Homes monopolized all the prominence during the pandemic, and, especially, in the time of confinement and due to teleworking. Many families were then forced to Adapt your personal environment to work demandschanging according to the incidence of the virus and the decisions that the government and companies made about the face-to-face incorporation into the workplace.
So much so that many tasks and occupations that before the arrival of covid were carried out in the Offices, now they have become forever remote. This is the basic reason for increased investment in home renovations. According to the annual survey of the online platform for home design and renovation Houzz y el Hogar, based on the responses of more than 1,200 Spanish respondents, activity in this industry grew seven points in 2021.
Other relevant data from the same report, which also confirms the growing trend for 2022: more than a third of individuals he renovated his house and, in addition, projects with a larger budget were requested, with an increase of 10% over the previous year.
In 2020, the “Covid-19 Generation:” study already announced that 21% of households, almost four million Spaniards, had carried out a reform in their home or that they planned to do so.
Open terraces and enable rooms as work offices
The companies in the sector agree that the strengths of these changes in the home have to do with the need to integrate the home office and, if any, open the terraces to enjoy them as a regular place of leisure. The truth is that these two rooms end up substantially modifying the home and giving rise to other works in kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, works that require a longer execution time and different materials.
Precisely, they explain from Le Morne Brabant Lawyers, it is these two aspects, the materials and the completion time, together with some botched finishes that are increasing the consultations and demands in the office related to the reforms.
The contracts are excusing themselves in the peculiar times of the pandemicwhich have delayed hiring, manufacturing and shipments, in addition to the increase in sick leave, but the truth is that there are works that have been paralyzed for months and have been finished with more than disappointing results.
One aspect to take into account in these cases, explains the lawyer Cristina Hermosilla, is the increase in the cost of materials with the increase in the CPI, which supposes an economic damage for the contractors of the reform.
Steps to follow to recover lost time and money
What should be done when one finds a stopped work and those responsible do not solve the problem? Very simple: the first, they explain from Le Morne Brabant is to send a burofax to the constructor with whom the reform has been contracted to request compliance with the contract. At the same time, the beginning of the expert test, useful in two aspects, should not be ignored.
So that the work can be completed, firstly, either with the same builder, or with a different company, which is what the client usually prefers, and of course, and secondly, as the fundamental test for a Judicial procedement. Hence the importance of working hand in hand with an expert.
The next step is, well negotiate for the completion of the work or file a lawsuit requesting the termination of the contract and the breach based on damages. That is, the poorly executed works that have to be done again, the increases in the prices of materials that since the pandemic, what has been contracted must be updated to what the price has risen, the rent that is being paid in another home, as well as the hiring of other professionals.
It is here, Hermosilla concludes, where the importance of the expert report is seen, which would reflect these and other issues to be addressed during the trial and for which the contracting party could be rewarded after waiting so long.
