SUB has no entry in the craft register for masonry work - S

What can/ must I do if I find out shortly before completion of the shell construction that the general contractor responsible for building the WU basement and the entire shell (semi-detached house, total of 600 sqm usable space - with massive defects) is not registered in the craftsmen’s register for masonry and concrete work, but instead for demolition work, drywall installation, and tile work? According to my inquiries, this counts as undeclared work: Schwarzarbeit is performed by anyone who provides or arranges for service or work performances and thereby operates a licensed craft as a permanent business independently without being registered in the craftsmen’s register (§ 1 of the Crafts Code). What is your opinion on this?

The execution of work on the shell construction by a company that cannot provide an entry in the craftsmen's register does indeed violate § 1 HandwO, but does not lead to the nullity of the concluded construction contract. This is because the Crafts Code serves a purely public-law regulatory function and therefore does not call into question the private-law effectiveness of the construction contract concluded here.

As far as the work performed was carried out properly – however, this can only be assessed by a construction expert – there are no contractual differences.

The lack of entry of the company in the craftsmen's register also has no influence on building permits and occupancy permits.

In case of defects, the procedure applies as with all construction measures.

Illegal work has no real influence on this.

Lay opinion – no legal advice

That the work was not performed properly is certain. Defects according to the report approx. €30,000. At the time of the report, however, we still knew nothing about this missing entry. We also do not have a contract with this company, but with [GU].

I would not do anything further that could endanger the construction progress. You have professional construction supervision that is capable of adequately identifying defects. You handle these professionally, whether it concerns [Estrich Achmed], [Trockenbau Machmut], or the roofer [Zimmermann-Erwin].

At the time of the appraisal, we still knew nothing about this missing entry.

It doesn't matter to you who did the work either. If you have already reached the point where the defects have been identified by an expert, then apparently everything is taking its normal (legal) course. Damn, but what exactly do you want to imply with the illegal work? You have a contract with a general contractor who is your contact person and service provider.

Correct. The question is whether one has to report it if one is aware of it.