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7.1 Legal Compliance

This section covers the main laws partnership members need to comply with and how you can follow the key rules of fair trading and consumer protection. The following law applies to the previously identified retrofit works.

Consumer Rights Act- paragraph and see appendix
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Changes) Regulations

7.1.1 Consumer Rights Act

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies when you are dealing with private customers. The Consumer Rights Act provides different remedies for the customer when things go wrong.

For more details with respect to the Consumer Rights Act and Products and Contracts see Appendix X

7.1.2 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations

These regulations prohibit trading practices that are unfair to consumers. There are four types of practice to consider:

A blacklist of certain practices which are considered to ALWAYS be unfair and therefore are banned in all circumstances
A ban on misleading actions and omissions
Aggressive practices
A general duty not to trade unfairly

For more information see Appendix X

7.1.3 Consumer Contracts Regulations

This covers such things as your trading address, pricing, complaint-handling policy and cancellation rights. If you do not give certain parts of this information the consumer may not have to pay.

You must make customers aware of their cancellation rights. In very simple terms, cancellation rights usually apply where:

The job/service costs more than £42
You are at the customer’s home
You agree the contract with them there and then

The customer has a cancellation period in which they can change their mind for any reason in the case of goods, this begins from the date of the contract and ends 14 days after the day that the last of the goods were delivered, or in the case of a service, from the date the contract was agreed.

This means that in addition to all the normal information you give the consumer at the start of a service on your quotation and/or contract, you must also provide them with clear details of how they can cancel if they wish to.

If a customer wants you to start work before their 14-day cancellation period has ended, you must get them to agree this in writing. If the customer then wishes to cancel after you’ve started the service, they have to pay for any work you have already done up to that point.

7.2 LEAD contract templates

7.2.2 HO template contract

This Appointment dated	[date]
records the Client (you)	[names of all property owners]
of	[address]
and the Consultant (we)	[DRRP Partner] trading as Devon People Powered Retrofit
of	[address]
agreeing to work together	and for us to assist you with works to retrofit your [home/property at: <address>]
The key aim of the Retrofit Project is	to reduce your carbon footprint, to save energy costs and to improve the comfort of your home or property. [delete / amend accordingly]
Your expectations for our Services are	<insert>
We will provide the Services	Stage 1       Advice and to carry out a home assessment to determine outline budget, costs and your options for the Retrofit Project
We will provide the Services	Each further described in Schedule 1.
We will neither provide nor be responsible for	providing you with specialist advice outside our area of expertise, recommending specific contractors, applying for statutory permissions, any designs required or acting as contract administrator for the Retrofit Project; all as further described in Schedule 1.
We will start providing the Services on	<date> and einsxpect them to be completed by <date> or longer where we are assisting during the Retrofit Project.
We will visit your home or property on	<date> to carry out a home assessment and interview you about how you use your home (the Visit Date).
The Fees for the Services are	£<insert> inclusive of any value added tax.
We will invoice the Fees under this Payment Schedule (the due dates) which you will pay on receipt:	1       £<fee1> completion of stage1
	Because we are an organisation run for the benefit of the community, we have limited financial resources and we have to stop providing the Services if you do not pay us as set out in this agreement.
You will pay interest	on overdue sums of 5% above the current Bank of England base rate.
You may cancel the Services by	written notice within 14 days of the date of this appointment without charge using the form below, if you wish.
Our total liability for any claim is	£[amount] excluding claims for death, personal injury or fraud which are unlimited.

Many thanks for approaching us to assist you with your Project. Devon People Powered Retrofit is an unincorporated partnership between [list partners] and run for the benefit of the community.

Please sign this document so we know you have read it and want us to start providing the Services. Please use the detachable form below if you change your mind and wish to cancel this contract within 14 days of signing. After 14 days you can only cancel as set out below.

We, the Consultant, will:

provide the Services; we are not responsible for delays to the Services beyond our reasonable control or due to your failure to provide access to the property or your instructions on time,
use reasonable skill and care in providing the Services to meet your expectations,
send invoices stating the fees we consider are payable at relevant stages and our calculation of those fees,
re-perform any Services which were unsatisfactory (performed late or without reasonable skill and care) without charge, within a reasonable time and without inconveniencing you. If repeat performance is not possible, we will refund 20% of the fees paid by you for that Service.

You, the Client, will:

use reasonable skill and care in carrying out your obligations as set out in this agreement and in Schedule 1,
communicate with us regularly, promptly and respectfully,
ask questions if you do not understand progress against the Services or on your Retrofit Project,
provide access, instructions and act as the main point of contact for the contractor during the Retrofit Project,
let us know immediately of any changes to your circumstances, the aim of the Retrofit Project, your budget, or timescales or anything which may affect our Services or the Retrofit Project,
pay the Fees on receipt of our correct invoices for the Services.

