Construction law - hire a lawyer or not yet

Hello everyone

I don't know if I am writing in the right place here.
So, quite a few things went wrong and the first stone hasn't even been laid yet.
Now my question is, should we already get help from a lawyer. I think in hindsight it will be very expensive and we can't afford that.

Now to the problem, old house sold on the appointment according to the real estate agent and construction company, no problem, 12 months planned.

Bought the plot, which had to be divided, building permit applied for 11 months in advance. After the building authority messed up and misread it, we lost 3 months and unfortunately got no written apology from the authority.
So the building permit took 6 months instead of 3. The construction company started counting the 8-month construction time guarantee 1 month after the building permit was issued.
This already means for us that we won’t make it by the move-out date.

Earthworks were supposed to start at the beginning of February, according to the construction company.
Well, they actually started at the end of March because they supposedly needed 3 months to get offers for the soil.
The pipe construction offer arrived at the end of February, who told the construction company that a crane is needed that stands 1 meter on the street, and they should take care of the permit and electricity.

The construction company forgot this, then quickly wanted to get construction electricity from the neighbor. Ordered an electrician and then he said it isn’t possible.
The foundation slab was supposed to be there by the end of February, at the latest end of March.
And just last week, all permits were sent to the city by the construction company and site manager, now we don’t want to speak to the construction company anymore, everything is only done in writing and they know that we have to go to emergency accommodation and furniture storage.

That we also inquire at the city ourselves. The site manager forgets to send all documents to the city. And after 2 days delay, the pipe contractor could only lay the sewage pipes because all house plans were wrong and the pipes were missing.

And no one responds to our email, or we get a read receipt. But even the company boss has been unreachable since January, no matter how.

Can a lawyer help or not, we want to finally get started and move into the house as soon as possible. Without the double burden, it wouldn’t be so bad. But with two small children, it is a nightmare.

Sorry, nerves are frayed

First of all, document everything, collect evidence, organize documents and get an overview of everything.

How high is the penalty payment in case of unilateral termination in the construction contract?

First document everything, gather evidence, sort documents, and get an overview of everything.

How high is the penalty payment for unilateral termination in the construction contract?

Okay, I will print out all the emails. Honestly, I don't remember the details about the termination anymore.

I also told myself the other day that we once built with another construction company. Before, we were with one that builds you a house within 4 months.
But we only got the plot if we built with this said construction company. In hindsight, stupid of me or us— we should have put pressure on the buyers of the plot that we would only buy without this construction company.

But a year ago, they sold it all differently to us. Building is fun and I already see them sitting on the terrace.

Selling the house before the building permit is even issued is pretty naive. Probably everyone here would have advised you against that. It's not uncommon for construction to be delayed. Well, now the damage is done. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you find a temporary accommodation. It would first be important to see exactly what is stated in the contract. You can get advice from a lawyer or builders' association to clarify whether your contractor is actually violating the contract and what happens in case of delay. Does the contract specify a completion date and are penalties agreed upon?

And no one responds to our email or we only get read receipts. But even the boss of the company has been unreachable since January, no matter how.

The only thing that worries me here is the statement that the general contractor is unreachable.
From "someone on the construction site" I don't expect them to have time to write or even read emails, but from the gentleman or lady in the office, yes.

But since you apparently possess the art of blaming all mistakes on others, which you often have responsibility for yourself (if you just use your head), I wonder if the way you/you all are behaving is really right.

According to your emotional writing, it is always the broker, the building authority, the construction manager, the shell builder, and ultimately the subcontractor's fault.

Maybe these are just the normal circumstances of building a house, which you mistakenly perceive as a catastrophe because you panic about becoming homeless.
Because sometimes, for example, the building permit takes longer.

The question arises whether you got the subcontractor at a very low price?

What bothers me: in our construction service description (as is usual in many construction service descriptions of other companies) it said that certain tasks are our responsibility. That's why the subcontractor mentions that we have to take care of construction power and water. That we as the client have to submit the building application... Sure, they supported us. But we had to do it. We too. We also had to check the plans. As a contracting party, you have to do that. If you don't trust yourself to do so, then hire a construction expert.

Now you should approach your house building positively.
Step 1: reflect on whether the boss has a reason not to answer you. The encounter should be on equal footing.
Step 2: remain calm
Step 3: book a construction expert
Step 4: read the contract exactly again, what must be done by the client, i.e., what you have to take care of.

Steps 1-4 are interchangeable

The real problem for you is this (provided that you have reflected the problems wrongly)

This means for us we won't make it until move-in.

This is no disgrace and can also be managed.
Then you find a barn or container near the construction site and store your furniture there. Of course, it's best if you hire a professional moving company.
In the meantime, you can live in a vacation apartment or house. We did it ourselves because we also had to give up the old house; a colleague has been living with her family in 60 sqm since December. She sees it positively because it's doable. It greatly slows down the pace, she says.

Good luck!

Oh wow, very chaotic, but you will get through all of this.

I’ll try to sort out a few things:
- When was the house sold? When do you have to move out? Please make a list with the dates: building permit issuance, start of construction, sale, and moving out of the house. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully reconstruct this from the text.
- As you have noticed, many delays can occur. With very bad luck, Corona will add several more months of delay. Therefore, you must prioritize clarifying your living situation.
- An emergency accommodation is called a hotel. That is obviously nonsense. I see two options: ask the buyer for an extension and offer a usual (up to double) rent for the house per month. Alternatively, rent an apartment temporarily. Any moving company can store your furniture.

And now all permits were sent to the city last week by the construction company and site manager, now we can no longer speak to the construction company well, they do everything only in writing and they know that we have to go into emergency accommodation and store furniture.

That we ourselves also ask the city. The site manager forgets to submit all documents to the city. And the shell builder could only lay the sewage pipes after 2 days delay because the house plans were all wrong, the pipes were missing.

Unfortunately, I didn’t understand that. It reads a bit confusing. But regardless, I can only fully agree with ypg. Especially step 3, hiring a building expert:

Now you should approach your house construction positively.
Step 1: reflect on whether the boss has a reason not to answer you. Meeting at eye level should be the case.
Step 2: remain calm
Step 3: hire a building expert
Step 4: read the contract carefully again to see what has to be done by the builder, i.e., what you have to take care of.

One more thing about the lawyer: the delays at the city are hard to blame on the general contractor. Also, all further delays can possibly be justified with the knock-out argument of Corona. As long as the construction company is still within its construction time guarantee (starting one month after approval), it can dawdle as long as it wants. It is also not responsible for your living situation. Forget the lawyer, find a building expert you get along with well.