How do you get a builder to finish your job?

Do you have penalty provisions in your building contract.

All contracts include them, but many builders try and leave this section blank.

A realistically harsh penalty for delays is the best inducement I have found to keep builders on time.

Michael Yardney
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“but no one at the building company seems to know”

sorry natwayne but I have to laugh – I have been going thru the very same thing. I suspect that the contract is so loaded in their favour that they never have to pay penalties hence no one has had to work out when that time was up! my good friend who has plenty of time and is completely anal did manage to get the $20 a day out of them though!

Extensive list of ‘Off The Plan’ property available for sale in Perth.

John – 0419 198 856

Hold back their payments. Money talks all languages.

Self defeating…
Gives them another excuse to take longer…and your holding costs are still accumulating.
Keep hassling them with phone calls, emails, etc.
Give them the opportunity to do the right thing before issueing the ultimatum that if they dont perform, the “advise you have been given will be to lodge a complaint with the builders dispute/complaints tribunal”
This body has teeth and can revoke a builders licence.

This is exactly the advise I was given ( by a legal person) and it seems to have worked.

Good luck with it !!

I suspect that, as a client to a major residential builder, you will probably have a heap of trouble trying to change their “standard” contract. In WA at the moment, residential contruction is still booming and they can really take the work that they want. I would think the moment someone wants to change the contract so it isn’t as biased towards the builder they will take the stance that “this is our standard contract” and cannot be changed.

Of course this is utter rubbish and every contract can be changed by simply ruling a line through a clause or writing a new line in.

Dr X, in terms of what wording to use, logic should dictate. I read contracts every day and find it extremely frustrating when some clever lawyer leads you around in circles. They really should be simple and fair to both parties. Noting below someones contract with delay penalties of $20 per day, you really need a value that covers your costs if delay actually occurs. That might include rent or loss of rent, interest charges, etc.

As for when these are applicable, usually they are applied when the delay is not within their control. Typically with larger contracts, labour is within their control and materials sometimes is and sometimes isn’t. Really, the only viable delay is an “act of god”, union action or inclement weather. In larger contracts they also have to apply for an extension of time, however don’t think this really applies to the smaller jobs.

In the end what it comes down to is that, unless you are confident that you know what they mean, get a contract read and interpretted by a legal or experienced person. You can always go to other builders who will be flexible if this one is not.

Enough waffle from me, good luck!

I don’t know if this will be helpful or not but it works for me.

I always ask to speak to management (go straight to the top). I then tell them in a very calm yet straight manner that I’m not satisfied and that if the problem does not get resolved I assert myself by saying “It’s a known fact that if you do a good job clients may tell a few people but if you don’t they will tell everyone.” I then add “If you don’t fix this problem I will make sure I tell everyone how dissatified I am.” I then put it back on to them by asking “is this the type of publicity you wish to create?” I make sure they know I am serious!

Its direct, sincere and effective without being aggressive. It has never let me down.

Good luck

Hi, this is my first time on the forum, thought i’d put in my two bobs worth if it’s of any interest. We built 4 years ago with a reputable company and were told 15 wks for completion. My husband is in the building trade and wanted to do some of the work but they would not allow this as they didn’t want any hold ups along the way, So they could have their own tradesmen in there one after the other with no delays. Due to any bad weather it was like 1 bad day of rain equalled to 1 extra week of work. Luckily our home was completed within the set time frame. On the other hand my parents also built with a supposedly reputable company only to have them walk off the job. It all started with the concretors – the foundation being too short which he blamed his son (a teenager on school holidays helping out his father) which then lead to problems for other tradesmen one after the other. The builders were wanting payment up front for work they hadn’t even started/completed. Dept Fair Trade were brought in to mediate btwn my parents and builder, eventually the builders walked off the job, my parents had all the evidence (my mum would video/photo everything as this is what an independant inspector had told her to do) it was taken to court and my parents were compensated and given the okay to complete the job themselves (but also loosing thousands of $ for legal costs) as for the builders they declared bankruptcy and set up another company in another name. Apparently the supervisor wasn’t even properly licensed to begin with.
In the long run it eventually took my parents over 2 years to build when it was only supposed to be however many weeks contract.You just can’t win, you get the good and bad.
All the best and good luck.

Tania