Approval procedure for moving a house

Hello everyone,
thank you for the responses.
Before bothering the building authority, I called the architect. He explained the distance areas (wall/roof) to me. According to the Baden-Württemberg state building code, this results in a distance of 2.40m for my construction project. This has been incorporated into the final planning by the architect and communicated to the general contractor. Due to the development plan, a strict 3m is required, which he adheres to.
A change to the building application is not necessary as all requirements of the development plan and the regulations contained therein are being met.

I will receive everything in writing in the next few days. Given the situation now, I am on the safe side, right? After all, as the builder, I hired an architect to realize the planning of the house according to the laws.

A change to the building application is not necessary as all requirements of the development plan and the regulations contained therein are met.

In my opinion, this statement is wrong or is definitely handled differently in NRW - in fact, it is a gamble based on the so-called exemption procedure (i.e. simplified approval process) where only very superficial checks are made.

I will get everything in writing in the next few days. Given the situation, am I on the safe side? After all, as the builder, I have hired an architect to realize the planning of the house according to the legislation.

In principle, yes. Pay attention to what is really guaranteed to you in writing. From my point of view, I can only advise against relying on that, because in recent years we have supervised several construction projects where things went wrong or where we had to ensure on short notice that the imposed construction stop was lifted. If a construction stop occurs in the middle of the project, the issue will be who is responsible for the losses. The downside for you then is that you maneuver yourself into a dilemma: on one hand, you must prove to the architect the planning error - on the other hand, you may be accused of tacitly accepting an obvious planning error. After all, you also sign the building application, and if there is a significant deviation from it, you as a layperson must understand that this can have consequences.

If it comes to a dispute, the general contractor/architect or their insurance/expert will try to prove that you were informed in writing about the deviation – so precisely check what is guaranteed to you in writing!

But the core question in my opinion is: do you have a (mandatory) building acceptance in your area? Are inspections to be expected during the construction phase? If yes – how blind or cooperative is the caseworker?

Based on that: let’s assume your construction is suddenly stopped from one day to the next (which has definitely happened to my clients due to very similar cases) ... how cool / brazen / cunning / quick to act do you estimate yourself to be to turn this situation into an advantage for yourself?

Only then does the gamble make sense for you.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

P.S.: A small addition, because it fits now ... for the fine staking out (nails on the string frame) there should be a staking out sketch. This is presented to you as the builder or must be approved by someone. If the general contractor/builder does it themselves, it must still exist, otherwise they will have bad chances in case of damages. Who signs it if it clearly shows that the construction has been significantly shifted...?

Hello everyone,
since there is still nothing in writing, I called the architect again today. He referred me to the development plan which states:
Gebäudestellung (§9(1) Nr. 2 Baugesetzbuch)
Die Stellung der Gebäude ist nicht festgesetzt.

I will talk to the person responsible for construction tomorrow so that this part finally goes to the building authority. I believe the architect doesn’t want to submit it at all.
As already written above, in case of doubt I am liable and may end up looking like the fool in a few years.

Without words.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Hello everyone,
The construction contractor is preparing the change request.
Does this need to be approved by the municipal council in addition to the building authority?

Hello everyone,
after I spoke with the general contractor (GU) and thus the builder last week, we agreed to submit a change request to the municipality/building authority.
Today I drove past the construction site and saw that the bricklayers were already installing the ceiling on the ground floor.
I could not reach the GU, so I called the building authority. No change request had been submitted. The lady also explained to me that in the notification procedure there is no possibility to make changes afterwards. For location changes, a new building application is required.
This evening I reached the GU. He had consulted with the architect again and both do not understand why I am insisting on this matter. It is a 2m building offset and the house is being built 100% according to the development plan. I tried to explain to him that in the notification procedure, construction must be carried out as submitted. After all, I also received the exception for the eaves height for the submitted house and not for my shifted house.

The big question now is how I should proceed. I now see no other option but to confront the building authority.
With what strict hand will the building authority react?