Hello, we are currently facing a rather complicated situation.
We had a house built through a developer. The house and the land were supposed to be transferred to our ownership after the final payment.
Now for the complicated part. The contract stated a construction period of 28 weeks after the purchase price became due. The developer informed us of an (early completion date) at the end of May. We then gave notice on our old apartment for the end of June and planned to move by the end of June. However, it turned out that the date could not realistically be met. On June 26th, we had a handover appointment where water, electricity, telephone, and part of the exterior insulation on a basement window were still unfinished. This was also recorded in the handover protocol. Since we had to vacate the old apartment three days later, we were allowed to move furniture into the house at that time and stayed with my mother-in-law. Electricity and water were connected a week later.
Now the big problem. One day after the preliminary acceptance, there was heavy rain, and water entered the basement through the unfinished area of the basement insulation, spreading under the entire screed floor. It has now been dried with vacuum pumps for almost 4 weeks. The basement insulation is now complete, and light wells and window shafts have also been installed at the windows.
Now the first question. Can a new build still be considered ready for occupancy when room temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) and extreme noise disturbance from the drying equipment are present? Or should we now, already 3 weeks beyond the maximum construction period regulated by the contract, demand a penalty from the developer?
Additionally, we had another handover 10 days ago and received the keys. At this handover, it was agreed that the developer has until July 24th to fix further defects. Despite several follow-ups, of course, nothing has been done. Starting tomorrow, can I hire my own contractors and charge the costs to the developer?
We had a house built through a developer. The house and the land were supposed to be transferred to our ownership after the final payment.
Now for the complicated part. The contract stated a construction period of 28 weeks after the purchase price became due. The developer informed us of an (early completion date) at the end of May. We then gave notice on our old apartment for the end of June and planned to move by the end of June. However, it turned out that the date could not realistically be met. On June 26th, we had a handover appointment where water, electricity, telephone, and part of the exterior insulation on a basement window were still unfinished. This was also recorded in the handover protocol. Since we had to vacate the old apartment three days later, we were allowed to move furniture into the house at that time and stayed with my mother-in-law. Electricity and water were connected a week later.
Now the big problem. One day after the preliminary acceptance, there was heavy rain, and water entered the basement through the unfinished area of the basement insulation, spreading under the entire screed floor. It has now been dried with vacuum pumps for almost 4 weeks. The basement insulation is now complete, and light wells and window shafts have also been installed at the windows.
Now the first question. Can a new build still be considered ready for occupancy when room temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) and extreme noise disturbance from the drying equipment are present? Or should we now, already 3 weeks beyond the maximum construction period regulated by the contract, demand a penalty from the developer?
Additionally, we had another handover 10 days ago and received the keys. At this handover, it was agreed that the developer has until July 24th to fix further defects. Despite several follow-ups, of course, nothing has been done. Starting tomorrow, can I hire my own contractors and charge the costs to the developer?
H
Hausqualle24 Jul 2015 11:04eric2610 schrieb:
Can I start hiring my own contractors from tomorrow and charge the company for it? .. NO!!! ...B
Bauexperte24 Jul 2015 11:05Hello,
While I fully understand that there is a right to have contracts and deadlines honored, building a house is not a project that can be calculated down to the last detail!
Even if everything had gone smoothly, I think the timeframe between the reported completion date and giving notice on your old apartment was quite tight.
Apart from the external insulation and light well work — was the delay in the utility connections caused by the developer or rather by the public utility providers?
Being short on cash does not justify threatening a contractual penalty at the first sign of difficulties — which in my opinion would not be enforceable anyway. Every developer has the right to carry out corrections!
No. You can only set a grace period after the end of today — and it must be in writing! Unless these are serious defects that pose a danger to life or limb, the period must be reasonable — more like 3 weeks rather than just one. I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not sure if a shorter additional deadline must then be given; the legal experts here can answer that.
Only after all deadlines have expired may you hire your own tradespeople.
You haven’t mentioned any problems during the construction phase; I assume everything was fine up to this point. Stay on top of things — communicate in writing rather than by phone — and try to seek dialogue. This approach is always better than threatening penalties. I fully understand that building a house is no easy task for a layperson’s nerves.
Regards, Bauexperte
eric2610 schrieb:
We had a developer build our house. The house and land were supposed to be transferred to our ownership after the final payment.
While I fully understand that there is a right to have contracts and deadlines honored, building a house is not a project that can be calculated down to the last detail!
eric2610 schrieb:
Now to the complicated part. The contract specified a construction period of 28 weeks after the purchase price became due. The developer informed us of an (early completion date) at the end of May. We then gave notice on our old apartment for the end of June, planning to move at the end of June.
Even if everything had gone smoothly, I think the timeframe between the reported completion date and giving notice on your old apartment was quite tight.
eric2610 schrieb:
However, it turned out that the completion date could not really be met. By June 26, we had a handover appointment where water, electricity, telephone, and part of the external insulation around a basement window were still unfinished.
Apart from the external insulation and light well work — was the delay in the utility connections caused by the developer or rather by the public utility providers?
eric2610 schrieb:
Now the first question. Can a new build be considered ready for occupancy when room temperatures of over 30 degrees and an extreme noise disturbance from drying equipment are present? Or should we by now, being about 3 weeks past the contractually agreed maximum duration of the construction project, demand a contractual penalty from the developer?
Being short on cash does not justify threatening a contractual penalty at the first sign of difficulties — which in my opinion would not be enforceable anyway. Every developer has the right to carry out corrections!
eric2610 schrieb:
Also, about 10 days ago we had another inspection and received the keys. During this inspection, it was agreed that the developer has until July 24 to fix further defects. Despite several inquiries, nothing has happened, of course. Can I then hire my own tradespeople starting tomorrow and charge the company?
No. You can only set a grace period after the end of today — and it must be in writing! Unless these are serious defects that pose a danger to life or limb, the period must be reasonable — more like 3 weeks rather than just one. I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not sure if a shorter additional deadline must then be given; the legal experts here can answer that.
Only after all deadlines have expired may you hire your own tradespeople.
You haven’t mentioned any problems during the construction phase; I assume everything was fine up to this point. Stay on top of things — communicate in writing rather than by phone — and try to seek dialogue. This approach is always better than threatening penalties. I fully understand that building a house is no easy task for a layperson’s nerves.
Regards, Bauexperte
B
Bauexperte24 Jul 2015 11:10H
Hausqualle24 Jul 2015 11:12Bauexperte schrieb:
With all due understanding that building a house is not exactly the easiest task for a layperson in terms of stress tolerance. .. you hit the nail on the headH
Hausqualle24 Jul 2015 11:13Bauexperte schrieb:
Occupation: animal caretaker?.. do you consider this job to have negative associations?Similar topics