Do I need a written contract to sue for breach?

No. Oral contracts are equally enforceable — but harder to prove. If there is no written contract, you will rely on emails, texts, invoices, bank transfers, and witness evidence to show the terms agreed.

What is the time limit for a breach of contract claim?

Six years from the date of breach under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980. For contracts executed as a deed, twelve years under section 8. Diary the deadline carefully — late claims are struck out automatically.

Can I get specific performance — making them do what they promised?

Rare in small claims. Courts overwhelmingly award damages instead. Specific performance is reserved for unique items (a particular house, a one-off antique) where money cannot replace what was promised.

How do I work out my losses?

Damages aim to put you in the position you would have been in if the contract had been performed. Common heads: cost of getting the work done by someone else, refunds paid to your own customers, lost profits if reasonably foreseeable (Hadley v Baxendale), and consequential expenses.

They claim there was no contract at all — what then?

You will need to prove the four elements: offer, acceptance, consideration, intention. Even an exchange of WhatsApp messages with a price agreed and work started is usually enough. Performance by both sides is strong evidence a contract existed.

Can I claim my legal costs?

On the small-claims track, recoverable costs are capped: court fees, limited witness expenses, and a fixed sum for the claim form. Solicitor fees are almost never recoverable. That is why most claimants represent themselves.

How to sue for a breach of contract.

Plain-English guide to bringing a breach of contract claim through the small claims court. The four elements, how to quantify your loss.

A clear proposal — "I will paint your kitchen for £600" — capable of being accepted on its terms.

The other side agrees to the offer as it stands. A counter-offer kills the original offer; the parties are still negotiating until both align.

Each side gives something of value — money, goods, services, or a promise. Without consideration, there is no contract (only a gift).

Intention to create legal relations

The parties must have meant the agreement to be legally enforceable. This is presumed for commercial deals; presumed not for purely social or domestic arrangements unless rebutted.

How to bring a breach of contract claim through the small claims court

The step-by-step process for suing someone for breach of contract in the small claims court in England and Wales.

Pin down the contract terms

Collect all evidence of the contract: emails, texts, invoices, quotes, and any written agreement. Identify the specific term that was breached.

Was it a failure to deliver, late delivery, substandard work, or non-payment? Define the breach precisely.

Calculate the cost to put you in the position you would have been in had the contract been performed. Get quotes for remedial work if needed.

Send a Letter Before Action

Write to the defendant giving 14 days to remedy or pay — 30 days if you are a business chasing an individual or sole trader. State the exact sum claimed.

File via Money Claim Online

Issue the claim via MCOL. Add 8% statutory interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984. Attach all evidence.

Prepare a witness statement setting out the facts chronologically. Bring your evidence bundle and any expert quote for remedial work.

You do not need it in writing

The most common reason people talk themselves out of a good claim is that nothing was signed. A spoken agreement is a contract. So is a WhatsApp exchange, an accepted quote by email, or a course of dealing where both sides plainly knew the terms. Written contracts are easier to prove, not more binding.

What you have to show is that the terms were certain enough for a court to enforce, and that both sides intended to be legally bound. That second point is why arrangements between friends and family are harder: the starting assumption is that a domestic arrangement was not meant to be legally binding, and you have to displace it with evidence — a written repayment plan, a transfer reference saying “loan”, a message discussing when it would be paid back.

Some contracts do have to be in writing to be enforceable at all. Contracts for the sale or transfer of land are the main one you are likely to meet. Consumer credit and guarantees also carry formal requirements. Outside those categories, the absence of paperwork is an evidence problem rather than a legal bar.

Terms you never negotiated still count

Beyond what was actually said, the law reads terms into most contracts automatically. Where you bought goods or services as a consumer from a trader, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies that goods will be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and that services will be performed with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, for a reasonable price where none was agreed.

Between two businesses the equivalent terms come from the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The practical difference is that a business can exclude or limit more of them than a trader can with a consumer — and that a consumer contract term which tries to exclude liability for poor service will usually fail the fairness test.

This matters for the way you plead the claim. “They did a bad job” is an argument. “The service was not carried out with reasonable care and skill, contrary to section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015” is a cause of action, and it tells the judge exactly which box your claim sits in.

Your duty to keep the loss down

You cannot let a loss run up and then send the bill. The law expects you to take reasonable steps to limit the damage once the breach is clear — find another supplier, get the work finished, re-let the room. You are not expected to spend heavily or take risks to do it, and if your reasonable attempt to mitigate costs more than doing nothing, that extra cost is itself recoverable.

Two other limits shape what a court will award. The loss must be one that a reasonable person would have seen as a likely consequence of the breach when the contract was made — the rule from Hadley v Baxendale — so unusual losses need to have been flagged at the outset. And you cannot recover the same money twice under two headings.

Time limit: six years from the date of the breach, not from when you noticed it. If the contract was executed as a deed, twelve. Diarise the date the breach happened, because on a long-running dispute it is easy to lose a year to correspondence.

The four elements of a binding contract

Before you can sue for breach, you must show a contract actually existed. English contract law requires all four of the following to be present.

Step-by-step: bringing your claim

Quantifying your loss

Damages for breach of contract are designed to put you in the position you would have been in had the contract been performed. The classic test from

(1854) limits recovery to losses that:

Arise naturally from the breach (direct loss); or
Were reasonably in the contemplation of both parties when the contract was made (consequential loss).

You also have a duty to mitigate — to take reasonable steps to reduce your loss. If you let damage compound when a quick fix was available, the court will reduce your award.