Are securities customary for completion and warranty?

Is the final retention to be paid when the house is finished or when it is "finished and free of defects"?

We withheld 5% of the total amount from the first installment. This retention was due "simultaneously" with acceptance (finished, but not free of defects). If there are major defects, it is not finished, then you can (should) refuse acceptance and of course not pay. In case of less serious defects, you are obliged to accept and pay. However, you can claim a retention (usually double the cost of defect rectification), which you deduct from the installment due upon acceptance.

Due to current events:

We negotiated our payment plan back then.

1st installment 15% after completion of the foundation slab
2nd installment 15% after completion of the ground floor (it is anyway just a bungalow)
3rd installment 15% after completion of the roofing

The construction company is now insolvent and we have paid about 40% for the almost finished shell with all its defects.

We still have a completion guarantee of 5%, which we will most likely have to use completely.

At Town & Country I saw a payment plan with 60% upon completion of the shell. Then we would have a huge problem now.

Would our construction company have accepted 30-35% up to shell completion? Definitely not!

Paying according to construction progress is nice and good, but if the payment plan is unfavorable or undetailed, it doesn’t help either.

Just a few examples:

Does the chimney count as part of the ground floor?

What about the ceiling/roof insulation if no installment payment is defined for drywall?

In which installment payment is the formwork of the roof overhang included?

It would be 50% at the moment up to and including roofing. Even more problematic, I find the final payment of only 1%. That means if they don’t finish it and don’t fix defects, they only have to forfeit the last percent, in this case just €2,100. That means we would be in a pretty bad position then?

That means if they don't complete it and don't fix defects, they only have to forgo the last percent, in this case just €2,100. So we'd be in a really bad spot then?

What does the last percent of completion include? You shouldn't pay for defects (keyword retention).

What does the last percent of completion include? You shouldn’t pay for defects (keyword retention).

Remaining work from the acceptance protocol.

Well then, all good! You only pay the 99% for acceptance if really only minor issues remain. If there are many or serious defects (or open works), then you withhold accordingly more money (double the defect rectification costs) or refuse acceptance.