what is contractor retention
[edit] Introduction. Retention is a percentage (often 5%) of the amount certified as due to the contractor on an interim certificate, that is deducted from the amount due and retained by the client.The purpose of retention is to ensure that the contractor properly completes the activities required of them under the contract.Retention can also be applied to nominated sub-contractors, and the main contractor may also apply retention to domestic sub-contractors. possible alternative to retention is a retention bond, where the client agrees to pay the amounts which would otherwise have been held as retention, but instead a bond is provided to secure the amount that would have been retained.