Legal assistance in case of poor-quality apartment repairs

Is it necessary to enter into an agreement for the performance of repair work If a poor-quality renovation of an apartment was carried out Responsibility for a poorly performed renovation of an apartment How to return money for a poor-quality renovation of an apartment What can be additionally recovered from the contractor If repair work in an apartment was carried out without a contract

Renovating an apartment is a complex process that requires considerable investment, time and nerves. Of course, most people prefer to entrust this matter to specialists in the field of construction and repair work who know all the necessary technological standards and have relevant practical experience. Everyone wants their repairs to be carried out by professionals who are able to carry out all the necessary work efficiently and within the agreed time frame. And this is not only reasonable, but also completely justified, of course, if the relationship with the contractor is properly formalized.

Is it necessary to enter into a contract for repair work?

When undertaking an apartment renovation with the involvement of specialists, it is necessary to act competently from the very beginning, this will avoid a number of problems in the future. We are talking about the written formalization of relationships by concluding a contract for repair work.

Under no circumstances should verbal agreements be relied upon. Concluding a written agreement on the performance of work is mandatory, regardless of whether you trust the work to a contractor found on the Internet, or have found a good specialist through friends, and even if a person you know will be doing the renovation of your apartment. And do not forget to receive a document confirming payment for services - a receipt, check or receipt if the work is performed by an individual.

Remember, you pay money - it means you have the right to protect yourself.

In the contract, you will be able to specify the entire list of works that are planned (supported by a separate estimate), the timing of their completion, the payment procedure, as well as other conditions that you consider necessary to reflect (the procedure for purchasing materials, intermediate deadlines for the delivery of work, etc.) . At this stage, all details of cooperation should be clearly specified, and if additional work is required during the execution of work, you can always conclude an additional agreement to the main contract.

Lawyer for consumer rights protection in St. Petersburg. Tel.+7 (812) 989-47-47 Telephone consultation

Top 3 myths about bad repairs that prevent people from going to court

• The contract is the main document on the basis of which the court will make a decision and, if it does not provide for penalties, you will not receive money. Even if at the time of signing, you did not pay due attention to the absence of tangible penalties or clauses that reliably protect your rights, and now you think that there is no justice for careless builders - this is, no matter what the repairmen themselves say about this.

In fact, the estimate and timing are important in a renovation contract. Regardless of the conditions (and sometimes the conditions are enslaving and unfavorable to the client - penalties are minimal, and the terms of termination are very vague), the consideration will be guided by the norms of consumer legislation.

• The shortcomings cannot be eliminated until the court makes a decision, which means you will have to live “in a state of repair” for an indefinite period.

In fact, you can begin to eliminate the shortcomings and bring the apartment into proper condition immediately after an independent examination has been carried out. Of course, all necessary formalities must be observed and her reputation should not become a basis for revising the results.

• If the company declares bankruptcy, you will no longer receive money for poor repairs of the apartment, which means you need to agree to what the builders offer.

Russians are afraid of courts, and construction companies fuel these fears by exaggerating and disseminating myths that if the company goes bankrupt, people will not be able to recover even the pittance that they offer, so as not to bring the case to court.

In reality, it is becoming increasingly difficult for construction companies and private individuals to evade liability; in the event of bankruptcy, subsidiary liability is applicable, which allows one to count on recovery in any case.

If you have done a poor-quality apartment renovation

The relationship of any citizen with a contractor, regardless of the contractor’s organizational and legal form (LLC, individual entrepreneur, individual), if services are provided in connection with the personal needs of the customer, are regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In other words, if repairs are ordered in connection with running a business, carrying out entrepreneurial activities, and this fact is proven by the contractor in court, then the provisions of the law on the protection of consumer rights will not be applied to your dispute, the case will be resolved on the basis of the civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

Defects and imperfections in repairs can be seen during the first visual inspection.

This could be falling wallpaper, uneven floors, incorrect installation of windows, radiators, defects in floors, walls and much more.

It should be noted that at the time the work is accepted, it is not always possible to identify all the shortcomings, because some defects may appear only after some time, and some shortcomings are simply impossible for the average person, not being a specialist, to identify.

