The Murky World of Construction Guarantees, Latent Defects & Contractual Claims

I was prompted to write this blog after a client recently explained to me that her builder recently explained to her that in fact, he had no contractual obligation to correct her work and he was only there to prevent reputational damage. It is fairly common for builders to make statements that their work is only guaranteed for 12 months and perhaps some of them genuinely believe this. Then on the periphery of any guarantees that are given directly by the builder there are all sorts of insurance policies and schemes that may afford the buyer further protection. The ten year NHBC build mark policy or the 25 year SWIGA guarantee for solid wall insulation systems are both examples of policies that are meant to provide the purchaser with additional peace of mind.

The SWIGA guarantee is particularly interesting and borne of the DECC’s requirement for the EWI industry to provide a 25 year guarantee before rolling out solid wall insulation to the mass market as part of Green Deal or ECO works. It is a requirement that ECO work has a 25 year guarantee. So what about homeowners who are privately funding their SWI installations? Surely they are afforded the same level of protection? Well actually no, it turns out that often they are not. A number of companies are delivering privately funded work without the benefit of the 25 year guarantee that is required for ECO funded work. Buyers may get the system suppliers 5 year guarantee on materials but are often told that the installer only guarantees work for 12 months. When it comes to solid wall insulation consumers are quite often confused by the contractual arrangements that exist between themselves, the installer, the supplier, the BBA and any other third party who may be providing the 25 year guarantee. They quite literally do not know who to turn to first when something goes wrong, particularly when they find that their installer is being unresponsive or obstructive in dealing with matters in a reasonable manner……

 

Read the full article http://buildingdefectanalysis.co.uk/solid-wall-insulation-ewi/constructionguarantees/