The question is also whether you can call in the guarantee! I am not a lawyer, but it is rather intended for construction defects and not claims from you.
Is a construction delay of 1.5 years a defect? Probably not a material defect, but clearly a faulty performance of the contract. However, I am not a lawyer either...
The guarantee includes timely (that did not work out) and defect-free (we will see that at acceptance) completion. We want to reserve the guarantee for defects. We are concerned with the lump sum compensation and how best to deal with it. Our idea is not to pay the penultimate installment (that would be almost the entire lump sum compensation) and then see how the developer reacts. I think it will probably get "dirty" then.
The surety includes timely (which did not work out) and defect-free (we will see that at acceptance) completion. We want to reserve the surety for defects. We are concerned about the flat-rate compensation for damages and how to best deal with it. Our idea is not to pay the penultimate installment (that would be almost the entire flat-rate compensation) and then see how the developer reacts. I think then it will probably get "dirty".
And then? Construction stop, no completion and handover. Yes, it is all very annoying. I would rather make sure that the house is completed and handed over. Everything else you can deal with afterwards.
And then? Construction stop, no completion and handover. Yes, it’s all very annoying. I would rather make sure the house is completed and handed over. Everything else can be dealt with then.
Yes, but we have been waiting for the completion for 1.5 years and have suffered significant damages such as standby interest, costs from furniture storage, etc. (which are all compensated by the lump-sum damages). We absolutely do not want to waive €30,000 because the developer is incompetent. If we pay all the installments, we fear that we will never see the money and will be stuck with our additional costs that we have had from 2019 until now.
Yes, but we have been waiting for completion for 1.5 years and have suffered significant damage such as standby interest, costs due to furniture storage, etc. (which is all compensated by the flat-rate damages). We definitely do not want to waive €30,000 because the developer is incompetent. If we pay all installments, we fear that we will never see the money and will be left with our additional costs that we have had from 2019 until now.
As I said, no one here will give you a legal opinion. Haven't you consulted a lawyer about such a delay? Otherwise, with all this drama, if you don't pay, your developer can't plug holes and pay his craftsmen, and your house still won't be finished.