Home Assessments

It is important that You understand that the more information we get about your home or property and how you use it, the more accurate our report will be.

We may need to reschedule a home assessment visit if the assessor is unavailable for whatever reason. We will reschedule to a mutually convenient time and date. We will give you as much notice as possible and no less than 24 hours before the Visit Date. If we cannot agree a new date we will refund any related fees that you have already paid.

You may cancel a home visit provided you give us at least one week’s notice and we will refund any fees paid. After this time, we will have reviewed the documents and online assessment provided and cannot refund any fees.

Using Information

Copyright in all documents, designs and information prepared by or for us for the Retrofit Project belongs to us. We license you non-exclusively without royalties to use, copy and share those documents for all purposes directly related to the Retrofit Project. Our liability is limited to the purposes for which those documents were originally prepared.

Both of us will keep information relating to the Retrofit Project and the Services confidential except where required by law, the Retrofit Project or where publicly known.

We are committed to ensuring your privacy is protected. We will process, store and handle data about your Retrofit Project lawfully, fairly and transparently, for the purposes of providing the Services. After completion, we will ask your permission to use specific details about the Retrofit Project as a case study and for marketing purposes. Our privacy policy is available at [include website address]

Changing the Services

The parties agree that the Services can only be decreased, extended or modified by written agreement detailing the changes to the Services, fees and time required.

Complaints and Disputes

If you are not satisfied with how we are carrying out or have carried out the Services, we welcome your feedback. Please visit our website to let us know how we can assist or why you were not satisfied [insert website – contact details page]. The best way to ensure our Services meet your expectations is for you to keep talking to us – always let us know if our assumptions or understanding is incorrect.

If there is a serious breach of this appointment either party may end this agreement by giving 14 days’ written notice to the other (or immediately for insolvency). After that period, we will not provide further services, and will invoice you for a reasonable proportion of the next instalment of the fees to cover all Services provided.

In the event of a dispute which we cannot resolve amicably, either of us can bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales, or use a suitable adjudication procedure.

Signed as a contract

<name, title> on behalf of [Patrner] trading as Devon People Powered Retrofit

As authorised signatory for the Consultant

<Householder name 1> [and <Householder name 2>]

As authorised signatory for the Client

Schedule 1

Stage 1: Assessment services

The aim of these services is to:

Benchmark your home or property: this enables you to understand your current home energy performance
Assist your decision-making and assess potential improvements, strategies or scenarios for your Retrofit Project
Inform next steps: provide detailed information to inform design development, contractor procurement or training needs assessment to progress your Retrofit Project.

What We Will Do

Carry out a pre-assessment screening of your home or property with a few simple questions and an online search
Visit your home at an arranged time and day
Ask you about your plans for your home
Carry out a short survey about your priorities, preferences and perceptions
Carry out a visual inspection of building condition to inform the assessment.
Carry out an approximate measure survey to a level required to inform a whole house energy model
*Optional/weather dependant: sketch thermal image survey
Take a large number of photographs to act as a record and inform the assessment
Create an energy model of your home as it is now and use this to develop three potential retrofit scenarios
Provide a PDF report outlining the findings of the assessment including scenarios with outline budget costings and approximate performance outcomes
Provide a 30-minute follow-up consultation with your assessor to discuss questions and clarify the report findings
Where possible, provide you with access to the relevant raw data collected; no liability is accepted for its accuracy, clarity or that it is virus-free.

What We Will Not Do

Access areas of your home or property where it is unsafe to do so
Recommend contractors to carry out the Retrofit Project works
Be prescriptive on what action you or others should take (the report is to aid your decision-making)
Assist you with statutory permissions - planning, building control, party wall, right to light
Create a construction specification or set of construction drawings
Carry out any invasive survey work such as drilling a hole into your cavity wall or lifting floor finishes.

What You Will Do

Provide us, where readily available, with (1) energy bills from the last 12 months for your home or property, (2) any construction information relating to your home or property such as drawings, energy performance certificates, planning and building control approvals or certificates etc,(3) details of any recent issues with flooding in your area
Get consent for our visit from any owners, landlords, co-owner or occupiers of your home or property,
Ensure key decision-makers are present during our visit so we can obtain clear accurate instructions by way of a questionnaire
Provide safe access to your home or property, including clearing all obstructions; we will need to access the loft and roof spaces, garages, energy meters and to take photographs or thermal images as well as taking notes
Contact us at least 3 days before the Visit Date if you wish to reschedule it; please call us on [insert telephone number] and email us [insert email address] titling your email ‘Rescheduling Our Home Visit’ (as appropriate) and including your property address and the Visit Date in the first line of your email.

