Photovoltaic panels: my roof is leaking
Photovoltaic panels: my roof is leaking
I had photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of my house in 2013. Since then, the company has had to intervene several times to repair water seepage in the attic. This work has proved ineffective. I gave the company three months to resolve the problem once and for all, but I've had no further reaction from them. The contract provides for a 7-year guarantee. Is it possible to extend it? Can I force the company to carry out the work?
Solange
By entering into a contract for work and services, the contractor undertakes to carry out the work - for a price that the client undertakes to pay - and assumes an obligation of result; he must therefore deliver work that is free of defects. In the event of minor defects, the client may require the contractor to repair the work at his own expense, provided that this can be done without excessive expense. The law provides for a 5-year guarantee for immovable works and movable works integrated into an immovable work, but it is possible to derogate from this contractually, which is often the case by incorporating the standards laid down by the SIA into the contract. As far as the duration of the guarantee is concerned, these standards also stipulate a period of 5 years, which can however be extended by the contractor.
There are several ways of interrupting prescription, including the debtor's acknowledgement of debt, the notification of a lawsuit and the filing of a request for conciliation. Case law had accepted that the performance of work by the contractor could be construed as an acknowledgement of debt, but this option was ultimately not upheld by the courts.
When the parties are not in dispute, the simplest way to prevent the warranty from expiring is to have the contractor sign a waiver of prescription; this is a unilateral declaration by the contractor certifying that he will not avail himself of the said exception to prescription when the master acts in execution of the warranty.
In this case, if your contractor fails to respond to your formal notice and you are unable to obtain any repair work from him, or at the very least a declaration of waiver of the limitation period, you will have to turn to the debt enforcement office or the courts to ensure that you do not lose your rights under the warranty due to the passage of time, bearing in mind that you can only compel the company to carry out the work you want by taking legal action.
