ᐅ Construction delay without completion. The house simply isn’t getting finished.
Created on: 30 Jun 2022 13:14
D
DanielttHello everyone,
I would like to know if you have had similar experiences or if you might have any helpful advice on how to best handle this situation.
At the beginning of 2021, we bought a terraced house from a small developer in North Rhine-Westphalia. The planned completion date was December 2021. However, the notarial contract stated March 2022 as the completion date.
Now it is already July 2022, and so far only the shell structure, including windows and electrical wiring, is finished.
The situation is that for weeks nothing happens on the construction site, and then occasionally a tradesperson works on it. In the entire year of 2022, work was done on the house on maybe 20 days.
The flat roof has been in progress for 4 months and is still not completed.
The developer always gives us excuses and assures us that everyone is trying to make progress (sometimes someone is sick with COVID-19, the tradespeople don't show up, the windows are not delivered, etc.).
However, we do not receive any updated completion date or written information about any delay or planned completion.
Have you had similar experiences? Has this kind of delay become normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Have you faced similar delays in house construction?
Do we even have any possibility to take action against this?
I would like to know if you have had similar experiences or if you might have any helpful advice on how to best handle this situation.
At the beginning of 2021, we bought a terraced house from a small developer in North Rhine-Westphalia. The planned completion date was December 2021. However, the notarial contract stated March 2022 as the completion date.
Now it is already July 2022, and so far only the shell structure, including windows and electrical wiring, is finished.
The situation is that for weeks nothing happens on the construction site, and then occasionally a tradesperson works on it. In the entire year of 2022, work was done on the house on maybe 20 days.
The flat roof has been in progress for 4 months and is still not completed.
The developer always gives us excuses and assures us that everyone is trying to make progress (sometimes someone is sick with COVID-19, the tradespeople don't show up, the windows are not delivered, etc.).
However, we do not receive any updated completion date or written information about any delay or planned completion.
Have you had similar experiences? Has this kind of delay become normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Have you faced similar delays in house construction?
Do we even have any possibility to take action against this?
N
Neubau202230 Jun 2022 14:43Danieltt schrieb:
Hello everyone,
I would like to know if you have had similar experiences or if you possibly have any helpful tips on how to best handle this situation.
We bought a townhouse from a small developer in NRW at the beginning of 2021. The planned completion date was 12/2021. However, the notarial contract stated 03/2022.
Now it is already 07/2022, and so far only the shell including windows and electrical wiring is finished.
It is the case that nothing happens on the construction site for weeks, and then occasionally a craftsman works there. In the entire year of 2022, work was done on the house for maybe 20 days.
The flat roof has been in progress for 4 months and is still not finished.
We are always being reassured by the developer that everyone is trying hard to make progress. (Sometimes someone is sick with COVID, or the craftsmen don’t show up, or the windows are not delivered, etc.)
However, we don’t receive any updated completion dates or written information about delays or planned completion.
Have you had similar experiences? Has this become normal during COVID times? Have you encountered similar delays in house construction?
Do we even have any options to take action against this?The first question would be: what penalties are stipulated in the contract if the developer did not finish by 03/2022?
We are currently building with a general contractor. The start was 11/2021. Handover was supposed to be 07/2022. We are now rather expecting 08 or 09/2022. He also included a 10-month construction period guarantee in the contract with a penalty of €200 per day for delays. Even if it ends up being October, we will definitely not enforce this, as we are satisfied with him so far.
That there can be issues due to supply shortages is normal nowadays. But having work done on only about 20 days in half a year is not. I suspect the contractor has several projects and that is why your build is delayed? Get together with the other homeowners and apply some pressure.
Yes, he is actually building all 14 townhouse units simultaneously. He may have taken on more than he can handle.
We have now agreed that all incurred costs will be charged (double rent / standby interest, etc.). We will send a monthly statement for these. A fixed contractual penalty was not agreed upon.
However, we will probably only see the money offset at the end.
That said, we are running out of ideas on how else we could apply pressure.
We have now agreed that all incurred costs will be charged (double rent / standby interest, etc.). We will send a monthly statement for these. A fixed contractual penalty was not agreed upon.
However, we will probably only see the money offset at the end.
That said, we are running out of ideas on how else we could apply pressure.
W
WilderSueden30 Jun 2022 15:18Communication in the construction industry seems to be generally somewhat difficult, and almost everyone experiences delays. In my case, for example, work on the roof has been going on for ages, seemingly only when the carpenters have a free day (no pressure since the roof tiles are not yet available...).
However, there could be another issue as well. I don’t want to alarm you, but some companies have seriously underestimated the impact of rising prices. When you have 14 row houses where nothing is progressing, I would also consider the possibility of an impending insolvency. A sign of this seems to be constant delays and very little work being done. In such cases, the main focus should be on securing your claims. However, it is difficult to assess this remotely.
However, there could be another issue as well. I don’t want to alarm you, but some companies have seriously underestimated the impact of rising prices. When you have 14 row houses where nothing is progressing, I would also consider the possibility of an impending insolvency. A sign of this seems to be constant delays and very little work being done. In such cases, the main focus should be on securing your claims. However, it is difficult to assess this remotely.
WilderSueden schrieb:
Communication in the construction industry seems to be generally a bit challenging, and almost everyone seems to experience delays. For example, work on my roof has been going on forever, usually only when the carpenters have a free day (no pressure since the roof tiles are not yet available...).
However, there might be another issue as well. I don’t want to alarm you, but some companies have seriously underestimated the impact of price increases. If there are 14 row houses and nothing is progressing, I would also consider the possibility of an impending insolvency. One sign of this might be being constantly postponed and hardly any work being done. In such cases, it’s mainly about protecting your claims. But it’s hard to say from a distance. We had already suspected that they might just be running low on funds. But we just have to wait, right?
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