San Jose, CA asked in Contracts, Consumer Law, Real Estate Law and Construction Law for California

Q: How Long Does a Restoration Company Have to Perform On a Contract ?

In December of 2018 my home sustained over 45,000 interior damage rendering it uninhabitable . I signed a contract with a licensed , reputable restoration company February 20, 2019 for repairs . Contract appears legal but the start and end date of work was left blank . Explanation given “ we may run into delays outside of our conttol, pulling permits , etc . I was told verbally that from start to finish restoration would take 12 weeks .Their first appearance at my home was March 28th 2019 , since that time it’s been an hour of work here and then they disappear for two weeks another hour of work ,and disappear again . Never a steady effort . So far only the most minor of repairs have been completed . Their Explanation ? “ we are very busy . “ I have given them no monies as Phase 1 repairs are not yet completed. I have been living in a hotel since Dec of 2018 . I want to go home! Should I pay them for the little work done and cancel , try to find another contractor ?

2 Lawyer Answers

A: Based upon your description of what happened it sounds like you have good reason to ask the builder for a statement of the work done, and then pay the builder some reasonable amount (especially for materials) and cancel the contract IN WRITING. However, before you do that you might want to look around for another AVAILABLE builder.

Tim Akpinar and William John Light agree with this answer

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Construction Law Lawyer
  • Little Neck, NY

A: Additionally, if the project involves an insurance carrier (the description mentions interior damage and a restoration company), keep insurance carrier apprised of developments between incoming and outgoing contractors, so as to anticipate possible changes to original estimates.

Tim Akpinar

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