ᐅ The planner does not carry out any cost calculations according to DIN 276.
Created on: 11 Feb 2025 01:14
A
Antjeaergert
I have been reading diligently here and searching the forum – but I am simply overwhelmed.
We have the following problem. My father bought a listed (heritage-protected) house five years ago. The project was overseen by an architect.
An initial survey was conducted, and the renovation costs were estimated at around 400,000 euros.
Unfortunately, there is only one email in which the architect confirms that my father cannot spend more than 400,000 euros and that the costs would definitely stay within that range.
However, this is not the (current) main issue. The renovation, after four years spent in a holiday apartment and a planned duration of two years, has finally been completed.
The costs have, of course, gone completely out of control – my father raised this issue with the architect several times.
Towards the end of the project, he simply gave up and paid the invoices because he just wanted the house to be finished.
Now we have asked the architect to provide us with the cost estimate, calculation, and cost determination according to DIN 276, so that we can understand the costs and especially the overruns.
This request has simply been ignored – to this day, no estimate, calculation, or anything similar based on DIN 276 has been prepared. She even said she was not familiar with this standard.
She is now issuing her final invoice, claiming that she has fulfilled all her obligations.
This simply leaves me speechless. We were never informed about any warranty periods, even though defects have already appeared and we have asked about this.
Furthermore, there is still an unresolved invoice from a roofer who set up scaffolding here for weeks, which was not used. (However, I do not think this is my father’s fault.)
Do we have to pay all of this and really have no right to any calculation or clarification of the costs so that we can understand them? And does my father really have to pay the 10,000 euros for the scaffolding? The planner is actually responsible for scheduling – isn’t that why we hired her?!
I would be truly grateful for help – after all the trouble and the construction period, we are slowly at our limit – and the architect’s behavior cannot be lawful. Is she really allowed to present the final invoice without us having any claim to the services mentioned above?
This is a normal architect contract according to HOAI – she was responsible for work phases 1–9.
We have the following problem. My father bought a listed (heritage-protected) house five years ago. The project was overseen by an architect.
An initial survey was conducted, and the renovation costs were estimated at around 400,000 euros.
Unfortunately, there is only one email in which the architect confirms that my father cannot spend more than 400,000 euros and that the costs would definitely stay within that range.
However, this is not the (current) main issue. The renovation, after four years spent in a holiday apartment and a planned duration of two years, has finally been completed.
The costs have, of course, gone completely out of control – my father raised this issue with the architect several times.
Towards the end of the project, he simply gave up and paid the invoices because he just wanted the house to be finished.
Now we have asked the architect to provide us with the cost estimate, calculation, and cost determination according to DIN 276, so that we can understand the costs and especially the overruns.
This request has simply been ignored – to this day, no estimate, calculation, or anything similar based on DIN 276 has been prepared. She even said she was not familiar with this standard.
She is now issuing her final invoice, claiming that she has fulfilled all her obligations.
This simply leaves me speechless. We were never informed about any warranty periods, even though defects have already appeared and we have asked about this.
Furthermore, there is still an unresolved invoice from a roofer who set up scaffolding here for weeks, which was not used. (However, I do not think this is my father’s fault.)
Do we have to pay all of this and really have no right to any calculation or clarification of the costs so that we can understand them? And does my father really have to pay the 10,000 euros for the scaffolding? The planner is actually responsible for scheduling – isn’t that why we hired her?!
I would be truly grateful for help – after all the trouble and the construction period, we are slowly at our limit – and the architect’s behavior cannot be lawful. Is she really allowed to present the final invoice without us having any claim to the services mentioned above?
This is a normal architect contract according to HOAI – she was responsible for work phases 1–9.
A
Antjeaergert12 Feb 2025 22:43Musketier schrieb:
I have to admit, little by little I’m getting a very different picture in my mind than what the OP tried to describe. Now 80,000 euros suddenly becomes 67,000 euros. How much of the rest is accurate then? Was there really only one quote per trade everywhere? Is it really 12,000 euros more for the scaffolding, or is that the total amount? Is there really no cost breakdown? Apparently, some incident happened, too, since the architect no longer feels comfortable meeting clients without accompaniment. I’m sorry—due to the emotions involved, I did get a bit mixed up with some of the numbers.
