ᐅ Invoice for landscaping contractor is becoming increasingly expensive
Created on: 9 May 2025 16:30
F
Florian1104
Hello everyone,
We bought a house last year and completely renovated it. The outdoor areas were also supposed to be redesigned (new paving stones + garage). Therefore, in September last year, we hired a landscaping contractor to remove the existing paving, demolish a wall and a gate, excavate for new paving, create a gravel base layer for a garage, and of course, to install the new paving.
We received a quote amounting to 35,000 Euros (€). This was without any discounts and intended to be submitted to the bank for financing (the bank insisted on seeing quotes to confirm the loan amount). Later, we were offered the same scope of work in writing for 25,000 Euros, which we accepted.
The work started in September, but it became clear that the soil was not sufficiently load-bearing. I was verbally informed that the costs for excavation and disposal would increase significantly. Initially, I was told verbally about an extra charge of 5,000 Euros, and then a few days later, this was raised to 10,000 Euros. I approved the 10,000 Euros, so the total cost was expected to rise to 35,000 Euros.
The excavation work and the first deliveries of recycled crushed stone (RCL) for the gravel base layer for the garage were completed in September.
For this, we paid an interim invoice of 9,500 Euros and an additional 8,800 Euros for container services (machine rental, RCL, disposal of excavation material, etc.). We also gave 750 Euros in cash as a deposit for an excavator bucket to the landscaping contractor. In total, we have paid almost 19,000 Euros so far.
Unfortunately, the building permit / planning permission for the garage was delayed until the end of the year, so the garage work only started in 2025 and was completed by the end of April.
Now, when I contacted the landscaping contractor to arrange the next steps, they announced that the following outstanding costs remain after completing the work:
- 5,000 Euros gross
- 10,000 Euros net
- Crane for material delivery (1,700 Euros including tax)
- 3–4 containers of RCL (approx. 1,050 Euros)
In total, they are now requesting 7,750 Euros gross and 10,000 Euros net. Combined with the 19,000 Euros already paid, this would bring the total to 36,750 Euros. However, the 10,000 Euros net plus tax amounts to at least 11,900 Euros gross. To be honest, we know what the contractor means by the net price, and the invoiced amount is usually much higher 😉
So, in total, we are looking at at least 38,650 Euros gross, which is almost 4,000 Euros more than already expected.
When I asked how the price could increase again, they justified it by saying that, based on 300 estimated remaining hours, labor costs alone would amount to 13,500 Euros excluding tax. However, I was originally offered a price per square meter and never agreed to switch to an hourly rate. Additionally, the crane was never planned initially and is now charged for material delivery.
Now to my question:
What options do I have here? Do I have to accept the additional costs? Can the landscaping contractor keep increasing the price without limit?
Thank you very much in advance 🙂
We bought a house last year and completely renovated it. The outdoor areas were also supposed to be redesigned (new paving stones + garage). Therefore, in September last year, we hired a landscaping contractor to remove the existing paving, demolish a wall and a gate, excavate for new paving, create a gravel base layer for a garage, and of course, to install the new paving.
We received a quote amounting to 35,000 Euros (€). This was without any discounts and intended to be submitted to the bank for financing (the bank insisted on seeing quotes to confirm the loan amount). Later, we were offered the same scope of work in writing for 25,000 Euros, which we accepted.
The work started in September, but it became clear that the soil was not sufficiently load-bearing. I was verbally informed that the costs for excavation and disposal would increase significantly. Initially, I was told verbally about an extra charge of 5,000 Euros, and then a few days later, this was raised to 10,000 Euros. I approved the 10,000 Euros, so the total cost was expected to rise to 35,000 Euros.
The excavation work and the first deliveries of recycled crushed stone (RCL) for the gravel base layer for the garage were completed in September.
For this, we paid an interim invoice of 9,500 Euros and an additional 8,800 Euros for container services (machine rental, RCL, disposal of excavation material, etc.). We also gave 750 Euros in cash as a deposit for an excavator bucket to the landscaping contractor. In total, we have paid almost 19,000 Euros so far.
Unfortunately, the building permit / planning permission for the garage was delayed until the end of the year, so the garage work only started in 2025 and was completed by the end of April.
Now, when I contacted the landscaping contractor to arrange the next steps, they announced that the following outstanding costs remain after completing the work:
- 5,000 Euros gross
- 10,000 Euros net
- Crane for material delivery (1,700 Euros including tax)
- 3–4 containers of RCL (approx. 1,050 Euros)
In total, they are now requesting 7,750 Euros gross and 10,000 Euros net. Combined with the 19,000 Euros already paid, this would bring the total to 36,750 Euros. However, the 10,000 Euros net plus tax amounts to at least 11,900 Euros gross. To be honest, we know what the contractor means by the net price, and the invoiced amount is usually much higher 😉
So, in total, we are looking at at least 38,650 Euros gross, which is almost 4,000 Euros more than already expected.
