Construction contract: Duration of construction

But how do you want to fix that for sure? As already written, your set-in-stone construction start can crumble in seconds. Something just has to come up officially, or Petrus opens the floodgates the night before so that the craftsmen rather consider building an ark instead of a house ;)

We have a list of things in our contract that must be completed on the client side, and 30 days after all that is done, it starts. I’m not too stressed about it. After all, the general contractor will have enough time to prepare, just like with you. And nobody can influence force majeure.

It’s called double burden construction interest and rent. At some point you want to move in too. Yes, the world could collapse tomorrow, but then you wouldn’t need a property anymore either.

It's called double burden construction period interest and rent. At some point, you also want to move in. Yes, the world can collapse tomorrow, but then you don't need property anymore

Right, but how do you come up with double burden and construction period interest in the context of my post? They don't have much to do with what I said. The point I wanted to make is, there can ALWAYS only be one planned start for construction. How is that supposed to be set 100% securely? It simply can't.

For example, if one were to say: "The construction period is 9 months due to winter time (note: not 'as a rule'), weather-related delays may occur. Construction start (not 'planned') is on 15.11., provided the work planning is completed by then and the building permit is available."

The word "auflagenfrei" is missing before building permit.

Write to your contract partner and ask for correction of the respective passages. If he wants to accommodate you, something like the following will probably come back:

"... The construction period from start of construction to moving in is 9 months. The preparation of work plans and structural analysis as well as weather and the construction progress of ongoing sites influence the construction start.

Planned construction start January 2017."

That would not get you any further than now. What does the agreed contractual penalty in the work contract say?

even a layperson probably has the right to an explanation in such a project and not "that’s fine, sign".

I still do not understand why the work contract was sent to you and not handed over in a personal conversation...?

Best regards from the Rhineland

I still don’t understand why the construction contract was sent to you and not handed over in a personal meeting ...?

Rhenish regards

There have already been conversations. The adjusted construction description as an essential part of the contract has been reviewed and fits. The building application is ready and submitted. The actual construction contract has not been concluded, the building application was commissioned separately.

The contract was sent because it is only the sheet containing: contract between x and y, the mentioned construction time topic, and space for the signatures.

Everything is known, only the construction time part came up so casually and initially confused me. As a non-construction person, a statement from an employee along the lines of "I plan to start the week after next, delays may occur, and usually I need 4 weeks for the task" is too imprecise and vague. But if, according to many opinions in the construction industry, this is customary, one probably has to accept it.

A fixed completion date in 12 months would be more valuable to me than a "maybe, possibly, if everything fits" in 7 months. Just ask whether a concrete date or a specific construction period from the start of earthworks can be given! The [GU] will definitely schedule appointments with their subcontractors ...

We had the statement: with luck, we could be in by Christmas, but the contract states the completion date as the end of April 2017. Simply to leave enough buffer for contingencies and to have a reliable statement so that we can build financing etc. around it. Since we have almost no personal contribution and everything is in one hand, I am also hopeful that it will work out.

Regarding the initial question - that would be too vague for me as well. At least the start of construction can be set (so and so long after the building permit is granted without conditions) and then a (preferably generous, but concrete) time frame for the construction itself.