Construction company halts work despite overpayment

Pay the invoice after the work is completed, not before! There is no two ways about that.

How much is the invoice?

The carpenter only bills after the work is done. Therefore, the general contractor does not need the money for the carpenter.

If the subcontractor at the carpenter has shorter payment terms than we have with him. The structural builders also still want to be paid for the attic. He doesn’t have the money. Invoice payment after completion, no question. But with or without retention? The retention is due to us, but probably means the end for the subcontractor and for now also for our construction project.

The saying "you shouldn't throw good money after bad" is probably appropriate here. While I completely agree with bierkuh83.

A few random thoughts: - Is the GU really on the verge of insolvency, or is that just his tactic to put pressure on you? - Are you still bound to the original payment plan in the contract? - Would you be willing to deliberately let the GU go bankrupt? Would you then still have enough (additional) money to complete the construction? Generally, the question would be what happens in the event of insolvency and how one could deal with it.

It is so far only a conjecture. But isn’t it highly embarrassing to ask the opponent for installment payment of the legal dispute costs? Would one do that if one had the money? I don’t think so. Yes, we are still bound to the payment plan. Point 3: also yes, he has cheated us often enough or at least tried to. But not at all costs. If the BU is now insolvent, then he most likely was no longer solvent 2 months ago either, when he entered into the settlement. This would then be settlement fraud, which would have private law consequences for him. He would probably also be banned as managing director for a while, which by the way would not be the first time for him. What would be the consequences for us? If we do not pay the 48,000 € now, first the overpayment would be balanced and we would have this money additionally for the continuation of the construction. Probably only until the insolvency administrator of the BU arrives. We also still have a contract performance bond of 24,000 €, but also every defect and the roof absolutely must be put on before winter, as water has been standing in the basement for almost a year now. But I fear that this will be unfeasible neither with nor without the BU.

Payment only after service and site manager's inspection.
You ignore the payment terms of the general contractor [GU]. You neither drive them into insolvency nor can you save them.
What was agreed upon regarding the defect retention? The [GU] has also accepted that.
Payments of this magnitude are often postponed. Would not conclude insolvency from that.
You won't get the roof sealed quickly anyway.
Possibly you can demand a safeguard through tarpaulins. However, this must be legally clarified again.
Ask the carpentry what that costs.

I definitely do not want to "save" him, but I also do not want to go down with him. There are no agreements with him regarding the retention for defects. He knows the defects from the report, but not the amount they are quantified at and has already been asked who knows how many times to hand over the execution planning, including by the surveyor himself. "The retention with pressure surcharge is regulated in the contractual part of the Construction Code (§ 641 para. 3 Construction Code). The client can withhold part of the payment if they can require the contractor to remedy a defect. An appropriate amount is "usually twice the necessary cost of remedying the defect." The same applies to VOB/B contracts." I have already asked the carpenter, it is not his job. I think he already suspects what is going on here, that cannot be hidden even with coffee, cake and beer. The roof structure was commissioned by the contractor a year ago, it was practically already finished and such cannot really be used elsewhere.