Completion date in General Contractor Agreement - Wording assistance

You have to realize that the BU cannot contractually just date something that is not within their power. What you want, that sentence, would be immoral in any contract because they cannot look into a crystal ball and promise something they simply cannot promise.

I meant the clause more or less like this:

“As the date of readiness for occupancy, October 31, 2020 at the latest is agreed, but only if the plot is buildable by October 1, 2019 at the latest. Otherwise, the readiness for occupancy shall apply 10 months after the building permit is granted and completion after 12 months.”

I only want to express that it must be completed in 2020 if the plot is indeed buildable by October 2019. And this buildability was communicated to me both by our building authority and the site manager of the development company.

Our general contractor simply should not dawdle if they could actually start building. That’s what it’s about for us. We understand that he has no influence on the completion of the development work.

I should probably have expressed myself more clearly.

I meant the passage more or less like this: “The occupancy readiness is agreed to be no later than 31.10.2020, but only if the property is buildable by 01.10.2019 at the latest. Otherwise, the occupancy readiness applies 10 months after the building permit is granted and completion after 12 months.” I just want to express that it must be finished in 2020 if the property is actually buildable by October 2019. And this buildability was communicated to me both by our building authority and the site manager of the development company. Our general contractor should simply not dawdle if he could actually already build. That is what matters to us. We are well aware that he has no influence on the completion of the development work. I should probably have formulated that more clearly.

I know what you mean, but the GC also only employs subs. If they can’t or don’t want to, nothing happens. And it is never the GC who dawdles but his subs, the weather, construction technical problems, or issues with the client or neighbors. Therefore, there will also be no guaranteed construction period until XX.XX.XXXX.

A guaranteed construction period down to the exact point will not work. The question is also what should happen if the contractor does not meet this construction period. Have you thought about that as well? Because in fact, the claims for damages are capped even then. So just writing "We will be finished on xx.xx.2020" is pretty boring to begin with.

I know what you mean, but the main contractor only employs subs as well. If they can’t or don’t want to, nothing happens. And it’s never the main contractor who dawdles but his subs, the weather, construction-related problems, or issues with the client or neighbors

Therefore, there will be no guaranteed construction period until XX.XX.XXXX.

But your argument doesn’t fit – since the new construction contract law, a duration or a guaranteed construction time must be included.

In our general contractor contract it states that it will be ready to move in 10 months after the start of construction and completely finished after 12 months. And the start of construction is one month after the building permit is granted. Therefore, he or his subs cannot take their time during the construction period.

He can only delay the building permit by submitting it later. But once he has it, he must step on the gas.

Well, if the [GU] already had these 10 or 12 months stated in the contract on their own accord, then it might be possible to adjust this accordingly. However, if at all, they will probably only agree to something like construction start no later than x months after the prerequisites for the construction start are fulfilled and then completion by, for example, 31.10.2020.

However, the problem remains that the [GU] can only really plan you in once everything is in place. Therefore, I would first try to have a conversation to see to what extent they will allow something to be written into the contract. The problem is what happens if they plan you in with construction start on 31.10.2019, but the development, surveying, or something else is still not available? Therefore, they will probably only plan you in and fix this in the contract only when everything is fixed.

I would personally focus more on the word "bezugsfertig". Because what does it mean in reverse? A commissioning, that is, taking possession, means the silent acceptance of the house. Completely without an official protocol, without a list of defects.