Legal entitlements?

underpants

So.....

I recently moved into an apartment but there are two problems.
The first is there is not hot water in the kitchen. The builders have been "arranging" a plumber for a number of weeks now but I've heard nothing.
The second is the intercom which isn't working. The Builders say its a maintenance company problem and the maintenance company say they will check the wiring at the main door but not in the apartment.

Both these have never worked and the builders are moving out soon.
My question is, what can I do?

If I arranged for a plumber myself and an electrician could I get the building company to pay for the bills? and if they refused to pay could I bring them to court, maybe even the small claims court? to force them to pay.
The point is that I don't see why I should have to pay for something that they never had working in the first place.

Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks

seamus

What I say is based on the below assumptions:

1. You are just after moving into a new apartment.
2. You have bought the apartment, signed all of the contracts and paid the builder.
3. You have a management company who are contracted to carry out this type of work.

Once you have paid the builder, you've more-or-less said, "Yep, everything's hunky-dory, thanks Mr. Builder man, see you later". Of course, the builder is still liable for certain items such a structural defects and that kind of thing, but small things like hot water or intercoms, there's a good chance that the builder doesn't have to fix them once you've signed off and told them you're happy with the building.

Contact the management company and get them to sort it out. Give them a week for the hot water and two weeks for the intercom. If they've not fixed the items in that time frame, withhold any management fees. If you've already paid your management fees, then threaten to call in a professional and bill the company for the cost.

underpants

seamus wrote:

What I say is based on the below assumptions:

1. You are just after moving into a new apartment.
2. You have bought the apartment, signed all of the contracts and paid the builder.
3. You have a management company who are contracted to carry out this type of work.

all correct. I think you're right about the builders, since its signed off, they can wash there hands of it.
Thanks for the tips.
Much appreciated.

Victor

Chase them anyway. Patent (obvious) defects usually need to be notified within a year, Latent (non-obvious) defects usually get 6-12 years.