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Author Topic: Completion delay  (Read 16969 times)

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Jcbs7

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Completion delay
« on: August 25, 2016, 03:53:14 pm »
Hello,

First of all I would like to thank everyone for all the information on the site/forum, it has been very useful.

So after reading into the Consumer Code etc, I would like some advice on whether you believe I am due any compensation for my situation.

We originally reserved a Bovis Homes plot back in March/April, with an expected finished build in June. This quickly got moved to July and then August, once we exchanged contracts, the expected date on the documentation was 26th August.

The roof of our house was on in June (we have a picture of it in this state of completion!) and at this point and throughout July and most of August we were still being told completion should be end of August. We have recently been informed that it will now be in October!

So as the Code states we should be given a completion month once the roof is on, what kind of recompense would we likely receive if we claimed? Would it just be for inconvenience or could we claim for additional months of rent etc?

We have emailed the regional sales manager at Bovis and he has essentially said all dates were estimates and Bovis do not give rent payments to customers before moving into their homes. Also, the reason given for the delay is that the garages are not complete.

Any advice is welcome and feel free to ask for any more information you might need to advise me! Thanks.


New Home Expert

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Re: Completion delay
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2016, 05:30:18 am »
First of all an incomplete garage wouldn't stop Bovis forcing you to legally complete for their financial year end. My guess is, having missed their half-year on 30 June The original completion date, urgency and momentum on site slowed.  The reason you cannot legally complete is because your new home is nowhere near finished and Bovis, being incapable of forecasting 6 o'clock at half past five, are unable to give you an accurate date even now!  Yes within reason completion dates are estimates or forecasts, but Bovis have been 8 weeks out since roof completed. The home could have easily been finished in that time and there are no weather delays once the roof is on, so their "estimate" should be accurate!

You are quite correct, Bovis have and continue to breach the Consumer Code for Home Builders Requirement 3.2. At roof they should give you the MONTH the home will be finished and ready for you to move in. They did, although they are (at the moment) two months out!
So you can get compensation using the Consumer Code.  The maximum is £250 for "inconvenience" which is a slam-dunk.  You should also insist that the £120 registration fee is also refunded (otherwise what is the point!)

As for anything else, you will have to prove with receipts, why you are out of pocket.
This could be, rearranging a mortgage, valuation and fees. Additional legal fees, extending your rental agreement (but not for rent, you would have to pay a mortgage if the home had been ready on time), any rent you may have to pay for any term left on your rental lease.

Do please have your home professionally inspected and snagged.
(I always recommend Tim Fee of Snagging Inspections.co.uk 07768 900200)
Bovis are one of the worse housebuilders, especially after you have moved in and report defects.
Do not legally complete on the home unless you are 100% happy and satisfied everything is as you want it.
New Home Blog - New Home Expert is committed to providing help and advice for people having issues with their new homes and difficulties with house builders as well as helping potential buyers reduce the risk of possible problems if they do buy.

Tim Fee Snagging Inspector

Jcbs7

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Re: Completion delay
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2016, 03:11:17 pm »
Thanks for the reply.

I am currently looking into the professional snagging (have a bit more time to look into it thanks to the delay!) and thanks for the recommendation.

As for the compensation using the Consumer Code, will the £250 and refund of the £120 be virtually guaranteed? I don't have lots of spare cash at the moment so slightly worried about paying the £120 for the claim. I am also going to reply to the regional sales manager stating I am considering claiming through the Consumer Code and seeing if they might offer a goodwill payment instead.


New Home Expert

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Re: Completion delay
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2016, 10:48:24 am »
If you make a claim using the Consumer Code for Home Builders Adjudication Scheme it will cost Bovis a fee £300 plus vat (£360) regardless of the outcome. 

Just stating in writing, that you intend to do this and asking Bovis for a final "deadlock" letter, may be enough for them to agree to pay you the £300 or perhaps even £500, to save the hassle and expense and the fact that it would be another claim made against the company!

As far as success using the CCHB Adjudication Scheme is concerned, nothing is certain. I have read case summaries that have not succeeded despite obvious and acknowledged breaches of the Code. Even those that are successful it is usually on "in part" and awards are normally just the £250 and the return of the fee is also somewhat of a lottery.

This is why the CCHB is pretty much useless and why buyers like you often choose to give in and not bother. This is why we need a New Homes Ombudsman:-   FREE -  FAIR  -  FOR EVERYTHING
Please write to your MP and ask him to support the setting up of a New Homes Ombudsman as soon as possible. As recommended in the APPG  EBE Inquiry's recently published Report.
New Home Blog - New Home Expert is committed to providing help and advice for people having issues with their new homes and difficulties with house builders as well as helping potential buyers reduce the risk of possible problems if they do buy.