Construction company insolvent, how to proceed further?

Hello house-building forum,

Our battle with our prefabricated house company seems never-ending. Our planning began in 2021. The house assembly took place in May 2022. Until then, everything went smoothly and we generally felt well taken care of. From that point on, the construction project turned into a complete disaster, the subcontractors were just botching things, and the site manager coordinated the construction site half-heartedly. Most of the coordination efforts to keep the site running ultimately fell to me personally. It got worse from the moment when no tradespeople were on site at all and the construction project stood still for several weeks. This went on until finally the contractual completion date was exceeded and I had to rent the sold condominium myself again. In the end, the move-in was in June of this year. This is a brief summary of the history of our construction project.

Now to the actual big problem. At the handover of the house, several defects were still open and our heating system was not yet commissioned. At that time, there was no talk of insolvency. So we moved into the house in good hope, but in autumn the heating installers did not come. Multiple contacts with the construction company went nowhere. Until one day, by chance, I received news that the company was insolvent. We later had the heating system commissioned by the heating installer originally appointed at that time. He is still waiting for his payment and knew nothing about the proceedings. Now we have received a letter from our lawyer asking us to disclose outstanding claims against the company. I am aware of all the open points and they can be documented.

For me, there is unfortunately a big question regarding the still outstanding blower door test. This was contractually to be carried out by the construction company, which now can no longer take place. What happens if further defects are found during said test, causing the test to be failed and repair work to be necessary?

Currently, we have withheld a certain amount. Can I assert my concerns or even rights here through the lawyer for the insolvency proceedings? That the remaining payment is only made after passing the test, otherwise the money is withheld?

Thank you and best regards

Multiple contacts with the construction company led to nothing. Until one day, by chance, I received the news that the company is insolvent. We had the heating system commissioned afterwards by the heating engineer who was assigned at that time. He is also still waiting for his money and knew nothing about the proceedings.

Where did this news come from, and why did it not also reach the heating engineer?

Now we have received a letter from our lawyer to disclose outstanding claims against the company.

Why from your lawyer?

Verify the news of the insolvency (what legal form does the construction company have?) and then consult with a lawyer who has expertise in insolvency law.

At that time, there was no talk of insolvency.

... which does not necessarily mean that insolvency had not yet occurred. There are clear criteria for this, i.e., a managing director is not free to decide when to report a suspected insolvency.

about the still outstanding Blower Door Test.

Blower Door Test after handover and moving in? How is that supposed to work? Much, very much too late...

Blower door test after handover and move-in? How is that supposed to work? Very, very late...

You can see it both ways. No idea if the BlowerDoor technician lied, but he said nowadays only quite a few houses fail, and if they do, the fix is usually a minor issue. Major and very major defects are either discovered by yourself during the construction phase or, if you have absolutely no clue, by the expert commissioned by the client.

You have to imagine it like this: the house was apparently accepted with significant defects. And moving into the house six months ago doesn't necessarily mean it was uninhabitable because of the defects.
As is often the case in project business, once the acceptance is granted and most of the sum is paid, you initially turn your attention to other projects where much more money can be made relative to the effort. Remaining defects, be that as it may. Pareto principle: for the last 20% of money, 80% of the total effort is spent.

Whereas a blower door test is no reason to refuse acceptance? A missing heating system, of course, is.

The contract should probably state when you have to make which payments. If you withhold due payments, you will quickly receive mail from the insolvency administrator. Your monetary claims ([Schadenersatz u.s.w]) go into the insolvency proceedings and are serviced according to the general rate. Whether the defects are still remedied depends on the future of the company. If it is liquidated/closed and the machines are sold individually, the chances that anything will still be done are slim.

Just have a blower door test done yourself, it doesn't cost the earth.