Legal Question in Construction Law in Pennsylvania

building delays

We bought a pre-construction house in March of 2003. We were told mid-September for a settlement. There were numerous delays which we were not kept abreast of. We sold our home and had to be out October 30. We had built in a month 1/2 delay but they still were not finished. Now we have moved our family of 6 into a 2BR apt renting month to month since that is what our builders suggested.We could've locked in at a 3 month lease for $800 less a month! It turns out now that our home will not be ready until February 17th. Are the builders responsible for any compensation or can they be legally held accountable for bad faith? We are incurring over $12,000 in expenses between rent storage and having to extend our rate which was locked in way back in June!


Asked on 12/19/03, 2:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: building delays

You HAVE to look at your contract. Was time of the essence? Is there a delay clause? What were the delays? Were they caused by acts of God? Is there a liquidated damages clause (you could be limited to say, $25.00 a day)? Do the clauses apply equally to you and the builder?

Sorry. Too many questions to be able to give you an answer, but chances are the builder will be liable for damages, the question is, how much???

Good luck, and happy holidays!

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Answered on 12/21/03, 12:19 pm


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