A pre-agreed payment owed to a professional when a client cancels a project after it starts, compensating for reserved time and work already done.
A kill fee is what a client pays when they pull the plug after work has begun. Say you booked a two-week job and the client cancels on day four — a kill fee (often 25–50% of the total, plus work completed) compensates you for the time you reserved and turned other work away for.
For sellers, a kill fee turns cancellation from a total loss into a partial one. State it in your contract alongside your deposit terms so it’s never a surprise. For buyers, a kill fee is fair: the professional held space on their calendar for you and likely declined other work to do it.
The negotiation point is the trigger and the amount. Does the fee apply the moment you sign, or only once work starts? Is it a flat percentage or does it scale with how far the project got? Define that up front — a change order handles smaller shifts, but a full cancellation needs its own clause.