Construction - preliminary agreement dispute

Discussion in 'Development' started by Nabsinna, 5th Aug, 2021.

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  1. Nabsinna

    Nabsinna Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Oct, 2020
    Posts:
    55
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi Hive

    I initially signed up a preliminary agreement with a builder to obtain the construction documents with a view to build with them.

    The initial preliminary agreement is for 10k which includes working drawings and soil testing- i specifically added that the working drawings copyright will belong to me.

    However, the final tender cam back much higher that the initial quoted range and do not want to go ahead with them.

    On requesting the Working Drawings so I can go elsewhere- they mentioned as the drawings were done under their license it cannot be used externally as per HIA and referred to me a registered drafting company to get the final drawings completed.

    Is there any merit to this? Or are they just making it difficult?

    Is it unreasonable for me to expect them to give me their CAD drawings so I can go elsewhere to complete engineering etc?

    Thanks for your advice
     
  2. Westminster

    Westminster Tigress at Tiger Developments Business Member

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    Perth
    Drawings under a PPA are not working drawings and that may be where the issue lies. working drawings are generally done at contract time and not before.

    The drawings they do at this stage they appear to give you rights too as per your agreement but you will need to get your own drafter to create the working drawings.
     
  3. Nabsinna

    Nabsinna Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Oct, 2020
    Posts:
    55
    Location:
    Melbourne
    There you go! Rookie mistake on my behalf then. They promised the world at the time of PPA where they mentioned no risk at all and that i can walk away with the WD. I thought I did my due diligence by adding that the copyright belongs to me but clearly it was of no use
     
  4. ParraEels

    ParraEels Well-Known Member

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    Australia
    We all make mistakes and learn from it.

    You may recover cost if new architect design better plan and cost construction goes down.
     
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  5. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    18th Aug, 2016
    Posts:
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    Location:
    Victoria, Australia
    Did you have that arrangement in writing? If so, don't worry about who else can use the drawings. The trouble is that you may not be able to find someone else to take on the project using "their" drawings - it's all about risk etc.

    I should add that this is a common tactic - asking for a deposit, no cost estimating at sketch/schematic stage and a copyright claim to lock you into that particular builder.
     
    Tompropdev likes this.