Termination of basement construction contract - experiences?

Unfortunately, we do not get along at all with our basement builder and the relationship between him and our house builder is very poor. The basement builder constantly questions the competence of the house manufacturer, and they understandably have become quite defensive in the meantime and also refuse to do the basement construction planning for this manufacturer (which is actually also a renowned company)... I am afraid this will not end well.

We would like to terminate the contract now... Better an end with horror than a horror without end. According to the contract, we would have to pay 8% in case of termination.

So far, however, the company has done nothing more for us than sign the contract and make phone calls and send emails.

Does anyone have experience in this regard and perhaps has already gone through something similar?

(Of course, I will still discuss the matter with our lawyer.)

Thank you very much

Has anyone had experience with this or maybe even gone through something similar?

Gone through it? No. Experience with contracts? Yes, and therefore a very simple answer. Book the 8% under pP (personal bad luck). Pacta sunt servanda = contracts must be honored. You signed for an 8% penalty, so you have to pay it.

and are also refusing to do the execution planning for the basement for this manufacturer

So you are indirectly also partly to blame that the basement construction cannot work because it doesn’t get the execution planning? No offense, but as the basement construction I would additionally argue that besides the fact that you have a contract. The only way out for you: the contract with the basement builder is contestable for whatever reasons. But that costs money because you would have to "enjoy" going through it legally and maybe for a long time. If you start with another basement builder in parallel without having terminated the old contract, you could of course still be liable for damages to the old basement builder, provided you do not get the right. But that is just my layman legal opinion. For more, the "law" part from my studies was too long ago.

Was the contract concluded based on VOB or the Building Code?

Was the contract concluded based on VOB or the Building Code?

Embarrassing... but I can't find it in the contract.

The basement builder constantly questions the competence of the house manufacturer, and understandably, they have meanwhile reacted with considerable defensiveness and also refuse to do the basement implementation planning for this manufacturer (who is actually a reputable company)... I fear, unfortunately, this will not end well.

If I remember correctly, you are building with EBK (i.e., a Danish manufacturer with a German, so to speak, importer or factory representative). A German basement builder might have (possibly justified) reservations about that, and presumably a language barrier (technical communication exchange in Danish/German) is also contributing. Unfortunately, I share this concern in the end. The basement implementation planning should be done by the basement builder; he knows his system best. He needs information from the house manufacturer about the positions and dimensions of the openings in the basement ceiling and about the load transfers of the house. 1. On what specific problems does the basement builder base his impression? 2. What do other customers of the importer/factory representative say about how the "substructure" of their house was handled? I see "reproducible" problems in this constellation, which could continue with another basement builder (and would check whether I was not parting ways with the wrong troublemaker here).

P.S.: I say repeatedly for good reasons that one should never order a cellar oneself, but rather include this delivery and service package in the contract scope of the house provider. OKKD is a critical interface!