Last updated: October 12, 2026
Handoff is a marketplace platform that connects homeowners who need home services performed ("Homeowners") with independent contractors who perform those services ("Contractors"). Handoff is not a party to the actual service agreement between a Homeowner and a Contractor, and does not itself perform, supervise, or guarantee the quality of any service.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. You're responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. Each account is either a Homeowner account or a Contractor account — the platform's fees, permissions, and features differ between the two.
Contractors are independent businesses. They are not employees, agents, subcontractors, franchisees, joint venturers, or representatives of Handoff, and Handoff does not direct, supervise, train, or control how a Contractor performs any job. Handoff simply operates the platform that connects Homeowners and Contractors; the actual work — and the agreement to perform it — is solely between the Homeowner and the Contractor. Handoff is not a construction company, a home-services company, or a party to that agreement.
Contractors must complete Handoff's onboarding process, which includes identity verification and a background-check screening through a third-party provider, before they may accept jobs. Handoff relies on the results reported by that third-party provider and does not independently re-investigate a Contractor's history, and a passed screening reflects only what that provider's records showed at that point in time — it is not, and should not be read as, a promise or guarantee about a Contractor's future conduct, skill, licensing, insurance coverage, or safety on any job. Homeowners are responsible for making their own judgment about a specific Contractor and a specific job, including confirming any license the work legally requires.
Prices are calculated by Handoff and shown to the Homeowner before booking, in the currency of the country the job is in. Each trade has three fixed sizes (small, medium and large) with a published price for each country, in that country's currency, and jobs in some large cities (such as London, Paris and New York) cost 5–30% more. The price shown before booking already includes these. Travel and the booking fee are set in US dollars and converted at that day's exchange rate, rounded up to the cent. The price is fixed when the job is booked. If the Contractor finds the job is bigger than the size booked, he may ask once to move it up one size, at that size's published price; the Homeowner approves or declines. If the Homeowner declines before the Contractor arrives, the job is offered to other Contractors at the booked price; if the Homeowner declines after the Contractor has arrived, the Homeowner chooses either to have the Contractor do only the job booked, at the booked price, or to end the job and pay only a visit fee of half the small price for that trade. Each price includes a booking fee of 4 US dollars, converted the same way. Handoff charges Contractors a platform fee — currently 15% on standard jobs and 20% on emergency jobs, on the price without the booking fee. The booking fee belongs to Handoff: the Contractor collects it with the price and passes it to Handoff with the platform fee. Until payments in the app are available, the Homeowner pays the Contractor directly when the job is done (by cash, card or bank transfer), and agrees to do so when booking. Handoff bills the Contractor its fee by a payment link. The Contractor pays it within 7 days of the job, and always has at least 2 days after the link is sent; a Contractor who hasn't paid by then, or who owes 50 US dollars or more (or the same in local money) once a payment link has been sent, receives no new jobs until it is paid. When confirming a job, the Homeowner tells Handoff how much they paid the Contractor; if it is more than the app price, Handoff's percentage applies to the difference too, unless the Contractor disagrees within 3 days, in which case Handoff checks with both and decides. If the Contractor arrives but doesn't mark the job finished, the fee is owed 3 days after arriving, unless a problem has been reported. A person blocked from Handoff may not open another account. A Homeowner who doesn't pay for completed work may be blocked from Handoff. If a job needs parts or extra work, the Contractor must send the price in the app and the Homeowner must approve it before that work starts; without approval, the booked price stands. Parts are charged at the receipt price (never more than the price the Homeowner approved) plus 5%, and a part without a receipt is not charged. If the Homeowner declines, they pay only the booked price. If the real problem is hidden (for example inside a wall or under the floor), the Contractor may send the job on to other Contractors with a photo or video taken at the home after arriving, and the Homeowner pays only that Contractor's travel cost for that visit. Only one such visit is charged per job, and the Homeowner may question it in the app; it is not charged while Handoff reviews it. Small items such as nuts, washers, tape and screws are included in the job price and may not be charged, and each part a Contractor asks for must cost at least 10 in US dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds or euros, or about the same value in other currencies (as shown in the app), and be named with its exact type, size or model. A Homeowner may choose to buy the approved parts themselves; the Contractor then returns to fit them, and the Homeowner pays for the fitting work and one return trip. A Contractor who can't do a job cancels it in the app; the Homeowner is not charged, and the job is offered to other Contractors. When payments in the app start, they will be handled by a third-party payment processor; Handoff does not store full card or bank details.
