Abdul Razak says only 78% of his home renovations were completed.
Johor Consumer Claims Tribunal has ordered a contractor to refund RM17,695.07 to a pensioner on extra money spent due to unfinished home renovations.
Abdul Razak Ahmad Sharani, 61, said he had engaged the contractor to renovate his two-room, single-storey terrace house in Taman Universiti, Skudai, but he had to fork out RM10,000 to finish the renovations.
He said he bought the house on the secondary property market in 2016, and moved in with his family in 2018.
“After living in the house for about five years, we felt it was time to renovate the place,’’ he said when met outside the Tribunal in Menara Ansar, Johor Baru.
Abdul Razak said the cost quoted by the Senai-based contractor to renovate the house was RM90,000, which he had agreed to.
The renovation covered kitchen extension, roof replacement, tile flooring for interior floors and mosaic for the car porch, awnings, sliding door installation, wall plastering and window grilles.
Abdul Razak said he made the first payment of RM45,000 on Dec 30, 2023, via bank transfer and handed over the house keys to the contractor on Jan 18, 2024.
“The work started on Jan 26, 2024 and the contractor promised to finish a week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which fell on April 10,” he said.
The claimant made a second payment of RM36,000 on Feb 9, 2024, upon the contractor’s request.
He said the contractor said he needed the money to buy building materials to complete the renovation works on time.
“On March 17, he asked for another RM6,000 for the roof and altogether, I paid RM87,000,” he said.
The claimant said the contractor refused to allow him or his children to inspect the progress of the renovation work, claiming that their presence would disrupt his workers.
Abdul Razak added that the contractor failed to finish the job a week in time and requested an extension until the end of May 2024.
However, the contractor then abandoned the renovation, having only completed 78% of the work, he said.
Jobs left unfinished, he added, included installation of the sliding doors, floor tiling, grillwork, kitchen cabinet and plastering.
“We had to hire a registered quantity surveyor to estimate the remaining cost of the work that the contractor was supposed to complete,” said Abdul Razak.
He said the contractor caused significant inconvenience to him and his family, as they had to rent a house from January to July last year while the renovations were underway.
Tribunal president Hafez Zalkapli ordered the respondent, who was not present, to refund RM17,695.07 based on the evaluation by the surveyor to the claimant within two weeks.
Those needing assistance regarding Tribunal matters can call 07-227 1755/1766.
