Home Contractor vs. Homeowner

From guest poster Attorney Steven R. Striffler, who is a construction attorney with construction experience: “Attorney's fees for the review of a contract before it is signed are a fraction of the cost of their fees after the project has gone bad.” I received two calls last week on warranties, one from a contractor and the other a homeowner. Without going into specifics, the scenario is something similar to this: It has been about two years since you put that addition on your home, or if you are a contractor – have completed the project, and the roof starts leaking after that recent Nor’easter. Does the homeowner have recourse against the contractor? Is the contractor obligated to repair the roof? Well, that depends on the warranty clause contained in the construction contract, if in fact, the contract contained a warranty clause. Most construction contracts contain an express warranty that the contractor will correct deficiencies and failures associated with the work for a cer...