How long do we wait?

[Buiderswoe]

Technical completion of our renovation build was in Jan 24 and we retained £18k retention payable 6 months after. Well…we have had a lot of hassle with roof and windows and builders have been back intermittently when we have chased and chased but they have just been half arsed, don’t fix things properly etc. it’s gone silent again since Jan 25 and I’ve given up chasing. We have not been invoiced for the retention amount but what do I do here? I’d rather they just finished the job but I’m also inclined just to get other trades in to do it properly…frankly I’ve lost faith in them. How long do I wait? What if they NEVER invoice us? How long do we owe them? Anyone been in a similar spot?

If it's been over a year and there are still things to finish I would send a final email saying that if they do not complete fixes by ... Date then you will be using the retention money to employ other builders to fix the issues.

I came on here to say exactly the same thing as Geneticsbunny.

Thanks both…I think it feels like the next sensible step. I suspect it will start a (small) flurry of more half hearted activity that subsequently need redone as it won’t be good enough. Part of me really feels that if we didn’t chase them again, we might never hear from them again…but on balance, I think you are right…although I don’t know where that would leave us legally. If we give them a deadline they miss….ie if we paid new trades to fix, could they still bill us full amount and claim the work never needed done?

Do you have a written contract with the builder? If so, check what that says.
If not, is your builder a member of an organisation that sorts out disputes? If so that needs to be your route.
Assuming there is no written contract or regulatory body , there is still a verbal contract that the builder could use to sue for the retention.
If you have lost faith in the builder you should not get other trades in to finish it off until you have sorted out the £18,000 as otherwise you could be liable to pay that.
You really need to speak to a contract lawyer but one option is to get an independent surveyor in to value the work done by the builder to date and it's quality and to see if in their view you owe all or some of the £18,000.
Ideally you would get the builder to agree to this approach before getting a surveyor on board.
I had similar issues with a kitchen fitter who was on kitchen fit 5 with cabinets falling off the wall so I was concussed and had no confidence in their ability . I eventually agreed I would not pay the final instalment rather than getting them back again. A local handyman sorted out the mess but I am still highly irritated by the stress the kitchen company put me through.

Yes we do have a contract which basically says retention is due 6 months after “technical completion” which was last January so we should have been billed in July 24. To be fair, they haven’t billed us for this as they acknowledge work still to be done (although not fully in agreement on the nature and extent…hence the halfhearted attempts) but are in no rush to actually do it…I suspect they have loads of other more lucrative work and this is their lowest priority since we had paid the bulk of the money over at technical completion. I can’t believe it’s dragged on for so long!