Regarding quotes per trade—I can say that I didn’t even come across multiple quotes from different companies. The companies were all from across North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), and were supposed to be the best…
There was never any incident—except for a strong warning from me that she nearly drove my father into bankruptcy, and that people like her or me would have gone bankrupt long ago with such a planner.
A
Antjeaergert12 Feb 2025 22:47Ex
I do not want to fill any account—I just want to limit his losses.
She has not responded to either his or my inquiries, verbally or in writing. As I said, her only statement regarding DIN 276 was initially that she did not have to provide it, then that she was not even familiar with it!
ypg schrieb:
You can easily find that out with a call to the architects' association, right?!
I wonder the same.
In the end, the renovation is completed, isn’t it? If she still sends invoices for services she did not provide, you can hire a lawyer to enforce “your father’s rights.”
Meaning: your father’s obligation. Your father’s mandate.
It seems to me that you now want to fill your father’s account with “rights” retrospectively, although action should probably have been taken at the time.
A lot has to be written off as a learning experience afterward—whether you naïvely paid invoices or were overwhelmed by the situation.
I do not want to fill any account—I just want to limit his losses.
She has not responded to either his or my inquiries, verbally or in writing. As I said, her only statement regarding DIN 276 was initially that she did not have to provide it, then that she was not even familiar with it!
A
Antjeaergert12 Feb 2025 22:49wiltshire schrieb:
Then withhold the payment and justify it with incomplete work within the objection deadline.
You write "initially" – what else do you expect? By the way, it’s 67,000 plus 25 percent due to the historic preservation and additional effort – that’s correct.
Antjeaergert schrieb:
I just want to limit the damage. Honestly: There are some questions you have where you could get the answers in a single day sooner or later.
Consulting a lawyer for a civil law matter isn’t exactly a new idea.
And I want to point out that, according to your initial post, the house construction/renovation lasted 4 years—yes, four years spelled out—and now you show up. Where were you during all those four years when the damage occurred? Wouldn’t it have made sense back then to assess the situation?
Of course, you don’t need to tell me or a forum where you were. That’s none of our business. But maybe you should think about what you’re trying to do after so many years. Especially since you’re spending several days here as if you could turn back time and the situation, while in real life life apparently just keeps going.
Antjeaergert schrieb:
By the way, it’s 67,000 plus 25 percent due to the historic monument status and additional effort. Which 25 percent due to the historic monument status and additional effort? That’s exactly what the HOAI table’s difficulty levels are for!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A
Antjeaergert12 Feb 2025 23:36What is wrong with you? I thought a forum like this was meant for asking questions.
I just see the "helplessness" that leaves you speechless. So many follow-up questions have been asked—whether verbally or in writing—and everything has been ignored.
Originally, I just wanted to know if the architect’s claim that she is not required to produce any calculations according to DIN 275 is correct—
and also that no cost determination is necessary, which would now be very relevant since the project is completed.
That’s what we paid for, right?
Now we have the final invoice—and again all follow-up questions are being ignored while the deadlines keep running.
The reason I’m only getting involved now is simply that I’ve only recently realized my father’s helplessness (he has significantly declined over the past two years), as he has only just opened up and honestly admitted that he can no longer defend himself!
I just see the "helplessness" that leaves you speechless. So many follow-up questions have been asked—whether verbally or in writing—and everything has been ignored.
Originally, I just wanted to know if the architect’s claim that she is not required to produce any calculations according to DIN 275 is correct—
and also that no cost determination is necessary, which would now be very relevant since the project is completed.
That’s what we paid for, right?
Now we have the final invoice—and again all follow-up questions are being ignored while the deadlines keep running.
The reason I’m only getting involved now is simply that I’ve only recently realized my father’s helplessness (he has significantly declined over the past two years), as he has only just opened up and honestly admitted that he can no longer defend himself!