You have been waiting for your new apartment to be completed for months. The time it has taken to be finalized has stretched out longer and longer. You were patient at first, but now you’re tired of waiting. The contractor is in an indirect breach of contract.

In a situation like yours, a job that was meant to be completed has not been done on time, so the person responsible needs to answer for his or her failure to complete the project. Now, when you’ve reached out to talk to the company about missing deadlines and the money you’ve already spent, you find that the contractor isn’t returning your calls.

This is not uncommon, especially in Florida. Sometimes, contractors promise to get a job done and do poor work, leave jobs unfinished or simply take money and flee without doing anything. These breaches of contract are violations of the law and you can take legal action against those responsible.

What is a breach of contract?

A breach of contract isn’t just when a project isn’t completed on time. It’s when one party fails to fulfill an obligation to another party. Not finishing a project on time, doing poor work or never starting a project all count as breaches of a contract.

What can you do if a contract is breached?

If a contract is breached, it’s usually a good idea to try to work out a resolution with the party who has not met his or her obligations. If that’s not possible, then you can speak to your attorney about filing a lawsuit to seek damages, for the job to be finished or for the cancellation of a project and restitution for what you’ve paid.

Source: FindLaw, “Breach of Contract and Lawsuits,” accessed May 05, 2017