Matters / Construction disputes
Establish what is defective and what should put it right.
Defective Works
Corvinus compares the delivered work with the obligations that apply, examines causation and responsibility, and defines the evidence and remedial position required to pursue resolution.
What Corvinus does
What Corvinus does on this matter.
The work within Corvinus's control, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Establishes the standard the contract, specification and applicable requirements set.
- 02Records what has actually been delivered, and how it performs.
- 03Examines cause, responsibility and the investigation the issue requires.
- 04Defines a proportionate remedial scope and the evidence needed to support it.
Typical situations
- Work has failed, cracked, leaked or moved
- Quality is disputed as a matter of preference
- The contractor disputes that the work is defective
- Remedial costs have been quoted and challenged
- A survey or specialist report has been produced
Typical situations
- Work has failed, cracked, leaked or moved
- Quality is disputed as a matter of preference
- The contractor disputes that the work is defective
- Remedial costs have been quoted and challenged
- A survey or specialist report has been produced
How it is examined
How the matter is examined.
- 01
Establish the obligation
Identify the standard the contract, specification and applicable requirements actually set.
- 02
Record the condition
Document what exists, how it performs and how it differs from what was required.
- 03
Examine causation
Assess likely cause and identify where specialist investigation is needed.
- 04
Define the remedy
Set a proportionate remedial scope and the evidence required to support it.
The difficulty
Why the matter becomes difficult.
A complaint about workmanship can involve design, specification, product, installation, maintenance and expectation issues at the same time. Identifying a defect is not the same as establishing what caused it or who carries it.
What Corvinus establishes
What is established before any position is advanced.
- 01
The required standard
What standard the contract, specification, drawings, law and relevant technical guidance required.
- 02
What was delivered
What condition or performance has actually been delivered.
- 03
The nature of the issue
Whether the issue is a defect, incomplete work, a design issue, a maintenance issue, damage or a disputed preference.
- 04
Likely cause
The likely cause and whether specialist investigation is required.
- 05
Defect to loss
The relationship between defect, causation, responsibility and loss.
- 06
Remedial position
What remedial work is technically appropriate and proportionate.
- 07
Evidence required
What evidence is required before a demand is made.
Legal and technical framework
What may govern this matter.
Jurisdiction: England and Wales. Applicability depends on the contract, lease, works, parties and facts. This page provides general information and does not determine the position on a particular matter.
View the legal and technical framework
- Defect is measured against obligation
- Whether work is defective depends on the obligations that apply, including the contract, specification, drawings, applicable legal requirements and relevant technical standards.
- Building Regulations and Approved Documents
- The Building Regulations establish legal requirements. Approved Documents provide guidance on ways those requirements may be satisfied; they are not themselves a universal contractual specification.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015
- Duties under the Act may apply in qualifying consumer contracts. Applicability depends on the parties and the contract.
- Design and product responsibility
- Professional appointments, design responsibility, product requirements and specialist standards may be relevant to where an issue originates.
- A defect is not a liability finding
- Identifying a defect is not the same as establishing causation, contractual responsibility, recoverable loss or legal liability.
- Defect is measured against obligation
- Whether work is defective depends on the obligations that apply, including the contract, specification, drawings, applicable legal requirements and relevant technical standards.
- Building Regulations and Approved Documents
- The Building Regulations establish legal requirements. Approved Documents provide guidance on ways those requirements may be satisfied; they are not themselves a universal contractual specification.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015
- Duties under the Act may apply in qualifying consumer contracts. Applicability depends on the parties and the contract.
- Design and product responsibility
- Professional appointments, design responsibility, product requirements and specialist standards may be relevant to where an issue originates.
- A defect is not a liability finding
- Identifying a defect is not the same as establishing causation, contractual responsibility, recoverable loss or legal liability.
Resolution
What resolution may look like.
These are the routes the work is intended to make available. Whether any is realistic depends on the lease, contract, works and facts.
- Agreed inspection or opening-up
- Agreed remedial scope
- Contractor return and rectification
- Third-party remedial work and a quantified position
- Narrowing technical disagreement
- Escalation on a prepared evidential basis
What you receive
The output is the product.
The deliverables within Corvinus's control on this matter, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Defect and Issue Schedule
- 02Technical Analysis
- 03Investigation Requirements
- 04Causation and Responsibility Matrix
- 05Remedial Scope
- 06Photographic and Documentary Evidence Schedule
- 07Draft Response or Demand
- 08Professional Briefing
If the matter does not resolve
Prepared for specialist legal escalation.
Corvinus prepares the defect schedule, technical analysis, causation and responsibility position, evidence and remedial scope for a specialist construction solicitor or counsel.
- Defect and issue schedule
- Technical analysis and investigation record
- Causation and responsibility matrix
- Photographic and documentary evidence schedule
- Remedial scope and quantified position
- Briefing for a specialist construction solicitor or counsel
Common failure points
What goes wrong, and the better route.
Demanding money before evidence
The demand can be answered with a technical argument that was never tested.
Better route
Establish standard, condition, cause and responsibility first.
Removing the evidence
Remedial work carried out early can destroy the record of the defect.
Better route
Record and, where needed, inspect before rectification begins.
Treating guidance as the specification
An argument can rest on a document that was never contractually binding.
Better route
Apply each requirement according to its legal and contractual status.
Common questions
Questions about defective works.
Other matters
- Consent and alterationsLicence to AlterMove the alteration towards consent.Move the alteration towards consent.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.
- Consent and alterationsRetrospective ConsentCreate a route to regularisation.Create a route to regularisation.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.
- Construction disputesConstruction DisputesEstablish responsibility and the route to resolution.Establish responsibility and the route to resolution.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.
Present a matter
Establish what is defective and what should put it right.
Present the issue first. Corvinus will determine whether the matter is suitable, what information is required and what the proposed scope should address.
Initial enquiry · No obligation to proceed