Contractor not on time? Terminate your contract!

Questioner

Our contractor was supposed to finish the renovation before the summer holidays, this was agreed verbally. In May we signed the quote. Now, almost 4 months later, nothing has happened. In the meantime, one of us has become unemployed and our financial situation has changed considerably. Can we still get rid of this contact?

Lawyer

Unfortunately, becoming unemployed or a change in the financial situation is not a sufficient reason to terminate the contract. I think that the quote or the general terms and conditions of the contractor also contain something about cancellation costs that you are then liable for. However, you could try to discuss with the contractor whether he wants to voluntarily abandon the renovation.

Lawyer

In addition to the answer above: have you already put the contractor in default and summoned him to fulfill his obligations within a certain period? If that period expires while the contractor remains in default, you can terminate the agreement.

Lawyer

You can choose a formal approach by summoning the contractor to start the work within a reasonable period. If he does not do so, you can terminate the agreement. You could also terminate the agreement on the grounds of unforeseen circumstances: you were able to pay the contractor before the summer holidays, but perhaps not anymore (due to the loss of your job). This was not foreseeable at the time: the parties did not take into account that the work would not be carried out until after the summer at the earliest. However, I think you do not want to run the risk that the contractor will start work after all (because one of you has become unemployed). The law states that you can always terminate a construction contract. In that case, you must pay the margin lost by the contractor. Usually, the margin amounts to about 5 to 10% of the contract price. You could contact the contractor, explain the situation, and possibly decide to provide the contractor with compensation.