• all detected defects and shortcomings in writing - draw up a report or a defective statement. As a rule, such a document is signed by both parties - the contractor and the customer. If the contractor or his representative refuses to sign anything, it doesn’t matter.
• The next stage is an examination of the quality of repair work . It can be ordered from any licensed expert organization. You will need such an expert opinion in the future, both to file a claim with the contractor and to go to court. The expert will examine the premises and determine what obvious and hidden defects there are in the work done, and how much money will be required to correct such defects, as well as whether the identified defects in the work are significant .
• Next, send a written complaint to the contractor regarding the quality of the repairs performed , and attach a copy of the expert report. At this stage, you should not neglect the help of a lawyer, since the opponent’s behavior often depends on how legally competent and justified the pre-trial claim is drawn up. After all, having estimated what financial losses can be incurred if the case is brought to court, he will most likely try to resolve the issue amicably. In the practice of our lawyers, such cases are quite common. In some cases, it is very effective for lawyers to conduct pre-trial negotiations with the contractor.
• If the pre-trial claim remains unanswered, or a negative response is received, filing a claim in court . It may happen that the contractor pays only part of the declared amount, justifying this with his position. In this case, to recover the remaining amount of money from him, you also need to go to court.

What defects and violations are determined by the examination of the renovation of a house or apartment?

Frequent violations identified during repair inspections:

• overestimation of the cost of materials, works and services
• the use of low-quality materials or materials that do not meet the characteristics specified in the estimate
• poor quality of finishing - plaster, wallpaper, plasterboard ceilings, painting
• poor-quality installation and connection of utilities - electrical, plumbing, heat supply
• non-compliance of work with construction standards and regulations.

An independent examination of repairs must be carried out by accredited specialists; when resolving disagreements, only expert assessments of specialists and expert organizations that comply with legal requirements are accepted for consideration.

The examination after repair and the examination of the cost of repairing an apartment must be carried out by an organization that is a member of the SRO, which guarantees the legality of the expert opinion for all courts of the Russian Federation.

Responsibility for poorly performed apartment repairs

The Consumer Protection Act allows the consumer to choose the extent of liability to which a negligent contractor should be held.

You should be guided by Article 29 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, according to which, if deficiencies are discovered in the repair of an apartment, you have the right to demand:

• Fix defects for free
• Reduce the cost of repair work
• Reimburse the costs of independently (or with the involvement of a third party) correction of these deficiencies

The deadline for eliminating defects at the expense of the contractor is set by the consumer , but this period must be reasonable . Other customer requirements must be satisfied by the contractor within 10 days .

Repair expertise price

The cost of inspection after repair depends on the individual parameters of a particular object and the Customer’s goals.

On average, the cost ranges from 20,000 rubles to 150,000 rubles. Contact us, we will discuss all the details, quickly and professionally carry out an examination of the estimated cost of repairs and its quality with the preparation of all necessary documents.

Read more:

• "Concrete examination"
• "Assessment of foundation condition"
• "Examination of the apartment"

Attention

The money for the examination will be reimbursed to you by the losing party.
Win with A-expert! To quickly contact A-expert, call:

• Moscow +7
• Saint Petersburg +7

How to get your money back for poor quality apartment renovations

Article 29 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” also allows you to cancel the contract and return money for repairs , but under certain conditions:

• If the contractor does not correct the deficiencies of the work within the time period established by the customer
• If the identified repair defects are significant . In this case, a demand for a refund and damages can be made immediately. An expert will be able to determine the significance of the deficiencies in the work performed.
• If the contractor, when performing repair work, significantly deviated from the terms of the contract (for example, used the wrong materials, changed colors, design at his discretion, replaced the material for finishing walls, floors or ceilings, etc.)

As you can see, it is quite possible to get your money back for poor-quality repairs . In most cases, this happens, since people turn to us for help and sue the contractor only in the most advanced cases, when the repairs are extremely poor quality, when significant deficiencies are identified. When it comes to minor defects, it is usually enough to declare their correction, and contractors, as a rule, resolve the issue amicably.

Lawyer for consumer rights protection in St. Petersburg. Tel.+7 (812) 989-47-47 Telephone consultation

Expertise of repairs as determined by the court

In cases where the case is already in court, and it is required to carry out an examination of the repair of a building, house or apartment, we provide the customer or the court with a letter of guarantee, where we give our consent to carry out this work. The timing, cost, and qualifications of the proposed expert are indicated. Next, if our company is chosen, we await an official “ruling” and case materials from the court. After this, the procedure follows the algorithm described above, with the exception of several points:

• the expert provides a receipt confirming awareness of the consequences for giving false testimony
• The expert carries out any interaction with the parties by sending requests to the court
• the expert company necessarily invites both parties to the examination procedure at the site

What additional charges can be collected from the contractor?

If the contractor did not comply with your pre-trial demand and forced you to go to court, then consumer law will allow you to apply additional sanctions . Moreover, the consumer can even count on compensation for moral damage caused, which is recovered upon the establishment of a violation of consumer rights.

