Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>my contractor wants the last payment of what he says is 8800.00, he did not do a majority of the work on the contact. He states that the discount of 1200.00 covers the work that he did not do.

my contractor wants the last payment of what he says is 8800.00, he did not do a majority of the work on the contact. He states that the discount of 1200.00 covers the work that he did not do.

New YorkConstruction Contract Payment Disputes

We needed our main beam in our house replaced (we where told). When we did the first contract, (I can not find mine, and he says it is the one from where I rcvd the loan). A majority of the work was found not to be needed. I do not believe that we should have to pay him the whole amount, Also, the first estimate was for 15700.00 and with the contractor we decided to push the loan up to 20,000.00 (verbally) so if there were any complications we would have it covered.

1 reply

Jan 26, 2018

Generally, the amount due for work performed isn't determined by an after-the-fact determination of what work was actually required. If there was work contracted for, and that work was performed, it is generally necessary to pay for that work. There may be some limited exceptions under consumer protection laws - but if the work was performed as contracted it is difficult to get out of payment - and, to the extent that parties on the job remain unpaid there is the potential that the property could have a mechanics lien filed against it.

If, however, there was an estimate obtained and a contract written for certain work; then upon examination the work was not determined to be needed and was not performed, there may be more options for cancelling the contract to avoid needing to pay for unnecessary work. While a contract shouldn't be signed until the general scope of work has been determined, as a general concept, to the extent there may be valid reasons for terminating the agreement (the GC misrepresented the work required, the work was of poor quality, etc.) there may be a way to avoid payment for the unnecessary and unfinished work.

It's unclear what your question is regarding the amount of the loan compared to the amount of the estimate. If the total amount of the loan was not used in the work, and the loan was taken as a lump sum, the unused portion should be able to be repaid to the lender.

This is likely a situation in which a conversation with a local attorney who can examine all the of the supporting documentation would be beneficial.

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