Just inform the leaseholders that the firm that was awarded the contract cannot do the job in time and that they are not able to be contacted after many attempts, therefore they as shown as unreliable, and as it's a leak, , it must be repaired promtly.
You had quotes, and one firm is just not intested, therefore you - due to the urgency, have to engage the other firm that quoted.
The price will now be £ xxx, which is £ xx per leaseholder.
Leaks cannot be left to continue to damage the structure / fabric of the building.
( This has happend to me many times .. You ask 6 firms to quote, 3 dont reply and those remaining 3 that say --"will come and view the place" -- 1 or 2 just don't turn up,
and i've had firms given a job, but they are just not interested, so i go with the next nominated firm.)
Simple -- but tell leaseholders the problem, which cannot be left to fester any longer.
Also, you chose the cheapest quote, so don't expect to get even cheaper quotes if you do an S21 again.
Trying to get cheaper than the cheapest quote you already have from the "alleged" ( MB ) decent firm, will mean you will have to do the job again afterwards, cos they were cheap for a reason ! ! !
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the contractor who awarded the project not contactable and the work was not scheduled
I am one of the RTM directors, and our building had a planned major work (leak repair).
The section 20 letter was sent to all leaseholders, mentioning the nature of the project and the fact that 2 contractor firms (LJ and MB) would tender. Both contractors came back with their offer, and MB was cheaper, therefore the surveyor chose MB and the decision was communicated with them in July2021.
Firstly, MB said that they cannot start until mid- to late- September2021.
So, from July to early September, RTM had to wait.
Now, the surveyor contacted MB in early September but MB was unavailable. I personally think that the surveyor (or the property manager) should have contacted MB in August to just check how it's going or to plan ahead, but they didn't do. I also contacted MB on 16Sep2021, but could not reach them.
Secondly, I asked the property manager if there is any chance that we can get LJ to do the work, then the property manager says that we would need another section 20 letter to change the contractor at this stage. Is this true? The specification says that the decision has to be made by xxJuly2021 (which was done) and MB got the project, but if LJ is willing to take on the project now, why can't we get LJ? LJ also officially tendered for this project, so if another contractor cannot do (or not willing to do) the job, LJ can take the project if they want?
I haven't seen the signed contract between the surveyor (the administrator of the project) and the contractor MB. It seems that the communication between them was verbal and email, but no official signed document.
As the wet winter coming, I would like to proceed as soon as possible.
What is the right procedure in this case?
Do we need to follow up MB and only MB can do the job?
To get LJ, do we need another section 20 (and another month of waiting time)?
If LJ is also unavailable, do we need another section 20 letter to obtain new tender from different contractors?
Thank you for reading and your kind advice.
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