Payment of the final installment after assurance of defect rectification

Hello everyone,

We are having our house built by two companies. The first is responsible for the shell construction and the second for the complete interior finishing.

Now Company 1 has finished and asked me to accept the shell construction, which I conducted together with an expert. The head of the company was not present (he lives 500 km away) but received all the points found (only minor issues, nothing serious) from me in a PDF and confirmed them. I have now been given written confirmation that the defects will be fixed within four weeks.

Now the company is asking me, in connection with the written confirmation, to transfer the final payment. In the payment plan, this is specified as: "Due after building acceptance."

Would you make this payment now or wait until all defects have actually been corrected?

You have a right of retention regarding the defects. This means you can reduce the final payment by twice the cost of remedying the defects. You pay the remaining amount (provided it is greater than zero).

Thank you for the quick response!

As a layperson, I unfortunately cannot accurately assess the extent of the costs for remedying the defects. Will an estimated value be accepted here, or do I need to provide this with cost estimates?

which I carried out together with an expert

He should be able to tell you that.

Is an estimated value accepted here or do I have to prove it with cost estimates?

If the figure is realistic, you don't have to prove anything. What is supposed to happen? The contractor wants to fix the defects within four weeks. There is no faster way to get the full amount. So call your expert, ask him about the defect repair costs.

How much is the final installment?

Just by the way... How is it going with the warranty security or what has been agreed upon there? Usually, the last 5% are not paid before, provided it has been agreed.