Homeowners: Recover Your Builder Delay Damages With Three Steps

It’s an annoyingly common experience for homeowners to move into their new homes long after the expected completion date. Unfortunately, this typically results in homeowners investing more into the home than was originally outlined in their contract. Many Melbourne homeowners find themselves spending thousands more on construction whilst saying, “hold on, this wasn’t part of the contract, plus they’re taking so long to finish!”

This isn’t right, especially as you aren’t the ones who are actually in charge of building the home. The last thing you need after waiting an extended time period to move into your new home is to pay thousands in extra building costs.

But, don’t despair, as any Melbourne homeowner that experiences building delay damages are entitled to breach of contract compensation! This is, of course, compensation for any extra expenses or financial loss you incurred as a result of your builder just taking far too long.

If you have experienced this unpleasant burden and would like to commence the process towards compensation then here is how you should start:

• Calculate the contractual date of completion

The best building and construction lawyers Melbourne has will always recommend that you begin by calculating the contractual date of completion. This is because you need to accurately calculate the financial loss incurred between the contractual date of completion and the actual date of completion.

Without knowing the difference between these two dates it is impossible to know how much money you lost and, consequently, how much the compensation you are owed. As such, the first thing you need to do before contacting first class legal representation is know the contractual date of completion, the actual date of completion and how much money you lost in between these two dates.

• Understand what damages you can claim

If you believe there has been a breach of contract then there will likely be damages you can claim and damages that unfortunately cannot be claimed.

There are a huge range of damages you may be able to claim on your breach of contract, including:

• Construction loan interest
• Insurance costs
• Loss of rent
• Loss of use
• Lost property income
• Overhead costs
• Project management costs

It is highly likely that if you have experienced a breach of contract then you can make a claim on at least one of the above-listed damages. For example, you may have expected to rent the home out soon after its contracted completion date. But if the builder delayed the project completion to the point you lost a prospective tenant then you should be able to claim damages on loss of rent income.

• Consult a lawyer regarding the necessary forums

There are numerous ways you can go about recovering your damages. For example, first class legal representation can help you recover your losses through an out-of VCAT settlement. Here, the hope is that the builder will understand their wrongdoing and dually compensate you for your loss.

However, it may eventuate that your builder is stubborn and won’t admit to any wrongdoing, in which case the case might have to go further. If this is the case, it’s important that you consult with your lawyer regarding the recoverability of costs incurred in proceedings, the length of the ongoing proceedings and how much you can expect to recover.

Once you have covered all these bases you can then start the process towards recovering the damages you incurred through your builder’s delayed completion!