7.2.3 HO – Coordination & Works Contract

This Appointment dated	[date]
records the Client (you)	[names of all property owners]
of	[address]
and the Consultant (we)	[DRRP Partner] trading as Devon People Powered Retrofit
of	[address]
agreeing to work together	and for us to assist you with works to retrofit your [home/property at: <address>]
The key aim of the Retrofit Project is	to reduce your carbon footprint, to save energy costs and to improve the comfort of your home or property.
Your expectations for our Services are	<insert>
We will provide the Services	Stage 2 Retrofit Coordination and Assistance with procurement of specialist consultants/contractors to assist with the Retrofit Project
	Stage 3 Quality assurance during the Retrofit Project and final sign off for quality of works
	Each further described in Schedule 1.
We will neither provide nor be responsible for	providing you with specialist advice outside our area of expertise, recommending specific contractors, applying for statutory permissions, any designs required or acting as contract administrator for the Retrofit Project; all as further described in Schedule 1.
We will start providing the Services on	<date> and expect them to be completed by <date> or longer where we are assisting during the Retrofit Project.
We will visit your home or property on	<date> to carry out a home assessment and interview you about how you use your home (the Visit Date).
The Fees for the Services are	£<insert> inclusive of any value added tax.
We will invoice the Fees under this Payment Schedule (the due dates) which you will pay on receipt:	£<fee1> 50% when we sign this agreement and 50% on completion of your agreed retrofit works
	Because we are an organisation run for the benefit of the community, we have limited financial resources and we have to stop providing the Services if you do not pay us as set out in this agreement.
You will pay interest	on overdue sums of 5% above the current Bank of England base rate.
You may cancel the Services by	written notice within 14 days of the date of this appointment without charge using the form below, if you wish.
Our total liability for any claim is	£[amount] excluding claims for death, personal injury or fraud which are unlimited.

Many thanks for approaching us to assist you with your Project. Devon People Powered Retrofit is an unincorporated partnership between [list partners] and run for the benefit of the community.

We, the Consultant, will:

provide the Services; we are not responsible for delays to the Services beyond our reasonable control or due to your failure to provide access to the property or your instructions on time,
use reasonable skill and care in providing the Services to meet your expectations,
send invoices stating the fees we consider are payable at relevant stages and our calculation of those fees,
re-perform any Services which were unsatisfactory (performed late or without reasonable skill and care) without charge, within a reasonable time and without inconveniencing you. If repeat performance is not possible, we will refund 20% of the fees paid by you for that Service.

You, the Client, will:

use reasonable skill and care in carrying out your obligations as set out in this agreement and in Schedule 1,
communicate with us regularly, promptly and respectfully,
ask questions if you do not understand progress against the Services or on your Retrofit Project,
provide access, instructions and act as the main point of contact for the contractor during the Retrofit Project,
let us know immediately of any changes to your circumstances, the aim of the Retrofit Project, your budget, or timescales or anything which may affect our Services or the Retrofit Project,
pay the Fees on receipt of our correct invoices for the Services.

Using Information

Both of us will keep information relating to the Retrofit Project and the Services confidential except where required by law, the Retrofit Project or where publicly known.

Changing the Services

The parties agree that the Services can only be decreased, extended or modified by written agreement detailing the changes to the Services, fees and time required.

Complaints and Disputes

If you are not satisfied with how we are carrying out or have carried out the Services, we welcome your feedback. Please visit our website to let us know how we can assist or where you were not satisfied [insert website – contact details page]. The best way to ensure our Services meet your expectations is for you to keep talking to us – always let us know if our assumptions or understanding is incorrect.

In the event of a dispute which we cannot resolve amicably, either of us can bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales, or use a suitable adjudication procedure.

Signed as a contract

<name, title> on behalf of [Patrner] trading as Devon People Powered Retrofit

As authorised signatory for the Consultant

<Householder name 1> [and <Householder name 2>]

As authorised signatory for the Client

Schedule 1

Stage 2: Retrofit Coordination and procurement advice services

The aim of these services is to:

Assist you in procuring your Retrofit Project
Ensure you secure a suitably experienced contractor for your Retrofit Project
Encourage the development of a quality retrofit supply chain in Devon County

What We Will Do

Assign a Retrofit Coordinator to assist you with the entirety of your Retrofit Project
Provide suggestions for items to be included in prelims (a document to be provided to the contractor)
Advise you if we have any pre-existing relationships with contractors
Provide quality assurance checklists and information on process for inclusion in the works contract
Provide contact details for potential contractors and access to local contractor networks
Offer market intelligence on expected prices, competencies, supply chain networks etc
Review tender package for clarity and usefulness and provide appropriate feedback
Provide guidance on a range of suitable standard form contracts
Provide a quote template to be sent to potential contractors
Provide a suggested tender review checklist/weighting template
Review tender returns - provide feedback on quality and cost

What We Will Not Do

Enter into a contract with any contractor, builder, supplier, installer or trades
Decide which contractor is most suitable
Issue instructions to the contractor
Be liable for additional contractor or client payments at a later stage
Facilitate collusion.

