Back garden to be levelled. Meaning?

paulreilly05

Wondering does anyone have an opinion on this. my brother has paid a deposit on house and now its ready so builder wants mortgage drawn down. however the contract said the back garden would be leveled, instead what he got is a back which goes at a 30% angle. The builder has said take it or leave it which my brother don't want to do as he likes the house but wants a flat garden. Is there anyway to force the builder to flaten the garden?

Stanford

Is there an architect or engineer involved on your part?

gozunda

Is it possible that the slope gives the site better drainage?

Sometimes it's better to have a slight incline which matches local topography tbh

GreeBo

If it says "levelled" then he has a case, as there should be no slope.

BTW he does not want a "flat" garden, thats what he has been given. he specifically wants a level garden.

Flat and level are two different things and level is far more expensive than flat. (Think retaining walls etc)

Stanford

gozunda wrote: »

Is it possible that the slope gives the site better drainage?

Sometimes it's better to have a slight incline which matches local topography tbh

Thats not for the builder to decide

Victor

"Leveled" in the context of a property sales contract means that there aren't mounds and trenches, not that the garden is level.

What do the planning permission and the contract say regarding levels?

gozunda

Stanford wrote: »

Thats not for the builder to decide

If there are drainage issues and / or conforms to planning then yes it would. Builders have a legal obligation to build and set out the site as specified by planning regulations.

Stanford

Agreed but we have no idea what conditions were included in the planning decision

nuac

As Stanford suggests check planning permission

If there was no engineer nor architect supervising, time to get such now

aw

Realistically, if everything else is in order, it's take it or leave it time. It's not a massive thing, in the grand scheme of things. Worst case scenario, hire a minidigger for a day and reseed it for a couple of hundred euro.

Stanford

I'm concerned that the contract said "the back garden would be leveled", you don't usually find this detail in Contracts, what form of contract was signed and were solicitors involved for both parties. Planning drawings would have shown levels and slopes of earthworks unless specified as flat, were the works supervised by an architect or engineer? Who is signing off on the works for the purchaser? Was the level picked up and brought to the builder's attention during construction?

OP is not bringing enough material to the table to advise on this?

mickdw

To be honest, Im with the builder on this one.
The contract would be referring to the builder having to top soil the garden and make it fit for use as a garden and likely seed it.

Its bad wording from a legal view point but if I was supervising engineer (which is the work I do), I would read it as just preparing the garden for use as such.

godtabh

its probably a level issue.

Solution is a sloped garden or a stepped garden.

Stanford

Can we establish if this is a new build or renovation of existing property?

nuac

Mod
Title amended for clarity

Victor

Stanford wrote: »

Can we establish if this is a new build or renovation of existing property?

It sounds like the sale of a new property in a housing estate, not a contract to build.