There are plenty of Renovations that go horribly wrong! Every house owner who runs renovation prays hard that everything runs smoothly.
Faults that lead to renovation problems can be from both sides, but mostly from engaging unreliable contractors.
You might be planning to move into your dream house at a certain time, but renovation failure might cause long delays in the completion of the project and cause you to bear high debt.
Let’s dive into these 6 Common Renovation Problems!
- Engaging an Unregistered Scam Contractor
- No or Poorly Drafted Renovation Contract
- Delays due to Contractor Attitude
- Poor workmanship and low construction quality
- Growing budget cites Errors in Cost Estimation
- Contractor Disappearing After Getting Paid
Engaging an Unregistered Scam Contractor
How To Avoid: Always check if the contractor’s company is registered and legitimate. Do background and portfolio reviews.
You need to visit the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), also known as Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM).
Below are four links that can help you get the company info. Do note that you need pay to get the detailed info, such as the company’s financial status.
- SSM e-Info portal at https://www.ssm-einfo.my
- MYDATA-SSM portal at https://www.mydata-ssm.com.my
- SSM Search portal at https://www.ssmsearch.com
- SSM SAFEDATA at https://www.safedata-ssm.com
Also, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) also requires any company or person who takes on construction or renovation projects must be licensed with CIDB as a contractor. You can ask them to provide the proof.
CIDB grades from G1 to G7 tell how big the project they can take.
| CIDB Grade | Limit |
|---|---|
| G1 | < RM200k |
| G2 | < RM500k |
| G3 | < RM1M |
| G4 | < RM3M |
| G5 | < RM5M |
| G6 | <RM 10M |
| G7 | No limit |
No or Poorly Drafted Renovation Contract
How To Avoid: Always have a black-and-white renovation contract with properly written clauses.
There are 4 main parts of the Renovation Contract that you should be carefully reading and reviewing to avoid dissatisfaction with the finished work.
Scope of work
This section of your renovation contract will contain the largest chunk of information.
It outlines the types of work to be completed, the materials used, and the expected quality of completed projects.
Pricing and Contract Sum
Usually come along with the scope of work, there is a full list of pricing. What you should be carefully looking at is the disclaimer in the quotations.
Sometime, you will find clauses saying that the quotations are estimates and final price may changes due to changes to the design, or delays from client side.
Permissions and Responsibilities
If you’re staying in a condo or gated community, the management may have certain rules on how and when the renovations can be carried out.
Some places make renovation deposit to management necessary to make sure the project sites are properly cleanup after renovation.
Some renovations require permits or passes from the local council.
During negotiation, the client may wish to get installation-only services and will supply renovation items such as light fixtures, paints, or electrical appliances.
These should be included in the contract to ensure responsibility of both parties is clearly stated.
Payment Term
You want to ensure your contractor provides a progressive payment term. This means homeowners made payment when the renovation reach a milestone, over the entire duration of the renovation.
Here are examples of payment terms:
- 30% Before Start of M&E, 60% Before Other Renovation Works, 10% After Inspection
- 10% Preliminary Work, 30% before start of M&E, 55% before Carpentry Works, 5% After Inspection.
If you wish to prepare a renovation contract, learn How to Draft Your Renovation Contract In Malaysia.
Delays due to Contractor Attitude
How To Avoid: Always do a background check on the contractor. Check their reviews online by past projects.
You should be alert if there are bad records.
First, homeowners need to ensure the delay is not caused by the homeowner side, possibly due to a delay in payment or slow in providing the material needed.
Many contractors might concurrently undertake multiple projects, which is caused by a lack of manpower.
Nonetheless, you should constantly run inspections to ensure your contractor able to deliver your unit within the designated timeline.
Poor workmanship and low construction quality
How To Avoid: Keep a close eye on the renovation progress.
It is recommended that the homeowner goes to the site frequently to supervise the renovation progress. If you do not available, get an intermediary such as your family member or friends.
Many contractors share workers, get other subcons to take on the job, or get any freelancer to finish the tasks. Some may not have the experience to do the work.
Walls are not properly sealed before painting, plumbing leakage, and hollow tile are common problems due to poor workmanship. This is even dangerous if the electrical wiring is not done right and can be life-threatening.
Growing budget cites Errors in Cost Estimation
How To Avoid: Get the designs as detailed as possible before starting work. Never stick to a single quotation.
Before starting a project, make sure you have all the plans in order. At least you have a detailed quotation that cover all the major renovation items and you know explicitly what to get.
It would be best if you have a floor plan with measurements or a 3D diagram showing the layout.
Always get multiple quotations and shortlist a few good contractors. Beware of deals that are vaguely drafted or too good to be true!
It is also a big no-no for homeowners to make big changes midway through the renovation.
If you are not sure about the cost, check out “How to calculate the Renovation cost in Malaysia”.
Work is Not Completed or Contractor Disappearing After Getting Paid
How To Avoid: Make a police report. Make Tribunal Claim.
Some common ways people get cheated by renovation contractors:
- The contractor requires a huge deposit up-front to purchase materials. Once the payment is done, he starts some work but disappears and is uncontactable.
- The contractor keeps delaying renovation works and demanding payment for the next phase.
- In the project midway, the contractor without any notice requesting a huge sum of money due to unforeseen situations. The reasons can be creative such as adding a new support beam, or extra material because the wall is not hackable.
- Use materials that are not up to standard but take a huge premium as it was the original materials.
- Changing the brand and model of the air-cond citing long lead time, but the price remains the same.
Making Police Report
You are okay to make a police report. But, it is mostly classified as a civil dispute. It is hardly considered as crime even if they runs away and not reachable because it is hard to prove that this was his plan.
Usually, police will advise you to resolve the dispute by lodging a complaint at Consumer Tribunal.
Tuntutan Tribunal Pengguna Malaysia
You can make a complaint through the Tribunal and claim up to RM50,000. It is a straightforward process and costs only RM5 for each form.
The tribunal will award you the amount the contractor needs to pay you. If the contractor fails to comply with an award after 14 days, it will be an offence and shall on conviction be liable for a fine up to RM10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.
We write a complete guides on What to do if you are Cheated by Renovation Contractor.
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