A Homeowner may cancel a booking for free at any time before the Contractor arrives. A Contractor taps "I'm here" in the app on arrival. While a Contractor is on the way, the Homeowner can see the Contractor's location on a live map, which updates while the Contractor has Handoff open. If a Contractor hasn't arrived within 2 hours of accepting an emergency job (3 days for other jobs), the Homeowner may send the job to another Contractor. A Contractor who cancels jobs or arrives late 3 times in 30 days stops receiving emergency jobs for a while.
When a Contractor marks a job as done, the Homeowner has 48 hours to confirm it or report a problem; after that, the job is confirmed automatically. Either party may report a problem with a job in the app; the job is paused and a Handoff referee settles it with both sides on a video call, joined from the job page. Each referee session costs a flat fee of 15 in US dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds or euros, or about the same value in other currencies, from the first one. The referee decides whether the job counts as done (the Contractor owes Handoff's fee) or is cancelled (no work was done: the Homeowner pays nothing and no fee is owed). Handoff's referee decision on a disputed job is final for the purposes of the platform.
To keep both sides protected — payment security, dispute resolution, and provider accountability — Homeowners and Contractors agree not to use Handoff's messaging or contact features to arrange payment or future jobs outside the platform for a job that originated on Handoff. Handoff may restrict messages that appear to share outside contact or payment information. A Contractor may not contact a Homeowner outside Handoff about a job they cancelled or were taken off; doing so is grounds for removal from Handoff.
If a Homeowner and a Contractor disagree, argue, or have any other conflict with each other — over money, the work itself, scheduling, behavior, or anything else — that is a matter between them. Handoff is not a party to it and is not responsible for resolving it or for any harm it causes. Handoff's in-app dispute/referee feature is offered as a courtesy to help both sides reach a resolution faster; using it doesn't make Handoff a party to your disagreement or responsible for its outcome.
Handoff is a platform that helps a Homeowner and a Contractor find and agree to work with each other. Handoff is not responsible for anything that happens during, or as a result of, that work — including, without limitation: property damage, theft, personal injury or death, the quality, safety, timeliness, or legality of the work performed, any dispute over price or scope between the parties, or any act, omission, statement, or conduct of a Homeowner or a Contractor. This applies whether the claim is based on contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any other legal theory, and whether or not Handoff knew or should have known of the possibility of such harm.
The one narrow exception is Handoff's own conduct in operating the verification process itself: nothing in this section is intended to disclaim liability for Handoff knowingly and materially misrepresenting whether a specific screening was actually performed. Beyond that narrow point, Handoff is not liable for the outcome of any job, any Contractor's conduct, or any Homeowner's conduct.
By using Handoff, both Homeowners and Contractors acknowledge that in-person home services carry inherent risks (property access, tools and equipment, physical work, being present with someone you haven't met before), and voluntarily assume those risks. You're strongly encouraged to take your own reasonable precautions — for example, a Homeowner confirming a Contractor's identity and any required license before granting access to their home, and a Contractor confirming job details and safety conditions before starting work.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Handoff, its owners, and its staff from any claim, damage, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of: (a) a job you booked or accepted, (b) your interactions with another user, (c) your breach of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. This means that if someone brings a legal claim against Handoff arising from what happened between you and another user, you're responsible for covering Handoff's resulting costs — not the other way around.
Handoff is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the maximum extent permitted by law, and subject only to the narrow exception above, Handoff's total liability for any claim relating to the platform is capped at the greater of $100 or the platform fees you personally paid in the 3 months before the claim arose. Some jurisdictions don't allow certain disclaimers or liability caps, so parts of this section may not apply to you — in that case, this section applies to the fullest extent your jurisdiction still permits.
Handoff may suspend or terminate an account at any time for violating these Terms, suspected fraud, repeated disputes, or behavior that creates risk for other users — with or without notice, depending on severity. You may close your account at any time; open jobs or pending payouts must be resolved first.
Handoff does not provide insurance covering Contractors' work, tools, vehicles, or liability, or Homeowners' property. Contractors are strongly encouraged to carry their own general liability insurance (and any insurance required by law for their trade); Homeowners may wish to confirm a Contractor's insurance before a job involving higher risk or higher value.
This section is about a disagreement between you and Handoff — not a disagreement between a Homeowner and a Contractor, which is covered above. Before filing any formal claim against Handoff, you agree to first contact us and give us 30 days to resolve the issue informally. [Placeholder — a lawyer should confirm whether binding arbitration and/or a class-action waiver is appropriate and enforceable for your jurisdiction and user base; if so, that clause goes here.]
[Placeholder — insert the state/country whose law governs these Terms, and the courts/venue where a dispute would be filed. This should be set based on where your business is legally formed, confirmed by a lawyer.]
We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of Handoff after an update means you accept the revised terms.
Questions about these terms: website@handoff.top