Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 04, 2011 1:23 pm We are currently arguing with our builder who gave us a HIA contract for our build, In the contract it states they have 200 days to finish construction which this has now expired. They are now saying that they have 200 working days to finish. We asked them in January when they were required under the contract to finish and were told mid May. Has anyone had dealings with this situation?? Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 2Jun 04, 2011 2:25 pm They are having you on. The days stated in your contract are 'days', not 'working or business days'. In my HIA contract, the number of days in the building period (260) includes 'x' number of estimated days for delays for inclemental weather, weekends, public holidays etc. So it's pretty clear that the days quoted is not working days. I'm pretty sure all HIA domestic contracts are written that way. Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 3Jun 04, 2011 6:53 pm I agree with the above. It states 'days' in the contract not 'working days' When it comes to contractual law it's all in the wording as they say. You would be entitled to liquidated damages. Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 4Jun 06, 2011 10:43 am I don't have my contract here to check the details but I do remember the word "day" and "business day" to be defined in the "definitions" section. Another point of interest: the HIA contract states that the builder must start construction within 20 days (or business days - I don't remember for sure) after obtaining all the necessary approval (construction certificates, etc). The contract period (200 days in your case) effectively starts after that 20 days, not from when they start building. DKP Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 5Jun 06, 2011 11:19 am Double check what is in your HIA contract. I have just checked mine and mine does say "180 working days" after the contract period has commenced Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 6Jun 06, 2011 12:41 pm dkp I don't have my contract here to check the details but I do remember the word "day" and "business day" to be defined in the "definitions" section. Another point of interest: the HIA contract states that the builder must start construction within 20 days (or business days - I don't remember for sure) after obtaining all the necessary approval (construction certificates, etc). The contract period (200 days in your case) effectively starts after that 20 days, not from when they start building. DKP I'd say that the contract period effectively starts after construction starts (that is, between 200 to 220 days, depending ion when construction starts) Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 7Jun 07, 2011 12:02 am Casa2 I'd say that the contract period effectively starts after construction starts (that is, between 200 to 220 days, depending ion when construction starts) Hi Casa2, I checked my HIA contract. It clearly says the contract period commences 20 working days after the builder receives all the necessary approvals (clause . The builder may start building before the contract period starts. As for the contract period, its duration is given either in weeks or in working days (ours is in weeks). DKP Re: HIA Building Contracts - Liquidated Damages 8Jun 07, 2011 12:52 pm dkp Casa2 I'd say that the contract period effectively starts after construction starts (that is, between 200 to 220 days, depending ion when construction starts) Hi Casa2, I checked my HIA contract. It clearly says the contract period commences 20 working days after the builder receives all the necessary approvals (clause . The builder may start building before the contract period starts. As for the contract period, its duration is given either in weeks or in working days (ours is in weeks). DKP Then rather than stating a contract period + 20 days, the contract might as well use the date when all necessary approvals are recieved. This is all that counts! Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 It worked for me in getting all non notified rain days removed from the builders claim, although the LDs was only $50/day 7 5962 Industry type domestic contracts are prepared by industry bodies for the benefit of the builders. This means that if you are the owner watch out. One of the points is… 0 3235 |