Warranties and After-Sales in Interior Projects

Every interior project ends with a handover, and every handover is followed, sooner or later, by a problem. A shutter drops a few millimetres, a drawer starts to rub, a laminate edge lifts near the sink, a profile light flickers, a mixer drips. None of these is unusual: an interior is thousands of parts assembled by hand in a living building that settles, breathes and gets used every day. What separates a good project from a bad one is not whether something needs attention after handover, but whether the family knows who will fix it, how fast, at whose cost and under which document.

In India this is often left vague. A firm says the work has a warranty without saying for how long or on what; product warranties sit in boxes that were thrown away with the packaging; invoices name a brand but not a grade; and the family discovers, when a hinge fails, that the hardware supplier blames the carpenter, the carpenter blames the hardware and the designer has moved on. Most of these disputes can be prevented with a short set of documents, a few clauses in the contract and a simple routine of care at home.

This article explains how warranties and after-sales service work in Indian interior projects: the difference between workmanship and product warranties, typical periods and exclusions, the role of the builder's defect liability for new flats, what a fair after-sales clause looks like, how to raise and track a claim, and how the owner's maintenance protects the warranty. It is general information for homeowners and business owners, not legal advice; for a specific dispute, consult a qualified lawyer or the appropriate consumer forum.

How after-sales grew in Indian interiors

For a long time, Indian interiors were built by a carpenter, a painter and an electrician engaged directly by the family, often with a designer or a contractor coordinating. When something failed, the family called the carpenter back. If he was still in the city and still on good terms, the problem was fixed; if not, it was not. Warranties existed only on manufactured products — a fan, a geyser, a refrigerator — and rarely on the work itself.

Three changes formalised after-sales. Branded plywood, laminates, hardware and fittings began to carry printed warranty cards and, more recently, QR codes linking a product to its batch and warranty registration. Modular kitchen and wardrobe companies, selling factory-made products, introduced written product warranties that read more like those of appliances. And turnkey interior firms, signing one contract for design and execution, began to offer a workmanship warranty and a service team. Today a family hiring a professional firm should expect written warranties on both products and work, and a defined after-sales process.

Two kinds of warranty: workmanship and product

The first distinction to understand is between the work and the materials. A workmanship warranty is given by the firm or contractor that built the interior. It covers defects caused by how things were made and installed: a carcass that is out of square, a shutter that was hung badly, an edge band that was poorly pressed, a ceiling joint that cracks because the frame was undersized, a profile light whose driver was sealed in without ventilation. A product warranty is given by the manufacturer of a material or item, and covers defects in the product itself: a board that delaminates, a hinge whose spring fails, a laminate that fades beyond its stated rating, a mixer cartridge that leaks.

In practice the two overlap, and that overlap is where disputes start. A drawer that sags may have a faulty channel (product) or a channel fixed into the wrong board thickness with the wrong screws (workmanship). A swollen kitchen base may be the board's fault or the result of a sink sealed badly at installation. A single point of responsibility helps: in a turnkey project, the firm should handle the first diagnosis and coordinate with the manufacturer, rather than sending the family to argue with suppliers. The contract should say so.

Typical warranty periods

Warranty periods vary widely between brands, grades and even product lines from the same manufacturer, and they change from time to time. The ranges below describe what is commonly seen in the Indian market for mid-range and premium products, as a guide to what to ask for. They are not promises; the only warranty that counts is the one printed on the card, the invoice or the manufacturer's registration page for the exact product bought, with its conditions.

Two patterns stand out. First, long warranties on boards and hardware almost always depend on proof: an invoice that names the brand and grade, the warranty card or registration, and sometimes photographs of the markings on the sheet. The plywood guide on this site recommends keeping exactly that — the invoice, the card and photographs of the markings — in the project file. Second, the firm's workmanship warranty is usually the shortest and the most important, because most problems in the first year are installation problems: alignment, fixing, sealing and adjustment.

