Construction contract: Duration of construction

The advantage of clearly and explicitly regulating something like this in the contract is that you can enforce a penalty clause directly without first having to prove delay. For example, you can set the start of construction to no later than 6 weeks after the building permit is granted, with the simultaneous obligation that the construction company must be finished within 7 months after construction begins. Force majeure, weather, unrest, or other delays not attributable to the construction company will extend the deadline accordingly.

Then attach a reasonable penalty clause per week that covers your double burden for rent and financing costs, linked to the fault of the construction company and, for example, limited to a maximum of 5% of the construction sum.

If you are lenient, minor defects and reasonable remedial work do not exclude completion. There is always something to repaint or fix, which can also be easily done after moving in.

That’s how I did it and it worked out quite well for me. You also see from this whether the construction company has a reasonable construction schedule. You should also have them provide this at the beginning of the construction work, because that way delays can be recognized quite early.

Hi,

our contract states a clear date by which the house must be ready to move in and also a sum as a daily contractual penalty for each day of delay.

I wouldn't accept anything else. The company also left themselves more than enough buffer with 8 months of construction time.

For many neighbors who didn't have something like this in their contracts, the construction time was significantly longer.

The sad record holder is a family that was promised 8 months (but not confirmed in writing!) and were only able to move in after 18 months. That probably cost them around €20k with double rent and provision interest…

Best regards,

Andreas

You can also see from this whether the construction company has a reasonable construction schedule. You should also have it provided to you at the beginning of the construction work

Practical advice: The right to inspect such documents should be contractually guaranteed. Of course, this is not necessary with a customer-oriented company ... In any case, we were not given access to the construction schedule (the completion date was not met).

Note from practical experience: The right to inspect such documents should be contractually guaranteed. Of course, this is not necessary for a customer-oriented company ... In any case, we did not gain insight into the construction schedule (the completion date was not met).

We also did not receive a construction schedule. This certainly saved us one or two restless minutes during the construction ;)
Nevertheless, we only had 7 months of construction time. The downside was that Christmas Eve nearly marked the end of those 7 months! Then came the holiday period for all the craftsmen and afterward another week of tilers.

May I ask how the original poster has now agreed with the construction contractor?