What You Will Do

Make contact with the contractor and be the point of contact to answer any of their questions
Make the final decision on your chosen contractor and appoint them directly
Provide a chosen specification and construction information for the works
Understand that a change in specification will result in a change in price.

Stage 3: quality assurance services

The aim of these services is to provide a framework to monitor and assess the quality of work carried out under a contract between you and your contractor.

What We Will Do

Provide a template quality assurance checklist relevant to your Retrofit Project confirming what needs to be checked and recorded
Carry out an agreed number of site visits at appropriate points (will be different for different works) and provide written notes and photos from these to you in a timely manner i.e. within 48 hours
Facilitate e email or round table (maximum 3) discussions between you and your contractor and designers to resolve obstacles/issues
Provide guidance on commissioning and handover (for example, what documents you should expect to receive from the contractor)
Provide guidance on monitoring.

What We Will Not Do

Make good any defects in the works
Issue instructions (you should appoint a contract administrator to do this).

What You Will Do

Include the requirement for quality assurance photos and checklist and commissioning requirements in your contract with your contractor
Agree to post-completion monitoring (in line with PAS2035)
Raise quality issues with the contract administrator and/or contractor
Provide access to the site.

7.3 Schedule of Rates – Guidance only; and where possible enable us all to understand each other’s structures

7.3.1 Homeowner Consultation – Retrofit Advice Call (RAC) and/or Retrofit Advice Visit (RAV)

The homeowner will receive an initial, free of charge, telephone consultation and/or Retrofit Advice Visit (RAV) with the relevant Partner RA. This will cover the points as agreed by the Retrofit Advice Team (see Appendix?) and logged and reported as required.

Information will be sought to understand the motivation and budgetary constraints of the HO, and the standard and state of the property; and to discuss and agree next steps.

Should the HO wish to go ahead to the assessment stage, the Partner will send the contract to the HO (see section 6.4.1.2.) for the delivery of a Home Assessment.

7.3.2 Whole House Plan - Home Assessment & Report Generation

Once the HO has entered into a Contract/Agreement with the Partner, a RAs will be assigned, and the Partner will confirm a date with the HO for the RAs to complete a full house survey of the property in question.

Do we need to be clear about the RAs role/work and that of the RC?

Standardised home assessment pricing bands, where feasible, are proposed for each Partner, using a structure similar to that below.

The Various Partners current pricing structures are available in Appendix x

Nb an important question/point arose at the Buckfast Abbey workshop today with respect to VAT on the whole house plans. The total cost as proposed below is assumed to be the excl. VAT amount to enable costs to be covered. However a householder will assume this is the total price. Once VAT is added this makes the WHP much more expensive. This is a concern.

Assessments	Property size	Beds	m²	Total cost
Standard	Standard	3	<110	£550
Band 1	Large	4-6	120-180	£700
Band 2	Very Large	6+	>180	£840
Optional add ons	Extensions, conversions etc.			Additional fee
Loft Conversion etc.	Loft conversion or other minor alteration to be explored			£120
Complex House	>3 phases of building, heritage, complex form etc.			£140
Proposed Standard Extension	permitted development or <50m²			£170
Large Extension	>50m², multiple additional rooms			£225

The above pricing bands include, but are not limited to:

A home visit by qualified RAs
A questionnaire taken by the RAs of the HO’s property and energy habits
A full home assessment and measurements taken as per relevant software specifications.
A comprehensive report in accordance with Section 4.5. is created using agreed software.
Discussion between the RAs and HO (telephone/video call) to discuss findings and recommendations of the report and discuss possible options, setting out expected installation costs and energy savings.

7.3.3 Phase 2 support to householder – to be agreed

Should the HO wish to proceed with the LEAD service post Home Assessment, they will enter into a Contract with the Partner to provide Retrofit Coordination Services at a rate of £50 per hour.

The hourly rate include, but are not limited to:

Review with the HO of the Home Assessment Report and confirmation with the HO on upgrade measures to be undertaken
Assistance with RI and RD (if needed) procurement for home upgrade measures through (but not essentially) the LEAD Network (see section 9).
The RC supports the HO through the project and ensures the Quality Assurance Process is completed (see section 7).
After works have been completed, the RC oversees commissioning and provides final work quality assurance report to the QA Contractor for review. If the QA process is successful, then the RC will attend a final site visit and end the contract. If the QA process is unsuccessful then the RC will raise the issues with the HO and attend a minimum of one meeting between all parties involved to rectify the situation.