What warranties usually exclude

Exclusions are where many claims fail. Almost every interior warranty, workmanship or product, excludes damage caused by water, misuse, accidents, unauthorised alterations, pests where no treatment was done, and normal wear. Water is by far the most common reason for refusal in Indian homes: a sink cabinet base that swells because a trap leaked for months, a wardrobe back that grows mould against a damp external wall, a bathroom vanity that delaminates in steam. Understanding the exclusions at the start lets the family and the designer choose materials and details that avoid them.

Builder defect liability for new flats

Families furnishing a newly purchased flat often confuse two different protections. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a promoter is responsible for rectifying structural defects and defects in workmanship, quality or services that the allottee brings to their notice within five years from the date of handing over possession, as provided in the Act and the agreement for sale. This covers the builder's work — the structure, the building's waterproofing, the original plumbing and wiring, common services — not the interior work the family later commissions from someone else.

The practical consequence is that the family should document the flat's condition before interior work begins. A snag list and photographs at possession, a note of any dampness or cracks, and the builder's response to them protect the family's RERA rights; once an interior firm has broken a wall, chased a pipe or covered a damp patch with panelling, it can be hard to show whether a later defect belongs to the builder or to the interior work. The snag list guide on this site describes the possession inspection in detail. For any dispute with a builder, the state RERA authority and a qualified lawyer are the right routes.

The after-sales clause: what a fair contract says

The interior design contract guide on this site lists a warranty clause among the sixteen clauses a contract should contain: the workmanship warranty period, the passing on of manufacturers' warranties with their cards and invoices, a response time for service, and the exclusions. The payment schedule guide adds the retention: a part of the contract value, commonly 5–10 per cent, held back until the snag list is closed and the warranty documents and manuals are handed over. In commercial fit-outs, retention is often held for a defect liability period, commonly about 12 months, or released against a bank guarantee. The table below turns these into a checklist.

Response times deserve a word. A cosmetic issue — a hinge to adjust, a touch-up — can reasonably wait for a scheduled visit within a week or two. A leak, a sparking switch, a falling ceiling panel or a broken lock cannot. A good after-sales clause separates the two. Families should also expect a scheduled service visit or two in the first year, commonly around the third to sixth month and near the end of the first year, because boards settle, hinges loosen and seasonal humidity moves doors; a firm that adjusts these proactively saves both sides a stream of complaints.

Raising and tracking a claim

When something goes wrong, the way it is reported often decides how quickly it is fixed. A claim made by a phone call to a site supervisor who has moved to another project tends to disappear. A claim made in writing, with photographs, to the contact named in the contract creates a record, and a record is what both the firm and any manufacturer need. The flow in Fig. 3 shows a practical sequence that a family and a firm can both follow.

If a firm does not respond, or a manufacturer refuses a claim the family believes is valid, the first step is a clear written escalation to the firm's principal or the manufacturer's customer service, with the history attached. Beyond that, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for complaints before consumer commissions, and the National Consumer Helpline (1915) and the government's e-Daakhil portal for online consumer complaints are starting points for information. These are general pointers, not legal advice; for a significant dispute, a qualified lawyer should review the contract, the warranty documents and the correspondence.

The most common after-sales job: adjusting shutters and drawers

A large share of first-year service calls in kitchens and wardrobes are not failures at all. Modern concealed hinges and drawer systems are designed to be adjusted, and boards, walls and floors move slightly in the first months as the home dries out and goes through its first monsoon and winter. A shutter that drops 2 mm at the handle side, or a drawer front that no longer lines up with its neighbour, is usually corrected in minutes with a screwdriver, provided the installer left the adjustment range available. Fig. 4 shows the three adjustments a typical concealed hinge offers and the gaps that a good installation maintains.

Three habits make these adjustments simple. First, installers should leave hinges and drawer fronts near the middle of their adjustment range at handover, not at one extreme, so there is room to correct later movement. Second, the number of hinges should match the shutter: two for shutters up to about 900 mm high, three up to about 1600 mm and more for tall wardrobe shutters, following the hardware maker's guidance for the shutter's weight and height. Third, the firm should show the family, at handover, where the adjustment screws are and which way each one moves the shutter. A family that can make a half-turn adjustment themselves will call less often, and the firm's service team can concentrate on genuine faults.

Handover documents and the owner's care routine

The handover is the moment warranties are won or lost. The snag list guide and the payment schedule guide on this site both tie the final retention to two things: closing the snags and handing over warranties and manuals. In practice the family should receive one organised project file, physical or digital, and should keep it as carefully as the property papers.

Maintenance is the owner's half of the bargain. The routine is not demanding: wipe spills near sinks and hobs at once rather than letting water stand on edges; check under the kitchen and bathroom sinks every few months for drips; keep wardrobes on external walls slightly ventilated in the monsoon; clean chimney filters on schedule; use the cleaners each finish's care guide recommends; and report problems early, in writing, while they are small and inside the warranty period. Most refused claims involve water or delay; both are in the owner's control.

Where after-sales is going

After-sales in Indian interiors is becoming more organised and more digital. Manufacturers increasingly link products to QR codes and online warranty registration, which makes proof of purchase easier to keep. Larger interior firms run ticketing systems in which a family logs a complaint with photographs and can track its status, and some offer annual maintenance contracts after the warranty ends, covering adjustments, minor repairs and polishing at a fixed fee. In commercial projects, the as-built digital record — every light, AC unit and fitting tagged with its make, model, warranty and service date — is becoming normal practice for facility managers, and some of that habit is reaching premium homes. The fundamentals stay the same: clear written warranties, a named contact, records, and care.

Eight rules for warranties and after-sales

• Get the workmanship warranty in writing, with its period (commonly 1–2 years), scope, exclusions and response times.
• Insist that every manufacturer's card, invoice and registration is handed over, naming brand, grade and product.
• Keep a 5–10 per cent retention until the snag list is closed and all warranty documents are delivered.
• Document a new flat's condition at possession before interior work begins, to protect builder defect rights under RERA.
• Choose materials and details that avoid exclusions: BWP board and sealed edges near water, ventilation on damp walls.
• Report problems early, in writing, with photographs, to the contact named in the contract.
• Ask for a service visit or two in the first year for hinge, drawer and shutter adjustments.
• Keep one project file with drawings, photographs, cards, invoices and care guides for the life of the interior.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the warranty on interior work in India?

Many interior firms offer a workmanship warranty of about one to two years on carpentry and installation, and some offer longer on carcasses. Products such as plywood, hardware, fittings and appliances carry their own manufacturers' warranties, which vary by brand and grade. The actual period is whatever is written in the contract and on each product's warranty document.

What is the difference between a warranty and a guarantee?

In everyday Indian trade usage, a guarantee is often understood as a promise to replace a faulty product and a warranty as a promise to repair it, but the words are used loosely and the written terms are what matter. Read what the document actually promises — repair, replacement or refund — for how long and under what conditions.

Does a modular kitchen warranty cover water damage?

Usually not. Most kitchen and board warranties exclude damage from leaks and standing water. Using BWP-grade board with sealed edges in the sink cabinet, checking traps regularly and wiping spills promptly are the best protection.

Who is responsible for seepage in a new flat — the builder or the interior designer?

Seepage from the building's structure, external walls or original plumbing is generally the builder's responsibility within the defect liability period under RERA and the sale agreement; damage caused by the interior firm's own work, such as a pipe punctured while fixing a panel, falls under the firm's workmanship. A site inspection with photographs decides the cause; documenting the flat's condition before interior work makes this much easier.

What should I do if the interior company does not respond to a complaint?

Send a clear written complaint to the firm's principal with photographs, the contract reference and the history, and keep copies. If it remains unresolved, consumer remedies under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 may be available; the National Consumer Helpline (1915) can guide on the process. For significant disputes, consult a qualified lawyer.