Bahrain court orders BD50,000 compensation for delay in construction

TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Stalling a villa project after a year and a half of signing the contract has landed a construction company in Bahrain in hot waters.

The Sixth High Civil Court ordered the company to pay the client a BD50,000 compensation, citing the delay has caused severe monetary losses, thanks to rising material and land costs.

The plaintiff told the Court that he had already paid BD44,819 for the project valued at BD125,400 in 2020.

According to the case files, the property was for sale after completion.

However, the delay and rising costs created a situation where it is now impossible to recover the costs.

Lawyer Al-Mahdi represented the villa owner during the trial. According to the lawyer, the BD125,400 villa project was for sale after construction.

However, after more than 18 months, the project stands incomplete, without any further progress, prompting his client to file a case.

An engineering expert assigned by Court also confirmed the upfront payment of BD44,810 made by the plaintiff to the company.

“However, thanks to the delays, it is now impossible to complete the project at the same cost.” The construction company, however, claimed that the amount they received was a down payment, which was not refundable.

The lawyer argued that the amount paid was part of the price and is illegal to claim it as a deposit.

The Court, citing the expert report, said the construction company had made several defects and deficiencies in the work completed.

The estimated period for repairing the defects and deficiencies was three months.

The Court also viewed that the contract signed does not specify any period for completing the work.

Hence, the Court said it is adopting a common practice for deadline in the Bahraini contracting industry, which is 12 months from the date of issuance of the building permit.

The delay in completing the agreed works, the Court said, was also accompanied by an increase in the price of land and building materials. “This makes the current value of construction exceeds the amount agreed in the 2020 contract.

“Hence, the plaintiff will have to spend more to create the property with the same specification.” The Court, therefore, ordered compensation, taking into account a 10% appreciation in the property value.