Everything You Need To Know About Building Disputes

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Discuss the problem

You can find a solution by talking through the points of your building dispute with the other person or company involved. This is strongly recommended because it could save you a lot of time.

Formal complaint

If you are having a dispute with a builder, you can ask for their company’s complaints procedure and file a complaint through them. Large trade companies will have a formal complaints procedure which will help resolve the problem.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a cheaper and faster alternative to going to court. There are a few different types of ADR. Perhaps the most common is mediation in which an independent third party (called a mediator) will come to a decision that you and the other side will have to agree on. A mediator’s decision is not legally binding. Other types of ADR involve hiring an expert in the type of dispute you are having that will hear about the dispute from both sides and come to a decision on how it can be resolved. You may see these referred to on other sites as Adjudication or Arbitration. You can choose to hire a solicitor to explain the steps of the ADR process, advise you on what evidence you should bring and even represent you during the process.

Going to court

If none of the above methods have worked, you can take your building dispute to court. The Small Claims Court receives cases about poor building services and compensation. You can sue a builder, contractor or other professional on a building project if they acted recklessly or carelessly, causing you a loss. You can also sue your builder if they have failed to do something that they promised to do in a contract. You are strongly advised to hire a solicitor in both of these cases. Going to court is the most expensive and most time consuming option but it will give you the certainty that your building dispute problem will be fixed.

Step 1

Solicitor assessment

Your solicitor will try to understand your legal position by looking at the facts of your building dispute. At this stage, you should provide the solicitor with the evidence and documentation relevant to your dispute. Your solicitor will explain your legal rights and obligations and advise you on what to do next.

Step 2

Letter of Claim

If you choose to take the other side to court, your solicitor will first send a letter of claim. This letter will include the basic information about the people involved and a brief summary of the case you want to make.

Step 3

Letter of Response

The other side should respond with their own letter. This letter will contain a summary of their response to the case you make.

Step 4

Pre-action meeting

You are required to have a meeting with the other side within 21 days of the response letter. In this meeting, you and the other side will have to try to settle the building dispute. You can instruct your solicitor or hire an independent third party (a mediator) to guide this meeting. If you cannot reach an agreement, the process will continue into a court case unless you both decide to pursue an Alternative Dispute Resolution service.

Step 5

Court proceedings

Your solicitor will fill out a Claim Form and submit it to the court. The other side will have to respond to this and a court date will be set.