ᐅ The planner does not carry out any cost calculations according to DIN 276.
Created on: 11 Feb 2025 01:14
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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.
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Antjeaergert12 Feb 2025 23:4511ant schrieb:
Which 25% due to heritage status and additional effort? That is exactly what the HOAI table’s difficulty levels are for!A renovation surcharge of 25 percent is applied according to §6 paragraph 2, 35 part 1 HOAI, amounting to 25.
Antjeaergert schrieb:
I thought a forum like this is meant for asking questions.Certainly. And there are answers. Sometimes you might not like them. But this is not a place for unfounded guesses or just encouragement.Antjeaergert schrieb:
Originally, I just wanted to know if the architect’s claim was correct that she does not have to provide any calculations according to DIN 275.And I say, that question comes four years too late.Antjeaergert schrieb:
The reason I’m only getting involved now is simply because I’ve only just become aware of my father’s helplessness (he has declined significantly in the last two years).That is the first thing I see here as something real and tangible.Antjeaergert schrieb:
Because he has now also opened up and honestly admitted that he can no longer defend himself!Still, you can’t turn back time now. And as I’ve already said: in your place, I would have consulted a lawyer instead of relying on the forum. That is taking action, not spending days waiting for questions and answers in a forum without anything happening or being initiated. You won’t achieve anything here.
Regarding your dad, I have to say: it is what it is. Either you let them (the parents) decide for themselves or not. If you let them, you must also be prepared to accept that you may have to deal with setbacks and mistakes. That is the price of learning.
My father was a businessman. In his eyes, he still is. He is 82. I have the choice: to constantly patronize him, restrict him, take things away, ignore him, watch over him, place him somewhere, or let him live his life. I try the latter so that he remains happy. And yes, you pay the price of learning. I definitely would have delegated a house purchase and renovation somehow.
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Antjeaergert13 Feb 2025 12:08The cost determination should only be considered after the completion of the construction. She also claims that the building is not as expensive as we say. Therefore, I would like to request the cost determination.
I believe I am entitled to this—I just don't understand it.
I believe I am entitled to this—I just don't understand it.
As I understand it, this has long gone beyond a simple or direct way to reach a mutually satisfactory solution, and therefore, if I were confident in my rights and the determination to see it through, I would consult a good lawyer.
Everything else here is just going around in circles.
Everything else here is just going around in circles.
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chand198613 Feb 2025 12:45Antjeaergert schrieb:
The cost determination can only be considered now—after the completion of the construction. She also claims that the construction isn’t as expensive as we say. That’s why I would like the cost determination.
I believe I am entitled to it—I just don’t understand it. Why don’t you and your father add up all the individual invoices already paid and then add the outstanding final invoice on top? That way, you’ll know exactly how much has been paid. You would need to do this anyway to verify the architect’s figures.
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Antjeaergert13 Feb 2025 14:21chand1986 schrieb:
Why don’t you and your father add up all the individual invoices paid and then add the outstanding final invoice? That way, you would know exactly how much has been paid. You’d have to do this anyway to check the architect’s figures.My father has truly documented everything and knows exactly what he has paid. From the moment things got out of hand, he warned that the number wouldn’t hold. The planner just smiled and said, “Well, that’s what it looks nice for,” and asked if we really thought that, for example, changing the bricklayers would have made such a big difference? And yes, we do think so. But all of that was ignored.
That’s why we would really like to have her cost determination.