萬國法律事務所

According to statistics released by Taiwan’s Consumer Protection Commission, there were 226 disputes regarding contracts for interior designs and renovation filed in 2011. In one case, a consumer paid NTD 3 Million for interior design and renovation works; however, through out the agreement period, the contractor continued to demand additional fees, and the works completed were flawed. Yet, there seemed to be no recourse for the consumer.

To deal with this type of problem, the Construction and Planning Agency of the Ministry of the Interior has drafted the Interior Renovation Contract Agreement and the Interior Design Contract Agreement templates. These new templates approved and could be implemented as early as June 2012.

To prevent contractors from using shell companies, the new templates clearly provide that contractors cannot assign the agreement and cannot request additional fees from consumers without proper cause. The templates also clearly state that any modifications to the work scope, content, or price requires the consent of the consumer. Furthermore, if the contractor cannot complete the work on time, the contractor is liable to the consumer 0.1% of the total contract price per-day in liquidated damages, and consumers may deduct the above amount from the final payment to the contractor.

If at the completion of the agreement the work done is flawed, the consumer may request the contractor to fix the flaw within a deadline. If the contractor fails or refuses to do so, the consumer may terminate the agreement; and the consumer may also contract a third party to fix the flaw. The additional cost may be deducted from the payment to the original contractor pursuant to the original agreement.

In the future, consumers may also report any disputes related to the template agreements to a Consumer Protection Agent.