Many times a homeowner enters into a written contract with a licensed contractor for the remodel of his or her home or rental. The terms of the construction contract signed by the contractor and the homeowner control the obligations each owe to the other in the absence of conflicting state law including any change order with respect to the state where the work of improvement is located.
Unfortunately, there have been several incidents where the remodel for does not turn out as the property owner or the contractor expected. The work does not comply with acceptable standards within the custom and practice of the construction industry of your state, and is defective for many reasons (such as the safety standards adopted by the Uniform Building Code (UBC) or other industry standards).
Liability and Damages
In the unfortunate situation where there has been a remodel of a home, residential rental or a commercial building and problems result, the homeowner generally retains an attorney who in turn retains a third party expert to establish an expert opinion as to the scope of the problem (assuming there is one), whether or not the person who did the remodel (1) fell below the standard of care under industry standards and (2) the estimated costs to rectify the problem.
This is usually determined by a contractor licensed in the state where the remodel work is located. Sometimes the remodel may require structural calculations and changes to the structure necessitating the retention of a structural engineer as well.
Typically the licensed contractor expert will inspect the remodel and come up with an opinion as to whether or not the person who did the remodel fell below the standard of care for the work of improvement and if so, the estimated costs of repair which would essentially be the homeowner’s damages. In most states in this country, the measure of damages of a property owner for a deficient remodel job that did not comply with established industry practices and perhaps is not code compliant is set by law.
From a practical perspective, the typical damages that a homeowner could assert in a failed remodel would be the costs to remove the defective construction (improvements). This would mean tear outs and disposal of debris to rectify the improper work of improvement, permits and fees to start up again, any additional costs that would not have been incurred such as structural engineer fees, architectural drawings, and blue prints. Most importantly additional damages would be the re-installation of replacement construction going in place of the removed defective construction in the remodel.
There is no fixed amount as to what the actual damages would be as a rule of thumb. The replacement costs for the new installation would be based upon the estimates of the expert contractor as to the scope of the work to rectify the bad remodel and its associated costs.
If the written contract between the property owner and the person doing the remodel has an attorney’s fee clause, the property owner’s attorney’s fees and certain litigation costs (i.e., the filing fee and deposition costs) are additional items that the property owner should seek against the defendant in a defective remodel situation.