Construction Payment Disputes

Construction payment disputes are cases where payment is withheld because the amount claimed is genuinely contested — over the valuation of work, variations/change orders, alleged defective work, or set-off claims. The vault keeps this category analytically separate from a payment delay (money everyone agrees is owed but has not arrived) and from retention (money withheld by contractual design). Not every dispute is evidence of systemic abuse; only repeated, independently corroborated patterns count toward the vault’s thesis.

Connections

• Global Subcontractor Payment Delays — distinct category of withholding, source: 2025
• Construction Adjudication — primary fast resolution route, source: 2026