Construction Delay

Hi All,

I bought a house+land package in feb 2007. Construction is going on since march 2007 till date. It is 4 bdrm, slope sensitive, split level design. According to HIA contract builder has 180 days to finish it but its still not complete. I have put hold on final stage payment but its costing me interest because of delays created by builder.

I am chasing them for last 4 months and they are showing very slow progress. According to contract they are bound to pay 15$/day as late construction penalties which is very less compare to 80$/day interest.

I am looking for some advice/suggestions to handle this situation.

Thanks
 
Have the builders given you a hand over date?
How much more is there to go?

I hope it works out for you soon. I'm in WA so it's much different, but we just had to wait 25 months for our single storey house to be built.
 
We've just built 2 very simple single storey duplexes. We couldn't even get a finish clause put in. They started May 30, 2007 and I got the keys 10 days ago. They still haven't finished though. I'm still missing a HWS and a stove top. Oh and it would be nice if they pointed the roof tiles before the next heavy rain.

I'm very envious of people who manage to get a late penalty clause put in.
 
annoying isnt it

People,

Unfortunately there is little one can do. On such a small project you will be hard pressed to find a builder who accepts harsh terms and conditions such as a delay clause that has bite.

Regardless at the time of signing the contract you had chosen the builder for some reason and hence didnt think at the time a delay of any great magnitude is possible with (your selected builder)

The other problem is people have a false security that a "standard contract" is safe i.e. HIA or MBA standard contracts. Problem is HIA and MBA represent builders (only) if you read the fine-print which no-one does you will notice you cannot even chuck the builder off easily even if he is building an igloo instead of a house.. basically the contract is there for the builder not you.

and finally a contract is only as strong as your bank balance, i.e. how far you will go legally to enforce it so unless your prepared to spend atleast 10k then its hard to enforce a contract when your builder replies with "ohhhh p*ss off"

So how do you solve your dilema? through practical measures;

1. speak to a solicitor and ensure you are correct (yes you can be wrong, there may have been weather etc causing a delay) - if the contract is being met in everyway - deal with it.

2. if they are delayed and are not meeting with the contract then;

a) (after you tried talking to the builder - forcefully) type a letter to MBA and HIA complaining about the builder (they will contact the builder) - this has little effect but may embarrass the builder into action.

aside from this you have few options;

In short get advice legally form a solicitor that doesnt charge through the nose because you need to know where you stand as your options are limited to, a) negotiate with the builder through hia/mba b) wait for completion (which may never come) and get the penalty fee c) order the builder off-site

options b\c need your solicitor... wish i had better advice.
 
The builder that we used for the last 2 projects has it written into the contract that they have to pay us $1,000 per week for delays. However that would never actually happen as they make sure to send plenty of extension of time notices through for all sorts of reasons from bad weather to 'shortage of trades' or 'shortage of materials', the latter is really annoying as they don't seem to put orders in until the last minute and then surprise surprise something is out of stock!
 
Thank you all for response,

I had chat with my solicitor and he has same idea that legal process against builder will be expensive and lengthy. As tcocaro suggested the contract is more for builder then owner. I have spoken with builder and this time someone from higher level. It seems they are having staff shortage due to couple of their supervisor left job. They seems to be keen on escalating the process.

Initially I have been told the construction duration is 180 days. My HIA contract has sticker for clause 10(construction duration) saying 180 days for single storey and 250 days for double storey. I assumed its single storey construction therefore it should be done in 180 days. But builder argues that, as it is split level it should consider as double storey construction therefore the duration is 250 days.

If next time I decide to get some thing build I would definitely check
(1) construction duration
(2) late construction penalties and keep it as much as possible in the contract. Although this not full proof solution as builder can give any excuses but still it put pressure on them.

There should be some laws in place to stop builder to be lazy?

till then "Patience Is Virtue To Success":)
 
There should be some laws in place to stop builder to be lazy?

No, but you can easily bypass these heartaches by avoiding house and land packagaes :D Just let someone else go through the heartache of building it - then when they have been totally driven up the wall, offer to buy it off them....

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Precisely right, YMan.

Which is why the smart builder will factor in a profit margin for delays etc.

I thought my houses would be finished in 1 year, ended up closer to 3 years.

Thank god for an escalating property cycle!
KY
 
As a builder I do not understand why someone would take so long to finish a house. This year alone we have seen material cost go up by 6 t0 8 % and steel alone has gone up by 15% with further rises in June.

If a builder is locked into building at prices 12 months ago then cost increases will effect the profit margin....unless they factor in huge contingencies. Although, this will push up prices at the outset and the builders pricing will not be competitive for the consumer.
 
No, but you can easily bypass these heartaches by avoiding house and land packagaes :D Just let someone else go through the heartache of building it - then when they have been totally driven up the wall, offer to buy it off them....

Cheers,

The Y-man
smart cookie.
Too true.

Do you wan to make me an offer?
 
Back
Top