ᐅ General contractor requests price increase for the entire house
Created on: 6 Oct 2022 15:33
M
MSHausbau
Hello everyone,
I’ve read a lot and hope to get some advice...
We are building a house and are about 90% finished. The fixed price agreement expires at the end of October, and the contract doesn’t specify what happens afterward.
Now our general contractor is asking for €50,000.
His reasoning: As of today, the house is 18.66% more expensive, which is €51,250, so he is demanding €50,000 from us.
He already indicated over the phone that it probably won’t be the full 50K, but the 10K we offered was too low.
Now the question is, are we completely mistaken? I don’t see why we should pay extra for the entire house, only for the items that are still outstanding. That would be about €8,000 if you really apply the 18%.
Do you understand what I mean?
Does anyone have legal experience or some tips on how to argue this?
Our lawyer advises settling in the range of €15,000 to €20,000.
I’ve read a lot and hope to get some advice...
We are building a house and are about 90% finished. The fixed price agreement expires at the end of October, and the contract doesn’t specify what happens afterward.
Now our general contractor is asking for €50,000.
His reasoning: As of today, the house is 18.66% more expensive, which is €51,250, so he is demanding €50,000 from us.
He already indicated over the phone that it probably won’t be the full 50K, but the 10K we offered was too low.
Now the question is, are we completely mistaken? I don’t see why we should pay extra for the entire house, only for the items that are still outstanding. That would be about €8,000 if you really apply the 18%.
Do you understand what I mean?
Does anyone have legal experience or some tips on how to argue this?
Our lawyer advises settling in the range of €15,000 to €20,000.
M
MSHausbau6 Oct 2022 16:02andimann schrieb:
Hello,
um, the fixed price should generally be tied to the start of construction. In other words, when the general contractor (GC) begins, they are obligated to complete the house within period X for price Y. If they delay construction, they should pay penalties and not charge additional costs. By the GC’s reasoning, they could delay installing the doorbell for 10 years and then demand the house price from you after that time. (Yes, that’s exaggerated, but that’s basically the consequence.)
But the contract structure must be very unusual; you apparently already consulted a lawyer and even they are advising you to pay 15,000–20,000 €?!?
Maybe you can provide a bit more information because this doesn’t add up.
Best regards,
Andreas Okay, I’m heading home for now. Didn’t expect replies within minutes. Thanks for that!
M
MSHausbau6 Oct 2022 16:03WilderSueden schrieb:
When is the contract dated, and how does the general contractor arrive at the total of 51....€? Are these based on their own calculations or a construction cost index?
Was the general contractor obligated to any preliminary work (e.g., building permit / planning permission) that might have caused delays? What does the contract say about the construction period? The contract is exactly 1 year old, so the binding period is expiring. We accept paying more, but only for the time beyond the initial 12 months.
Construction period is 8 months. The handover date is set for 01.12.
W
WilderSueden6 Oct 2022 16:06MSHausbau schrieb:
The contract is exactly 1 year old, so the binding period expires. We agree to pay more, but only for the time beyond the 12 months.
Construction time is 8 months. The handover date is December 1st. What about the other 4 months? Who is responsible for them?
And whose fault is it that the house is not finished yet? Yours or the general contractor’s (this also includes "delivery delays")?
M
MSHausbau6 Oct 2022 16:20WilderSueden schrieb:
What about the other 4 months? Who is responsible for those? And whose fault is it that the house is not finished yet? Yours or the general contractor’s (this includes "delivery difficulties")? The building authority is to "blame" for that. They took 3 months. After that, it’s 40 days until construction really starts.W
WilderSueden6 Oct 2022 16:33It is not unusual for a building permit / planning permission to take 2-3 months. You definitely signed an unfavorable contract, because even under favorable conditions like a notification procedure, the timeline would be quite tight: 2-4 weeks to complete the building application, 1 month for approval, 4-6 weeks for scheduling, and 8 months for construction time.
For me, the question now is whether such planning is compatible with consumer protection.
For me, the question now is whether such planning is compatible with consumer protection.
M
MSHausbau6 Oct 2022 16:58WilderSueden schrieb:
It’s not that unusual for a building permit / planning permission to take 2-3 months. You definitely signed a disadvantageous contract, because even under favorable conditions like notification procedures, it would be pretty tight: 2-4 weeks to complete the building application, 1 month for approval, 4-6 weeks for scheduling, 8 months construction time.
I’m wondering whether such planning is compatible with consumer protection regulations. I know… hindsight is always clearer. But it’s not a major issue. What concerns me is the additional charge, which I think is just excessive. The manager himself wrote in an email that the entire house costs 51,000 more. Yet we are almost finished and are expected to pay the full increase for the whole house? I think that’s wrong… how do you see it?