ᐅ How are the billable costs for the architect calculated?

Hello,

I'm stuck and need some advice...

Our plan for a single-family house is currently with the city for building permit / planning permission. So far, everything is going well. We have hired an architect for phases 1 to 4 of the service stages.

We have now started obtaining quotes ourselves. The quote from the structural shell builder is €95,000, while the architect’s estimate was €117,500. My question is: according to HOAI, is the architect allowed to include the costs for the structural shell in their fee calculations if we contract it ourselves? I’ve read a lot about this but still don’t fully understand it! If we only use service phases 1 to 4 and manage the trades ourselves, what then serves as the basis for the architect’s fee calculations?

I would really appreciate any help!

Thanks in advance!

I want to know

M.W. are included in the costs of his cost calculation or, if not available, the cost estimate. Regardless of the outcome of the contract award.

However, I have been out of the daily routine for a while now.

Mia123 schrieb:
Hello,

I’m stuck and don’t know how to proceed...

Our plan for a single-family house is currently with the city for approval. So far, so good. We have hired an architect for service phases 1 to 4. We have now started to get quotes ourselves. The offer from the structural contractor is €95,000, while the architect’s estimate was €117,500. My question is: according to the HOAI fee regulations, can the architect include the costs for the structural shell in the billable costs if we contract it ourselves? I have read a lot about it but I’m not quite clear yet! If we only engage the architect for service phases 1 to 4 and award the trades ourselves, what is then taken as the basis for the billable costs?

I would be very grateful if someone could help me!

Thanks in advance!

You are currently at the end of service phase 4 and unaware that the billable costs consist of the items 300 & 400 according to DIN 276. The structural shell is only part of that.

If you are billing according to HOAI and have not agreed on a flat fee, phases 1–4 will cost roughly €10,000 to €12,000 including taxes. The calculations are not done to exact euros but use a range of billable costs.

Just because you personally saved around €20,000 now doesn’t affect the architect’s fee because you only commissioned the architect for phases 1–4. For the architect, phases beyond that (I believe phase 6) do not apply. Therefore, their fee is based on their original cost estimate.

Also, everything up to the “turnkey” house counts as billable costs and is included.

If the architect estimated €350,000 for items 300 & 400, then you pay fees on that amount.

I rarely see such lack of knowledge at such an advanced stage of the project. It’s honestly both sad and alarming.

@ Zaba12

So is it common practice for an architect to calculate 20% above the travel cost to increase their fee? When a statement in the HOAI says:

(2) The chargeable costs are based on local market prices if the client

takes on deliveries or services themselves...?

It’s not a lack of knowledge. I just want to inform myself and hope for constructive contributions!

Mia123 schrieb:
@ Zaba12

So is it common for an architect to estimate 20% above the travel cost to increase their fee? If the HOAI states in an explanation:

(2) The chargeable costs are based on the local customary prices if the client


takes on deliveries or services themselves...?


This is not due to a lack of knowledge. I want to inform myself and hope for constructive contributions!

He calculates conservatively