ᐅ Architect, contract under HOAI 2013 – refusal to perform services
Created on: 15 May 2019 10:00
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stephan.l
Hello! I am new to this forum and could use some help. I have a contract with an architect based on HOAI 2013 covering phases 1 to 8. His fee is VERY high at 18.5% of the total costs. He is also the construction manager. The architect was already 72 years old when hired and recommended himself based on a successful project for a neighbor.
The architect has already invoiced 75% of the total fee as progress payments, but so far not even the basement of the house (basement, ground floor, sleeping floor) is finished (the contractor’s share of costs so far is 24% of the total construction costs). Other trades have barely been (documentedly) worked on, the schedule is missing, and the detailed execution plans for the upper floors are incomplete. On-site, he shows up at most once a month for one hour, which has led to misunderstandings in the construction process due to lack of supervision.
Now the architect has issued another invoice, which would bring the total paid to 86% of the entire fee. I explained the situation to him and referred to a progress payment appropriate to the construction progress, asking him to please submit the invoice at a later date.
In response, the architect started quarrelling intensely with the contractor and stated that he cannot continue working due to the contractor’s insufficient quality and that he would not continue until his fully justified claim is paid. Construction is at a standstill because the plans for the ground floor are missing.
My question is: can the architect demand arbitrarily high progress payments under HOAI without corresponding progress and service delivery?
Thank you very much if anyone has experience with this.
The architect has already invoiced 75% of the total fee as progress payments, but so far not even the basement of the house (basement, ground floor, sleeping floor) is finished (the contractor’s share of costs so far is 24% of the total construction costs). Other trades have barely been (documentedly) worked on, the schedule is missing, and the detailed execution plans for the upper floors are incomplete. On-site, he shows up at most once a month for one hour, which has led to misunderstandings in the construction process due to lack of supervision.
Now the architect has issued another invoice, which would bring the total paid to 86% of the entire fee. I explained the situation to him and referred to a progress payment appropriate to the construction progress, asking him to please submit the invoice at a later date.
In response, the architect started quarrelling intensely with the contractor and stated that he cannot continue working due to the contractor’s insufficient quality and that he would not continue until his fully justified claim is paid. Construction is at a standstill because the plans for the ground floor are missing.
My question is: can the architect demand arbitrarily high progress payments under HOAI without corresponding progress and service delivery?
Thank you very much if anyone has experience with this.
Stephan.l schrieb:
sichtbeton82, I am naturally not very keen on changing the architect, but I don’t see any real alternative here. If his demands are justified, that would at least be a... surprise.
For now, I’m waiting to hear what the lawyer says. Since building work resumed (March 26), the architect has only been on site once, on April 14, for one hour. Appointments that he himself scheduled were simply not attended by him. The contractor was left waiting alone. I would have already shown him the door, especially considering the amount of money you’re paying.
Sorry for you, but this really sounds tough. You want things to move forward, yet the architect doesn’t even take the second, third, or nth chance.
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Mottenhausen16 May 2019 14:26The payment schedule was posted by sichtbeton82. I don’t understand why you want to add another metric, "presence on the construction site," to the payment schedule. That won’t get you far, whether he is also the site manager or not.
If the ground floor construction plan is missing, everything from and including project phase 5 is not yet completed, which means it is already overpaid—you can hold him to that. Personally, I wouldn’t start with the issue of insufficient presence, as that would only give him a point of attack, making your claim or objection flawed and vulnerable.
If the ground floor construction plan is missing, everything from and including project phase 5 is not yet completed, which means it is already overpaid—you can hold him to that. Personally, I wouldn’t start with the issue of insufficient presence, as that would only give him a point of attack, making your claim or objection flawed and vulnerable.
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Matthias 4016 May 2019 14:51I definitely wouldn’t pay anything else. He should rather break down what his invoice is based on. May I ask how much 18.5 percent of your construction cost is?
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hampshire16 May 2019 17:20Lumpi_LE schrieb:
I don’t want to criticize older people, but if you hire a 72-year-old architect who isn’t exactly a grandfather or great-grandson type, you can’t expect anything different. What nonsense!
@Stephan.l: I can’t make sense of your architect’s invoice, nor your decision to pay so much so far, nor the “reference” with discouraging remarks. Somehow, none of this adds up. What advice can you give from an outsider’s perspective?
Zaba12 schrieb:
You may prefer to see it that way, and in an ideal world it might be true, but unfortunately, this viewpoint won’t help you if, like the OP, you mess up technically with the architect.
And honestly... if I had hired my architect through phase 8 of services, I would still be on the construction site every day, questioning the tradespeople and inspecting the work. And why? Because as the client, I am ultimately responsible for my construction site.I can understand your attitude, but it is not universally applicable. This is exactly why you hire a construction manager, who is also liable for these points.
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stephan.l16 May 2019 17:31Lumpi_LE, well, he seemed more like 66-68. I only found out when I saw his architect chamber certificate on Facebook. You don’t usually ask about that. Besides, he seems energetic, so it’s not because of that.