What should you do if your contractor violates your agreement?

While you may expect an unlicensed contractor to do a poor job or to not perform work according to schedule, you probably wouldn’t expect the same level of service out of a licensed one. Each day across Florida, a new lawsuit gets filed against against yet another contractor who didn’t comply with their construction contract.

The reasons contractors fail to uphold their responsibilities vary from not completing work on time, using a poorer quality of materials than what was promised or using poor workmanship.

Concerns over factors such as these are what often fuel legal and real estate professionals to warn homeowners to never pay for a home improvement project in its entirety up front. If you do, you may have little recourse for controlling the quality or timing of your project. You may not be able to recover funds paid out if it goes south either.

If you find yourself dealing with a contractor that has breached the contract that you signed with them, then you’ll want to start by sending them a certified letter letting them know what they did wrong and giving them a short period of time to make it right. If the situation isn’t righted within that time frame, then you’ll want to let them know that you’ll consider the contract no longer to be in effect.

While you’re waiting to see if your contractor offers you a remedy, you’ll want to review your contract to see whether you’re required to first resolve your differences via arbitration or whether you can move forward in suing them in court. If you can file a lawsuit, then you’ll want to seek out the support of an experienced Melbourne construction litigation attorney who is focused on managing costs and achieving timely results.