ᐅ Completion Date in a General Contractor Agreement – Wording Guide

Hello everyone,

Our general contractor agreement states that the property will be ready for occupancy 10 months after construction starts, with the completion date set at 12 months.

However, we want to phrase this clause so that the property must be ready for occupancy within 2020 under any circumstances, as otherwise we won’t qualify for the homebuyer subsidy. Another issue is that the site development work is still ongoing, but according to the project manager, it should be finished by September. This also needs to be included somehow in the clause.

Can anyone knowledgeable assist here?

HilfeHilfe schrieb:

Yes, lawyer

The entire contract has already been reviewed by a lawyer – I didn’t want to pay another 220 € net per hour.

The start is more important than the completion. For construction start and building permit / planning permission obtained by the end of 2020, the application can be submitted until the end of 2023, provided that funding is still available.

Egberto schrieb:

It depends more on the start rather than the completion. For projects with the start of construction and building permit / planning permission obtained by the end of 2020, the application can be submitted until the end of 2023, provided the funding is still available.

Unfortunately, that’s not the issue – it’s about our income, which in the years 2017 and 2018 was within the range to qualify for the home construction grant. If we only move in during 2021, then the years 2018 and 2019 count – and by then, our income is too high.

Ah, okay, then it is naturally different.

goalkeeper schrieb:

However, we want to phrase the completion date so that the house must be ready to move in by 2020 at the latest, otherwise we won’t qualify for the homebuyer subsidy. The problem is that the site development work is still ongoing but, according to the construction manager, is expected to be finished by September.

Exactly because no one knows how long, for example, the site development will take, the builder cannot guarantee this with certainty. Imagine if a legal dispute arose against the residential area or if an archaeological find was made during excavation… then work would come to a halt for a while, which your builder cannot be held responsible for. Or how should the builder manage to deliver a ready-to-move-in house within a few weeks if such a worst-case scenario occurs? It could also be that your local building authority takes longer to process your permit application, and so on. In my opinion, builders cannot factor in such force majeure events.

Do you have any planned self-performed work? Flooring? Electrical installations?