area (coastal VA.) In the covid-19 world, completion of a project may be delayed for any number of issues which are outside the contractor's control; documenting each item that might delay completion could turn into a full-time job for a person. That takes resources away from advancing your project.

Remodelers in most areas are in high demand. By all means you should consult an attorney with construction/real estate as part of their practice and invest the effort to find a contractor that's the right fit for your needs. Just keep in mind if what you propose in your construction contract is too onerous, you'll find yourself--and your project-- sitting on the sidelines.

What you are asking for is called liquidated damages. In California they are limited to additional costs incurred that could have been estimated when you signed the contract. In other words, if you have to move out it would be limited to reasonable daily rents. If you are living in the property during construction they practically disappear.

For residential construction you may be better off getting "time is of the essence" into the contract wording. This will give you more rights if there is a delay that is within your builder's control. However, in residential remodels neither of these things are super effective, the builder can often find some delay or change on your part that caused downstream delays and blame that.

On the whole, you might be much better off incentivizing early completion rather than looking for ways to penalize delays if that is doable in your budget.

Good luck

One of my construction mentors was Herm Mainwold of Mainline Construction in Toledo, Ohio. He was the best remodler in the city for 50 years, had all the best subs, and worked into his 80s. A true bad a$$.

Herm told me he'd never signed a deal with a penalty clause and never would. Of course this was way pre-covid. He could afford to be this way and so can I now. The guy you should hire can be this way too.

No offense, but people who want penalty clauses appear to me like pouty foot-stomping children throwing a fit to get their way no matter what. You'd get no penalty clause from me and if you asked again, you'd get your deposit back. You don't need a lawyer to understand that.

Thanks Joseph. Reason for the penalty clause is more to protect myself from a project that is suppose to be 1 year and ends up to be 2. I have heard of cases of shady contractors out there and want to make sure i am not getting screwed over

Eddie,

The best written, all i's-dotted-and-t's crossed, ironclad, comprehensive, client-protecting contract doesn't offer as much protection from an irresponsible contractor as you think. I've finished the construction of a number of homes for clients whose builder went out of business, only to open up two weeks later under a new name. The best protection is to invest the necessary time and effort to fully vet your contractor before you sign on the dotted line.