Extension of Time Claim - Building Period Already Elapsed

Good afternoon

Quick query on Builder's right to claim an extension of time.

Our contract period has expired (we are 6 months behind) and obviously the builder is already in delay and subject to liquidated damages. They have now submitted a claim for extension of time for the recent xmas holiday (again, outside the contract period) impacting trade availability.due to office closure.

I'm inclined to dispute this. Thoughts?

What state are you in? It depends on what's written in the legislation for that state.

We are in VIC

Cant help you there sorry but in WA the standard HIA contract specifies Time for Performance and the information is there for these queries, have a look at your contract to see if yours is similar

They cannot claim simply due to it being holidays, that is just the unfortunate part and it is clear. But if for example there was a client variation changes in the scope etc which obviously involved these trades and it was during this time I would believe it to be fair and reasonable to claim that break.

Was the EOT claim just because? Or specific to some works?

MC

I concur with you MClark. The EoT in response to the xmas closure alone. The builder shouldn't even be on site (and we should have been enjoying our new home for a while now).

Variations aside, there are reasonable allowances for Holidays, RDO's, inclement weather and the like within the agreed building contract period. Beyond this its unreasonable to expect we foot the bill for additional non-work days when the builders fails to complete the works on time.

Cant find anything in the legislation or contract that suggests the builder is entitled to some further relief beyond the contract expiry date.

Cheers

That is correct, best of luck.

who is the builder ?

Vicman80 Not interested in publicly naming and shaming the builder just yet. They have withdrawn the claim. Cheers.

What’s the contract liquidated damages amount per working day. I assume it must be a reasonable amount if the builder had submitted the extension claim (since withdrawn)?

$1000pw

It seems your builder is fair and reasonable with this amount. Most volume builders using HIA form contracts would have only around $200 per week, less rain days, causing significant financial cost and stress for owners in similar circumstances. Make them do it properly, they should work with urgency at $1000 per week.

We negotiated the contract duration and penalties openly with the builder during contract signing. i.e. we accommodated additional time for the building period, within the contract, and increased the damages payable for not meeting the agreed program. We assumed this increased damages amount would contribute on some level to ensuring the builder would complete works on time, however given the fact we are likely to exceed the building period by more than 8 months, apparently not the case.

Agree, perhaps the builder did not realise the $1,000 per week clause until recently! On my recent Metricon build, which was delayed 10 months by them I had contract liquidated damages of $150 per week and my expenses were about $1,500 per week. This situation is typical unfortunately.

I've wondered this myself recently. I wont be reminding them if that's the case. We are so far behind now that a few more weeks in the grand scheme of things isn't going to kill us. I'd prefer the product finished right in lieu of finished quickly. Cheers