Building Contractors contract expired

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ailli

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Hi Folks

We signed a contract with a builder in May 2005 stating that the house would be finished in 12 months which has now expired. The house is plastered on the outside only, this was completed on Tuesday last and no work has been done on the house since. I have confronted the builder but he just laughed it off, I would not be so annoyed if they were working on the house but it's been left for days with no work done. Just wondering do we now have the right to penalise the contractor financially and what is the procedure. Any help appreciated.

Ailli
 
1. Did you hand over all they needed as required. Site/Plans/Money
2. Was the site ready to go when contracts were signed
3. Were there design changes
4. Did you or ye change your mind at all about anything at all ?
5. Are there penalty clauses in the contract

And yes, they laugh all the time and say yahoo yahoo blather but you may be able to terminate the contract for specific non performance and pay them for what they have done so far only and tell them to feck off. You will then need another builder.

You may also be able to sue them for consequential losses , rent, etc afterwards .
 
Hi 2Pack

Site preparation was in on the contract, the builder only requested 9 months for the build, but he is local and we agreed to allow 12 due to Irish weather etc, there are no penalty clauses as such it just states the builder will vacate the site, clearing away any unused material and leaving it in a habitable condition 12 months from the date hereoff( meaning the date the contract was signed) i.e. 5/5/05. what';s really peing me off is that the house is nowhere near completion but there is no work been done, plastering is all inside now so weather is not a factor. Do we have any rights if there are no specific penalty clauses?

Ailli
 
You have rights yes . a contract is a contract . See a lawyer .
 
Dump that builder.. he sounds like a complete scam artist.

I've relatives in the building game and if there are delays, they know well in advance and let the client know. This guy sounds like he's taking you for a ride and probably only sends guys over to do work when they have nothing else to do.

Do consult a solicitor, but do be aware that legal action could take months or years to sort. In the mean time find another builder and get a quote for whats left to be done. Make sure that they realise the position. If this guy is local, he wont be too happy about word getting out about his dodgy business practices and that he's being dumped from a job.

If you find another builder who is willing to take over and your solicitor gives you the go ahead, calculate what is due to the first builder, give him a deadline to clear his equipment from site, do NOT pay him until he has removed his equipment and get the other guy in there asap.
 
You may have great difficulty finding another builder who is willing to take over from this guy. Very few builders have much of an appetite these days for sorting out a mess created by someone else. Those who do tend to charge well for the privilege.

If your builder is cheeky enough to tell other builders that the delays have been down to your non-cooperation or inability to pay on time, then you may well find yourself blacklisted by other builders in the locality. If this happens, it will be done by word-of-mouth and as such you will have absolutely no way of counteracting it.

In the meantime, tread carefully.
 
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