The Province

DO PLENTY OF HOMEWORK BEFORE HIRING THE SERVICES OF A CONSULTANT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Before hiring, do your due diligence and ensure the person has proper credential­s

- Tony Gioventu

Dear Tony: Our strata hired a consultant this year to act as project manager on a roof and balcony job, and the project turned into a bit of a disaster. The consultant caused a number of delays on the project, plus cost over runs and changes to the project our owners had never approved, including a change in colour to the roofing materials.

Our strata council has retained a lawyer to terminate the agreement and help us recover some of the costs, but our strata signed an agreement for the full payment of the contract regardless of completion and waived the consultant from any liability. We looked for some resources on hiring a consultant, but found little that was helpful, and are now assessing whether it is worth legal action as it may cost more than the amount we paid the consultant.

Please warn other strata corporatio­ns that are considerin­g hiring a consultant to take all precaution­s before they sign their chequebook­s away.

DVW

Dear DVW: Anyone can call themselves a consultant and act as a project manager. Some consultant­s are exceptiona­l and others take advantage of their clients.

There are no minimum standards or qualificat­ions and the number of complaints our office receives about consultant­s far exceeds any other industry. Certified profession­als such as engineers, architects, and certified inspectors are licensed under their profession­al associatio­ns and credential­s. These permit them to act as the official representa­tive of the strata and they are bound to ensure that the conditions of the contractua­l obligation­s and standards are met.

Individual­s who identify themselves as “consultant­s” or project managers who do not have any profession­al accreditat­ion rely solely on the conditions of a contract and the indemnity that is contained within the contract. As a result, if a strata is going to protect itself, it must ensure the contractua­l agreement fairly represents its interests.

If you sign an agreement with a consultant without having your lawyer review the contract in advance, you may be signing a blank cheque and surrenderi­ng your ability to control the project or to hold the consultant accountabl­e when things go wrong.

Consultant­s often cross boundaries of authority where a certified profession­al is required, or act as the agent of the strata that requires licensing as a strata manager, or undertake actions that are a practice of law, such as writing of resolution­s or contracts.

A simple checklist can help when considerin­g a project manager/consultant.

1. Review and verify their credential­s.

2. Request a copy of their profession­al liability insurance and verify with the insurance provider that it is current and will include coverage of the services performed on your project.

3. Request a copy of references of all projects the consultant has worked on, not just their favourites.

4. Closely review their scope of work and how they will be interactin­g with certified profession­als, contractor­s and the strata council.

5. Clearly define how the decisionma­king process happens.

6. Obtain a copy of their proposed contract and take it to your lawyer to review and negotiate the scope of liability the consultant will assume. Sat Harwood, of Lesperance Mendes lawyers, explains: “A well-drafted contract will clearly demarcate the services provided, limit the indemnity to services that fall outside of those boundaries, and provide for liability in the event the project manager is negligent in providing their contracted services. The bottom line is that a small amount of legal service up front will help avoid a future costly crisis.”

Watch for warning signs. Bullying is a common tactic of unethical service providers. If the consultant is discouragi­ng your strata from obtaining legal advice, consumer support, interactin­g with the contractor­s or certified profession­als, or attempting to isolate your strata from consulting with a third party, you have a problem. If the representa­tion is legitimate, there should be nothing to fear.

Do not approve any work or services verbally. Maintain written confirmati­on of all meetings, instructio­ns and questions. If the consultant is pressuring decisions without a written record, you expose your strata to delays, cost overruns and risks that are costly to manage.

As an indication on how ruthless this industry can be and why caution needs to be exercised: I was recently threatened by a consultant’s lawyer for recommendi­ng that a strata council limit its relationsh­ip with a rogue consultant until it had spoken to its lawyer to address concerns. The same consultant has also threatened to sue the council if it didn’t pay for additional work that was never authorized.

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominiu­m Home Owners Associatio­n. Emai l tony@choa.bc.ca.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada