A building project going wrong is uniquely stressful: you are living in the problem, paying for it, and negotiating with the person who caused it. The law is more on your side than most homeowners realise — contract, consumer legislation, and courts scaled to the claim — but it rewards sequence and evidence over anger. Here is how these disputes are actually won.
The Recurring Disputes
- The abandoned job: first fix done, builder gone — the termination-and-complete sequence that must be run correctly: builder left the job unfinished;
- Defective workmanship: the expert-report-first claim — our defects practice in full;
- Price disputes: quotes versus estimates versus extras — audited line by line against the paper trail;
- Deposits and stage payments: money paid ahead of work never done — recovery in contract and, where the builder fails, the insolvency realism conversation;
- Delay: completion dates missed by seasons — what time-is-of-the-essence actually requires, and what delay damages you can prove.
The Sequence That Wins
Document — dated photos, every message, the payment trail. Expert — where workmanship is in issue, the engineer’s or surveyor’s report before any repair disturbs the evidence. Letter — a solicitor’s letter that names the breaches, costs the remedy and sets a deadline changes the negotiation, because the builder’s insurer or accountant now prices the alternative. Route — mediation (fast, cheap, preserves what can be preserved — and as an accredited mediator Richard knows the room from both chairs), or proceedings in the court the value fits. The mistake to avoid at every stage: self-help termination without advice — throwing the builder off site wrongly is how homeowners convert winning claims into losing ones. Start with what to do when a builder dispute starts.
Prevention: The Cheapest Legal Service We Sell
Almost every dispute on this page was cheaper to prevent than to fight: a written contract, staged payments tied to completed work, variations agreed in writing, retention held until snags clear. Before your next project — extension, renovation, self-build — have the paperwork reviewed: construction contracts review, and the extension contract checklist.
Mary Molloy Solicitors are solicitors, not engineers, architects or building surveyors. Nothing on this page is a technical assessment of any property or works. Defects claims stand or fall on independent expert evidence — a chartered engineer’s or building surveyor’s report — obtained early. Scheme rules, grant rates and legislation in this area change frequently; confirm the current position before making any decision.
A Build Going Wrong Right Now?
Before you pay another cent or send the builder packing - one call to sequence it properly.
Call 01 5827148