House construction delay, how to respond?

Did you get builder's insurance?
If yes, contact the insurance and have them take care of it

Unfortunately, we did not do something like that.
We have legal expenses insurance, and if the deadline setting does not work, we will definitely turn to a lawyer.

I have now put together the following, please tell me your opinion on it:

" Dear Mr. xxx,

According to our contract, a construction period of 12 months from the concreting of the foundation slab was guaranteed to us. The foundation slab was poured on 10.08.2012.
Now 13 months have already passed and there are still remaining works to be completed. The majority consists of the subsequent insulation of the basement area. This began on 17.07.2013 and has not yet been completed to this day. As a result, other trades that still have to finish their work are being hindered.

We hereby demand that you complete all remaining work immediately, at the latest by 22.08.2013. Otherwise, we will be forced to exercise our right to a contractual penalty."

Sounds okay to me.. But if you want to be absolutely sure, call the insurance on Monday and have the matter checked as well as the letter AND your construction contract. This should not be a problem or cost, since it is insured.

Brief note, if the letter represents the actual text, correct the typo in the deadline setting. Unfortunately, it is already September.

Are the remaining tasks fully known to you, e.g. from a handover? If yes, it might be advisable to specifically list the tasks but also leave open that other trades unknown to you may still be outstanding.
Also, I could imagine that it might be more reasonable to explain more precisely what you expect at the deadline, e.g. completion of the outstanding work and handover of the house, etc.

Check whether the (regular) legal expenses insurance covers the construction matter, I have already seen some where this was excluded. This could even be the more common case.

Oh, thank you, I overlooked the mistake. The acceptance was 1.5 weeks ago and failed. We agreed that the remaining work would be completed and then a new date for the acceptance would be set. However, absolutely nothing has happened since then. The site manager was there in the meantime and "again" created a list of the remaining work (we have already written this list countless times). He said that the company would finish the work on the basement insulation on Tuesday (we have been hearing this constantly for 6 weeks). Now we will set a deadline for our general contractor and then we will see if progress is made or if there will be another two weeks of silence on the construction site. Thank you for your tips and advice!

I'm glad that we have our house up in one day.. and so far, I have only heard about our [GU] in terms of "non-compliance with deadlines" in the form of "Sorry, you can move in one week earlier."

Hello,

The acceptance inspection took place 1.5 weeks ago and failed. We agreed that the remaining work would be completed and then a new date for the acceptance inspection would be set. However, absolutely nothing has happened since then. The construction manager came by in the meantime and "again" created a list of the remaining work (we have already written this list several times). He said that the company would finish the work on the basement insulation on Tuesday (we have been hearing this constantly for 6 weeks).

It is still too early for a "deficiency complaint with deadline" since the failed acceptance inspection took place "only" 1.5 weeks ago. Unless there is imminent danger – which does not seem to be the case – your general contractor still has a good 2.5 weeks to complete the remaining work. It is generally assumed that a 4-week deadline for the rectification of the remaining work is to be considered "normal."

Question: who performed the acceptance inspection and why was no binding deadline agreed upon by which the remaining work must be completed?

Regarding the guaranteed construction period: from this you must deduct bad weather days, company vacations, and public holidays in general (you will surely find the exact wording in your construction contract). Furthermore, you need to clarify to what extent you yourself may be at fault. Only when all this - subtracted - exceeds the guaranteed construction period does making a claim for damages – if agreed at all – make sense.

Rhenish greetings