Construction delay by the developer - Who bears the rental costs?

Hello everyone,

we are currently building a terraced house with a developer. The contractual date for completion is December 1, 2024. The day has passed without us being given concrete reasons; in late summer it was very slow, and for weeks basically nothing happened. Of course, we raised this issue, as we need to plan and cancel our rental apartment accordingly. In addition, we are now paying provision interest. By the way, we have always tried to respond to his requests within a few days, and regarding "extra requests," he never told us that these would take about x weeks longer. That only came afterwards. That errors were made with the extra requests was somehow not our fault either.. (pipe drilled, kitchen plan misread, etc.).

How would you proceed best? Already politely ask if he wants to cover our rent from December? He will probably say "yes, gladly." Or list it in detail and present it when receiving the final invoice and then deduct it directly? The latter probably isn’t allowed just like that and seems very rude to me. Would it be sensible to consult a lawyer?

By the way, the rent amounts to about €5000 (cold rent) and the provision interest maybe €2000 until we can hopefully move in soon.

Best regards

First, remind about the completion. Then state all your costs on a monthly basis and demand payment. Friendly but firm. And please check the contract for what it says about [delay].

First of all, remind them to complete the work.
Then state all your costs on a monthly basis and demand payment. Friendly, but firm.
And please check the contract to see what it says about default.

Does the reminder have to be formal? By letter? It sometimes comes up briefly in emails.. But rather like: "If we terminate our apartment this month, it would be suitable for the move-in date 12/1. Can you confirm that we can terminate?" The answer was also by email, "No, I will let you know."

And do I understand correctly that I basically send him an "invoice" every month?

And please check the contract to see what it says about delays.

Yes, the contract counts, and as a rule, there are clauses that can soften a fixed completion date.

Does the reminder have to be formal?

Yes, it is advantageous to create a record. The best time is immediately after a conversation, including a summary of the content – regardless of how the conversation went. If someone ever has to judge the whole matter, which I do not wish, the record counts.

"If we terminate our apartment this month, it would match the move-in date of December 1. Can you confirm that we can terminate?"

It is better to use a clear style on equal footing.

A reminder or a dunning notice initiates a procedural process that must be admissible in court in case legal action is necessary. It won't be that simple: if there is no default clause (50€ per day or something similar) with some fine print, then you shouldn't expect anything. Commitment interest is out of the question anyway. There is nothing for that, since the financing is your personal matter. The smart builder includes commitment interest in their calculation of incidental construction costs. And my personal opinion: do not terminate too early. Parallel costs are to be expected.

First of all, which move-in date was given to you? Are we talking about 2027 or in 4 weeks? I would also throw that into the balance so as not to prematurely damage anything in the relationship.