• Penalty - 3% of the total cost of work, for each day of delay in satisfying the pre-trial demand (Article 31 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights)
• Moral damage - the amount is determined by the court based on the specific situation (Article 15 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights)
• Legal costs are the costs of drawing up a pre-trial claim, claim, lawyer's services in court, other costs (notary, postal, transport, etc.)
• Fine – 50% of the amount collected by the court from the performer (Article 13 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights). Please note that this amount does not include moral damages and legal costs)

What should you pay attention to in the contract?

An agreement for the provision of repair services or a contract must be concluded in simple written form. Mandatory conditions are those, without the absence of agreements on which it is impossible to consider the legal relationship to have taken place. In particular, such agreements must clearly contain the following conditions:

• Subject of the contract (that is, what specific repair work must be carried out).
• Repair completion time.
• Warranty obligations of the team or legal entity performing the service.
• The cost of work with a detailed calculation of the cost of the service and the pricing of workers.
• The procedure for carrying out settlements between the parties.
• Procedure for consideration of disputes.
• Is there a condition on contractual jurisdiction?
• Check the contractor’s contact details (TIN, address, surname, first name and patronymic of the contractor’s manager)

It is worth considering in detail the issue of the likely shift in completion dates and changes in the cost of repairs depending on certain factors.

When signing an agreement, you should pay attention to whose signature is on the agreement. Is the organization's seal worth it? It must be blue and not made using a printer. The signature is also written in natural blue ink from a ballpoint pen.

Such a scrupulous approach to the formalization of legal relations in the future will allow one to avoid a number of negative factors, including during legal proceedings.

It is recommended to conclude such an agreement even if the master is a private individual and performs the work independently (that is, without the involvement of third parties).

What's next?

Further, the consumer has the legal right to apply to the judicial authorities with a claim, the requirements of which, first of all, depend on the circumstances of the case.

We can note several nuances when filing a claim:

1. First of all, payment of state duty is not required.
2. Secondly, a claim can be filed both at your place of residence and at the address of the organization (information is contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities).
3. Thirdly, repairs involve work, so in most cases, filing a claim requires a construction examination, the variety of which is quite extensive and depends on the essence of the case.

In this material, we examined some of the main issues and nuances that arise in the process of renovating an apartment. For the most part, we relied on basic situations, without considering more complex cases that require an individual approach.

How to prove that the repair was done poorly?

Identified external defects must be recorded in the appropriate act, as well as using photo and video equipment. You can also create a defective statement. Typically, such documents are prepared in the presence of the contractor. If he or the representative does not want to sign the document, it is not a problem.

The next mandatory action is to conduct an examination of the repairs performed. This document will be required both at the stage of pre-trial consideration of the dispute and at the court hearing. Both the claim and the lawsuit itself will be based on the information obtained during the examination.

During the examination, all obvious and hidden violations will be identified. Their danger to the life and health of citizens living in the premises will be established. The cost of restoration work to eliminate identified deficiencies has been determined. And also how significant these violations are.

Work agreement

If you are just planning your renovation, be sure to conclude an agreement with the construction company. This document fixes the agreed conditions for performing the work, among which the following are significant:

• Repair deadline.
• Quality of repair.
• Cost of services provided.
• Warranty period for repairs.

If the contractor performs his work poorly, based on the contract, you will be able to recover from him the amount necessary to compensate for the damage.

There are cases when the contract was not drawn up and the repair work was performed poorly. This situation is controversial, and in most cases the court takes the side of the performer. Witnesses may appear on the applicant’s side, but they are also not a guarantee that compensation will be paid. In such cases, you cannot do without qualified legal assistance.

Actions to take when repair deficiencies are identified

10 days is the deadline for fulfilling consumer requirements.

If any violations of the terms of the contract are identified (repair period in general, stages, quality of work performed), the contractor’s attention should be drawn to this, but not by calling or cursing, but by sending him a corresponding claim, the content of which will depend on the situation. The claim must contain the circumstances of the case, references to the regulatory framework, terms of the contract and consumer requirements, which must be satisfied by the contractor within the time period established by the consumer. This period is 10 days from the moment the contractor receives the claim.

In case of refusal to satisfy the demands made by the consumer, the latter has the opportunity to appeal to the judicial authorities, believing that his rights have been violated.

That's all behind us... Final actions

The only thing to remember upon completion of construction operations is that you must carefully evaluate and accept all work (if possible in the company of an expert) and sign the acceptance certificate. Only after this is it worth making a full financial settlement with the performers. The ideal case is if your contract stipulates the retention of the guarantee amount for a certain period. This will allow you to calmly identify all the shortcomings in the work performed and eliminate them not at your expense, but at the expense of the contractor.

What should you pay attention to?!