What To Do If A Disagreement Arises With Your Builder

Whilst the construction of your brand new home can be one of the most exciting periods of your life, if any disagreements arise between yourself and your builder the experience can quickly turn into an absolute nightmare. So, what do you do if this situation arises?

Sometimes, you will meet with a builder and they will tell you a ballpark figure that they can complete your project for. You agree to the price and move on to the contracting stage and, suddenly, the price has been upped by hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars. Think back to when the builder gave you the original ballpark figure – was this given to you in writing? If not, then all the builder has given you is an estimate, which they are free to change as they like. If, however, they gave you a written document, then this is a quote and the builder is required by law to uphold that price. If it was only an estimate, there is not much you can do except to find a new builder.

This could occur at any stage during the project, or even once it has completed. If this is the case, you should first approach your builder to see if you cannot rectify the problem in a civil manner. Explain to them your issue and see what they say – your builder may offer to fix the project at no or little extra charge to you, or they may agree to lower to price. If this gets you nowhere, then you will need to take the matter to an adjudicator.

You will be required to fill out a ‘Notice of Adjudication’, which will include all the details of the disagreement, and send it to the builder. The builder will have 14 days to reply to this notice. Once the adjudicator has met with yourself and the builder, they will have 28 days to come a to conclusion and make a recommendation about how to rectify the disagreement.

If yourself or your builder does not agree with the decision that the adjudicator has made, you do not have to comply with this decision and begin the litigation process (which will require the case to be heard in court). Even though you have the option of taking the disagreement to court, it is not always advisable as the judge will, more often than not, uphold the adjudicator’s decision (which makes it legal and binding to both yourself and your builder). This is, however, not a problem if it was the builder who opposed the decision and not you.

These are just some of the common problems that arise between clients and their builders, as well as some ways to strive towards a solution. Everyone’s situation will be different, so it is always best to make an informed decision.