delay by contractor-appropriate penalty?

J

joeclogs

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We have a contractor building our house. There is a contract in place specifying the completion period (12 months) and payment schedule. However the job has now run 2 months overdue and counting because of delays on the part of the contractor and his subcontractors (not because of changes by us). The contractor has accepted that he is partly responsible for the delay, although he also blamed the weather. I feel that we should be able to deduct some of the mortgage payments we are making from the next stage payment and will be discussing this with the contractor. What is the normal procedure in these cases? Is there a normal penalty that applies in these cases, especially when it is not specified in the contract (apologies if this should be in askaboutlaw).
 
Any penalty should be detailed in the contract. As you say there is no such provision, it's a matter for both parties to discuss and come to agreement on.
Leo
 
A penalty can be enforced for non performance issues on the contract. Like any insurance policy small print there are exceptions such as war, unseasonal weather etc which are sidedoors away from the issue of any compensations.

If your contractor is justified by the delays caused by the weather then you would have no right to compensation as this is outside the control of the contractor. If he was simply not turning up then you have a case and you should be negotiating this directly.

It will all come down to a comparison of his and your site diary and weather reports etc. This year has been extremely harsh on the weather front, July wettest recorded (aparently) March & April were not much better.

If the contract doesnt provide for a fixed system of penalty there would be a default situation by RIBA assuming that you used this form of contract through an architect. A lot depends on how the project was managed and the input from the professional support services (architect / engineer etc.)
 
The RIAI Blue and Yellow forms of contract covers most of these eventualities, but even a one pager should cover things like the retention % to be held back on each payment and and amount to be deducted for overruns.

Where a contract exists and the work is acceptable but the time fact is an issue, and both parties are agreeable to go froward towards a resolution, you have four basic choices;

Negotiation
Consiliation
Mediation
Arbitration

You can look each one up on google by putting wiki after the word.
All options can be relevant depending on circumstances/ attitude.

Arbitration tends to be chosen in place of a High Court action.
Mediation has gained huge support over the past few years.
I recommend Joe Behan if you want professional advice.

http://www.disputeresolution.ie/

I know Joe Behan personally and professionall going back many years.
I have always found him competent and professional in all matters.

ONQ
 
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