When I asked how the price could increase again, they justified it by saying that, based on 300 estimated remaining hours, labor costs alone would amount to 13,500 Euros excluding tax. However, I was originally offered a price per square meter and never agreed to switch to an hourly rate. Additionally, the crane was never planned initially and is now charged for material delivery.
Now to my question:
What options do I have here? Do I have to accept the additional costs? Can the landscaping contractor keep increasing the price without limit?
Thank you very much in advance 🙂
F
Florian110411 May 2025 00:17I have now attached it as a photo:
I deliberately removed the company names.
The offer also included the following text:
“You can expect around 25k, which we would actually claim for ourselves.”
PS: I didn’t sign anything but confirmed the offer and the text via message.
I deliberately removed the company names.
The offer also included the following text:
“You can expect around 25k, which we would actually claim for ourselves.”
PS: I didn’t sign anything but confirmed the offer and the text via message.
W
wiltshire11 May 2025 08:11You mention 35,000€ (you wrote this in the first post), and the quote states 35,000€. The landscaping contractor is performing tasks that are listed as contingencies in the quote but are not priced, namely the disposal of materials. Additionally, the quote is one year old, and the contractor had to anticipate completing the work earlier. Price adjustments after such a long time would be possible.
From what I read, I don’t see any indication that you are being treated unfairly.
From what I read, I don’t see any indication that you are being treated unfairly.
A
Allthewayup11 May 2025 08:30wiltshire schrieb:
You mention 35,000€ (you wrote in the first post) and the quote also states 35,000€. The landscape contractor is performing work that is listed in the quote as a contingency but not priced, specifically material disposal. Also, the quote is a year old and the contractor might have expected to finish the work earlier. Price adjustments after such a long time would be possible.
From what I read, I can’t see any unfair treatment towards you. I completely agree with wiltshire.
Additionally, it occurs to me that the landscape contractor’s 25k probably referred to the amount you would transfer, while the remaining 10k was an off-the-books payment. You save about 1,900€ in taxes, and he avoids corporate tax. Mine also hinted at this and expressed it very vaguely. I politely declined, explaining that in case of warranty claims, it would be difficult to assert any rights, and we had already budgeted for the full amount.
Are you generally satisfied with the work performed?
Have an honest and open conversation with the contractor and find a solution together that allows both sides to save face. There will be no other solution.
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Florian110411 May 2025 10:19wiltshire schrieb:
You arrive at €35,000 (as you wrote in the first post) and the quote states €35,000. The landscaping contractor performs work listed in the quote as a contingency but not priced, namely disposing of material. In addition, the quote is one year old, and the landscaper had to expect the work to be completed sooner. Price adjustments after such a long period would be possible.
From what I read, I don’t see any unfair treatment towards you. Good morning,
actually, my total exceeds €35,000 gross. It’s close to €39,000.
What might be a bit confusing are the €35,000 from the initial “quote.”
The situation is as follows:
The financing bank required cost estimates covering the entire amount in advance to approve the loan. Since many “smaller” items occurred during our renovation, for which we initially had no precise cost evidence (electrical and heating work done by friends), we asked the landscaping contractor for a favor.
He verbally offered us €25,000 for the project. He then deliberately prepared the quote without any discount, which we used as the cost estimate for the bank. He also confirmed the €25,000 (gross!) as an additional note.
In short:
The €35,000 from the quote was never discussed or approved. It was always about €25,000.
Work only began in September last year (the quote was from May), and it was then discovered that more excavation was needed. The price was then raised by €5,000, and later again by another €5,000. We approved these increases, both gross.
One must not make the mistake of basing it on the initial quote price. This was also agreed with the landscaping contractor.
So our calculation is:
25,000
+ 5,000
+ 5,000
= 35,000
Now those €10,000 are being treated as net, and a crane is being charged. And these two issues are what the discussion concerns.
F
Florian110411 May 2025 10:21Allthewayup schrieb:
Are you generally satisfied with the work done?
Have an honest and open conversation with the contractor and find a solution together that allows both sides to save face. There will be no other solution.Hi,
So far, only excavation work has been done. It is difficult to assess the work at this stage.
Regarding the conversation:
One is planned for Thursday evening. I just wanted to get an outside perspective in advance. Friends and acquaintances are often biased in situations like this.
N
nordanney11 May 2025 11:35Florian1104 schrieb:
He verbally offered us 25,000 as the price for our project. However, he deliberately prepared the offer without any discount, which we then used as a cost estimate for the bank. In the accompanying text, he confirmed the 25,000 (gross!) again.Do you have this confirmed in writing? Otherwise, there was never a valid offer (in court...).Florian1104 schrieb:
You shouldn’t make the mistake of relying on the offered price here.Do you bothFlorian1104 schrieb:
We were given an offer with an invoice amount of 35,000€. This was without discounts for forwarding to the bank for financing purposes (the bank insisted on offers to justify the loan amount). This offer was then given to us in writing with the same scope of services for 25,000€, which we accepted.So everything is fine after all. Offer price and current price including additional costs.Yes, this is naturally not correct due to verbal agreements. But in the end, what counts is what is signed and documented.