Quick summary: Hiring an albañil (mason), maestro de obra (building foreman) or construction company to build or remodel falls under a contrato de obra o empresa (works contract) when the contractor undertakes to execute and deliver work for a price (Código Civil, Art. 2000). It can be made as a documento privado (private document) under Art. 1574. Art. 1575 requires writing above Q300, with an exception allowing commercial contracts to be verbal when they do not exceed one thousand quetzales. Key protections include a fixed price with an agreed plan and completion period (Art. 2007), written changes to a written contract (Art. 2006), payments tied to delivered stages (Arts. 2021-2022), and five-year liability for destruction or deterioration caused by the contractor’s dolo o culpa (intentional wrongdoing or negligence) (Art. 2015).
Download the Construction Contract Template (Word)
A private-document template for home construction or remodeling, with a stages-and-payments annex, an acta de recepción (handover record), and an option to have signatures notarized:
Contrato de Obra — Guatemala
Download Word template (.docx)Each Clause and the Article Behind It
| Template clause | Why it is included | Código Civil |
|---|---|---|
| Description of the work, with the plan and specifications attached | The contractor must follow the specifications; without them, local practices, conditions and qualities necessary for the intended use apply. The contractor must also follow technical principles and the owner’s accepted plan or design | Art. 2005 |
| Precio alzado (fixed total price) or price per unit of measurement | With an agreed price, plan and completion period, rising wages or material prices do not justify an increase unless otherwise agreed. An owner-authorized plan change that increases the work can justify an increase | Art. 2007 |
| Changes only in writing, signed by both parties | An accepted plan or budget may be changed only by express agreement, in writing if the contract is written | Art. 2006 |
| Notice of indispensable modifications | The contractor must notify the owner of modifications needed to complete the work satisfactorily and state the price increase. If the owner refuses without justified cause, the contract may be rescinded | Art. 2008 |
| Stage payments, identifying the stage on each receipt | A contractor working by pieces or measurement may require acceptance and payment in parts. A paid part is presumed approved and received; an advance on account does not create that presumption unless it expressly applies to a part already delivered. These rules do not apply to pieces useful only when assembled as a whole (Art. 2023) | Arts. 2021-2022 |
| Risk until handover | The contractor bears the risk until delivery, unless the recipient is in default in receiving the work or there is an express agreement otherwise | Art. 2001 |
| The contractor’s workers and suppliers | The contractor is responsible for people contributing labor or materials; they may claim against the owner only up to the amount the owner owes the contractor when the claim is made | Art. 2009 |
| No subcontracting without permission | The contractor cannot entrust the work to someone else unless agreed or authorized by the owner; the contractor remains responsible in every case | Art. 2010 |
| Municipal permits and damage to neighbors | The contractor is responsible for breaches of administrative and municipal rules concerning the work and for construction damage to third parties | Art. 2012 |
| Handover record with reservations | If the owner is asked to receive the work and does not attend on the specified day, or receives it without objections or reservations, it is deemed accepted to their full satisfaction, except for hidden defects and the special liability relating to building construction | Art. 2014 |
| Five-year liability | Liability from handover for destruction or deterioration caused by intentional wrongdoing or negligence; it also covers the specified ground or foundation defects without prior warning, hidden construction defects and unauthorized plan changes. If the contractor and engineer, architect or builder are different people, liability is joint and several | Arts. 2015-2017 |
| Advances and delays | A contractor who receives advances and fails to start, does not progress in proportion to the sums received, has unjustified delays or uses nonconforming materials owes resulting damages; the affected party or their heirs may also bring a criminal accusation | Art. 2018 |
| Early termination by the owner | The owner may withdraw by paying for work performed, materials used and compensation set by the judge | Art. 2011 |
Without an agreement on payment arrangements, the Código Civil requires payment when the work is delivered to the owner’s satisfaction (Art. 2013). Set out any agreed advance and payment stages in writing. Separately, Art. 2021 allows a contractor working by pieces or measurement to require acceptance and proportional payment in parts, subject to the exception in Art. 2023 for pieces useful only as an assembled whole.
Works Contract or Employment Relationship
The label does not decide. The Código de Trabajo (Labor Code), Art. 18, defines an employment contract, regardless of its name, as a relationship in which a person undertakes to provide personal services or personally execute work under another person’s continuing dependence and immediate or delegated direction, in exchange for remuneration of any kind or form. What matters is whether the person doing the work operates under your continuing dependence and direction. If that describes your arrangement, see the employment contract.
Signatures, Taxes and the Permit
- Legalización de firmas (notarization of signatures), optional: the fee schedule is Q50 to Q200 per auténtica (signature authentication), depending on its importance (Código de Notariado, Art. 109, item 10). Fees and payment terms may be agreed; the schedule applies in the absence of agreement. The acta carries a Q5 timbre fiscal (fiscal stamp), under Decreto 37-92, Art. 5, item 7. A private document with notarized signatures is a título ejecutivo (a document supporting enforcement proceedings), under Código Procesal Civil y Mercantil, Art. 327. Under Art. 329, the judge must find the document sufficient and the amount claimed liquid and due before ordering enforcement.
- Tax: documents containing civil and commercial contracts are subject to 3% fiscal stamp tax on their value (Decreto 37-92, Arts. 2 and 4), but documents containing acts subject to IVA (value-added tax) are exempt, regardless of who performs them or whether that person is an IVA taxpayer (Art. 11, item 1). Ask your notary or accountant which treatment applies to your contract.
- Construction permit: the template records who will obtain it; see the municipal construction permit.
For foreign owners: if you execute an instrumento público (public instrument), Código de Notariado Art. 29 permits identification by passport when the notary does not know the parties; the provision also allows a cédula de vecindad, two witnesses known to the notary, or both methods as the notary considers appropriate. A party who does not know Spanish appoints an interpreter, preferably a traductor jurado (sworn translator); if the interpreter cannot sign, a witness signs for them. These are rules for public instruments, not a passport requirement for every private construction contract.
Related Procedures
- Paying a builder in stages from the United States — structuring advances and verification when you are outside Guatemala
- How much a mason charges — labor-price references
- Construction cost calculator — preparing your budget
- Municipal construction permit — before starting
- Professional services contract: Word template — for the architect or engineer who designs or supervises
General guidance, not legal advice. For large projects, bank-financed work or condominium construction, consult a lawyer and notary before signing or paying advances.