Legal advisor Dr. Youssef Al-Sharif confirmed that the justification of some consultants and contractors in delaying the delivery of construction projects in the agreed times to their owners, under the pretext of the precautionary measures applied to contain the "Corona" virus as a benefit of 19, is illegal, as the contracting sector is one of the categories excluded from sterilization precautions and therefore there is no Reason for being late on the pretext of "Corona".
Al-Sharif stressed that owners have the right to file lawsuits for consultants in case they fail to deliver real estate projects within the agreed dates, and to demand appropriate compensation.
This came in response to a complaint by one of the owners who says that he "agreed with a consultant engineer to build a" villa "on a piece of residential land that he owns, and an agreement was signed between me and the consultant and a contractor, whom the latter brought, as the construction process was assigned to the contractor under the supervision of the consultant, The contract included conditions that the contractor commit to implement in accordance with the approved engineering plans and fees and the building permit issued by the Engineering and Buildings Department of the affiliated municipal department, and I paid him a number of payments, without delay, but the delivery date was resolved, and the contractor did not finish the villa, in addition to that He did it was against the contract and against the specifications. "
He continued that he had contacted the consultant, whose response came that he would send an ultimatum to the contractor, and would fine him or change him, despite the fact that he had received more than his dues, wondering who bears the delay, loss and specifications that violate the requirements of the municipality, and the lack of issuance of an achievement certificate because of that, adding that the consultant is asking him for his rights, on An additional item bond, which I did not notice in the contract, will take 1% of every payment that the contractor takes, and now the work is suspended due to the urgent circumstances of Corona, in which it violates the specifications, and the contractor procrastinates and the consultant is asking me for his dues.
Initially, the consultant, Dr. Youssef Al-Sharif says that "the problem in consultants and contracting contracts begins from the first relationship that is often built on trust in the consultant, as the owner has chosen it based on personal knowledge, and the relationship begins with the consultant making contracts on forms that he has, And it preserves his rights and does not guarantee many penal conditions and guarantees for the owner, in addition to this, many owners leave the consultant freedom to choose the contractor, out of trust or lack of knowledge in this field, and when violations and delays occur, the owner is surprised that he is in trouble like the questioner because the contracts did not There are guarantees and evil I penalty enough. "
He continues, "This situation does not apply to all consultants or to all contractors, but many of them are in the same situation as those with whom this question occurred, advising the individuals before contracting, seeking the assistance of a specialized lawyer, and he is aware of the rights and obligations of owners, contractors and consultants. The contracts are balanced and the right of each party is preserved, and it is in them Conditions and guarantees, each party must abide by them, so that things are clear when the problem occurs and its solution is easy, and as the proverb says, give the baker his bread and eat his text. "
Legally, the sheriff says that the questioner must first ask the municipality to appoint a committee affiliated with it to inspect the site and prepare an engineering report of what has been implemented and its breaches of specifications and the percentage of completion and delay and others, and secondly and based on this report you request a change of the consultant and the contractor, and thirdly he raises a compensation claim on The consultant and the contractor are responsible for collusion between them, the delay and the violations for which the two are asked. Fourth, filing a lawsuit with the court requesting the appointment of an expert to prepare a report of the incident and violations. Based on this report, the questioner asks to cancel the contracts with them and obligate them to compensate for all the damages incurred. It is because of their complicity, delay and violations, and this issue can be brought to the consultant and the contractor together. "
As for the additional clause in the contract in favor of the consultant at 1% من of the contractor’s payments, it is a mistake by the owner, as it occurred without reading the contract details, but he can file a complaint with the authority concerned with his license because it may be contrary to the forms of consultants ’agreements.
As for the cessation of work due to “Corona”, if the delivery date was earlier than this period, then it would not have entered into “Corona” with delay, but if during this period, the category of contractors was excluded from sterilization precautions, and therefore there is no reason to delay it under the pretext of Corona.