Renovation or construction: contractor missed deadlines, defective work, advance payment: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Deadlines first: claims for defects have a 1-year limitation period, and for buildings 5 years from acceptance of the work (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 655). Accepting work with a known defect without a claim forfeits the right to claim for that defect (Civil Code, Art. 652), so list the defects in the acceptance act.
2. Defective work (a defect is non-conformity with the contract or unfitness for ordinary use, Civil Code, Art. 641): demand that the contractor remedy or redo the work at its own expense (Civil Code, Art. 642). If a written deadline is set and expires, you may have the work fixed yourself and recover the costs (the advance may be used to cover them) (Civil Code, Art. 643). Alternatively, you may terminate the contract after an additional period, and the contractor reimburses the costs (Civil Code, Art. 644), or reduce the price by the amount of the diminished value (Civil Code, Art. 645).
3. Missed deadlines, abandoned site: termination is possible after an unsuccessful additional period (Civil Code, Art. 405), and then what was received is returned: the advance minus the work performed (Civil Code, Art. 352). Without a breach, the customer may terminate at any time by paying for the work performed and the losses (Civil Code, Art. 636).
4. Contractor is a sole trader, repair for personal use: after a reasonable additional period, you may have the work done by another contractor at the first contractor's expense, reduce the price, or terminate and claim losses (Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 18). If the contractor delays and loses interest, it is not entitled to demand payment or costs (same article).
5. Budget: if the estimate is substantially exceeded, only the agreed price is payable, except for unforeseeable costs (Civil Code, Art. 631). Evidence: you may commission your own expert examination and attach it to the claim (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 162). If the contractor disappeared with the advance, the advance was taken by deception: this is fraud, to be reported to the police (Criminal Code of Georgia, Art. 180).
6. Where to apply: court or magistrate court; Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (if the contractor is a sole trader); police.
7. Evidence: contract or estimate, advance transfers, dated photos of the site, act listing defects, demand with an additional deadline, expert report.
8. Pitfalls: signing the acceptance act without reservations; counting the general three-year period instead of the 1-year period (5 years for a building); hiring another crew without a written deadline and without recording the defects; paying an 'extra charge above the estimate' that was not announced in advance.

Be sure to check

• short deadline for defects: 1 year, for buildings 5 years from acceptance; acceptance without reservations forfeits rights to a known defect
• order of remedies: remedy by the contractor → self-repair at the contractor's expense / price reduction / termination
• termination after an additional deadline and refund of the advance (minus the work performed)
• independent expert examination (own expert report) and recording of the scope and defects before rework
• for a contractor that is a sole trader, consumer rights apply; if it disappears with the advance, report to the police