{"id":6860,"date":"2024-05-31T09:56:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T07:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/what-should-you-do-in-construction-disputes\/"},"modified":"2024-12-24T13:41:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T11:41:02","slug":"what-should-you-do-in-construction-disputes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/what-should-you-do-in-construction-disputes\/","title":{"rendered":"What should you do in construction disputes?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>Problems with your contractor, craftsman or architect? A leak in the roof after construction work? Or a cracked tile? What should you actually do in construction disputes? You can read about it here!    <\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>General legislation: the Breyne Act<\/li>\n<li>Problems with the contractor or architect<\/li>\n<li>Problems with a professional<\/li>\n<li>Technical construction disputes<\/li>\n<li>Non-technical construction disputes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What should you do in construction disputes?<\/h2>\n<h3>1. General legislation: the Breyne Act<\/h3>\n<p>  The Breyne Law:  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>provides comprehensive protection for prospective builders and buyers.<\/li>\n<li>Establishes the rights and duties of each player on the construction site.<\/li>\n<li>provides guarantees for builders and buyers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p>  The terms of Breyne Law:  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You are having a house or apartment built or buying a house to be built or home under construction.<\/li>\n<li>You are buying an existing home, where the seller is expanding or significantly remodeling that home (at least 80% of the sale price and more than 18,600 euros).<\/li>\n<li>The building is intended for residential or professional and residential use.<\/li>\n<li>You must make one or more payments before the work is fully completed, according to the terms of the contract.<\/li>\n<li>You may only work with one contractor.<\/li>\n<li>Your agreement should include two steps:\n<ul>\n<li>The preliminary delivery<\/li>\n<li>The final delivery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>2. Problems with the contractor or architect<\/h3>\n<p>  Does your contractor or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/alles-wat-je-moet-weten-over-architecten\/\">architect<\/a> not respect to apply the contract?  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Breyne Law: The contractor must fulfill his obligations according to the agreements in the contract and thus within the time and price specified therein.<\/li>\n<li>Does the contractor refuse to do this? Then deliver a formal notice of default asking him to comply with the contract. <\/li>\n<li>No response? Step to the Construction Reconciliation Commission (technical) or Consumer Ombudsman Service (non-technical). <\/li>\n<li>Is it still not resolved after this? Then go to civil court (private individual &#8211; contractor\/architect) or corporate court (company &#8211; contractor\/architect). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3. Problems with a professional<\/h3>\n<p>  Did the craftsman perform shoddy work? Were pipes connected incorrectly?   <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Breyne Law: The craftsman must fulfill his obligations and bring the works to completion.<\/li>\n<li>Dissatisfied? Raise it, consult and find a solution. <\/li>\n<li>Deliver a formal letter to the craftsman, asking in it for a solution to the problem (price reduction, repair, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>No response from the professional? Try to resolve the problem through an independent mediator on the online platform <a href=\"https:\/\/economie.fgov.be\/nl\/themas\/online\/belmed-onlinebemiddeling\/belmed-uw-partner-alternatieve\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Belmed<\/a>. This mediation will cost you money, but is often cheaper than and legal process.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>4. Technical construction disputes<\/h3>\n<p>  Is your roof not waterproof after the works? Are the joints of your tiles cracked?   <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>File <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bouwverzoening.be\/uw-dossier-indienen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an online complaint<\/a> with the <a href=\"https:\/\/economie.fgov.be\/nl\/themas\/online\/belmed-onlinebemiddeling\/alternatieve\/vormen-van-geschillenregeling\/verzoening\/verzoeningscommissie-bouw-vzw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">non-profit Construction Reconciliation Commission<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The Building Reconciliation Committee organizes a sit in which it chooses an expert.<\/li>\n<li>The expert visits the site and tries to reach a compromise with both parties.<\/li>\n<li>Does this fail? Then the expert draws up a technical report. This report is binding on both parties.  <\/li>\n<li>Is it still not resolved after this? Then go to civil court (private individual &#8211; contractor\/architect) or corporate court (company &#8211; contractor\/architect). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>5. Non-technical construction disputes.<\/h3>\n<p>  Are your invoices not correct? Is the contractor not showing up? Did the contractor use different materials than promised in the contract?    <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/consumentenombudsdienst.be\/nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Consumer Ombudsman Service<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The Consumer Ombudsman Service:\n<ul>\n<li>Informs consumers of dispute resolutions.<\/li>\n<li>receives consumer complaints and forwards them to the appropriate service.<\/li>\n<li>handles the complaint itself to reach an amicable solution if no other ombuds service is competent to do so.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6130\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6130\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3820 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Resolving construction disputes with a mediator\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Bouwgeschillen-oplossen-met-een-bemiddelaar.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6130\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: 2 wranglers and 1 mediator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>  Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bouwunie.be\/nl\/advies\/juridisch\/aansprakelijkheid\/juridische-aansprakelijkheid-en-geschillen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bouwunie<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/economie.fgov.be\/nl\/themas\/consumentenbescherming\/opkomen-voor-uw-rechten\/uw-huis-laten-bouwen\/bouwwerken-wat-kunt-u-doen-bij\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FOD Economie<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vlaanderen.be\/bouwen-wonen-en-energie\/bouwen-en-verbouwen\/tijdens-de-werken\/bouwproblemen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flanders<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Would you like to cite this article as a source? Then use: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Stiasteny, L. (2024, May 31). What should you do in construction disputes? Apartment.com. Consulted on (date XX\/XX\/202X), from https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/wat-moet-je-doen-bij-bouwgeschillen <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Related articles:<\/strong><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/alles-wat-je-moet-weten-over-architecten\/\">Everything you need to know about architects<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wat moet je doen bij bouwgeschillen\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/ext\/embed.html?id=657947826841084522&#038;src=oembed\" height=\"775\" width=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" ><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Problems with your contractor, craftsman or architect? A leak in the roof after construction work? Or a cracked tile? What should you actually do in construction disputes? You can read about it here! Contents General legislation: the Breyne Act Problems with the contractor or architect Problems with a professional Technical construction disputes Non-technical construction disputes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1150],"tags":[2105,2106,2107,1123,2109,2108,2110],"class_list":["post-6860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-en","tag-construction-dispute","tag-construction-disputes","tag-construction-problems","tag-legislation","tag-problems-architect","tag-problems-contractor","tag-problems-craftsman"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appartement.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}