The inspection is coming up - defects or not? Experiences?

Hello,

we started building at the beginning of the year and the acceptance is now scheduled for October. So far, everything has been done with good quality, but I have noticed the following points that deviate from the plans and that the developer does not acknowledge:

1. On the street side, there are 6 windows that were supposed to be the same size and were planned as such on the plans. Now the upper windows are 14 cm longer than the lower ones.

2. From my daughters' bedrooms to the balcony, there is now a 16 cm high step that does not appear on any of the plans. It must be due to the slope on the balcony. Because of this, the balcony doors are also shorter than on the plans.

3. Due to the higher structure on the balcony, the parapet (masonry) also had to be raised. Because of this, this house view now deviates from the plan as well, since less of the patio doors are visible from the outside.

These changes were neither discussed with us beforehand nor approved by us.

Since we still have 65 sqm of tiles to be installed by the developer, I offered him that he could cover half of the costs and we would forget the points mentioned, but he declined.

How should we proceed? The house views do not match what we wanted and planned. Ultimately, we will have to live with it, but I do not see why we should pay for something we did not order. After all, the developer charges us heavily for every change we request. The developer himself admits no mistakes, everything is claimed to be normal...

I think these are serious defects and at least they should have been discussed with you beforehand. These are practically faits accomplis. Don’t you have anyone who supports you during the construction supervision?

Does the step from the room to the balcony go "up"? I'm not sure if that can even be allowed. The balcony door is probably considered an exterior door, and minimum connection heights are defined for that. Usually, it's 15 cm, but "downwards" of course.

The 14 cm at the windows is certainly outside the tolerance.

Write a defect report (now) and do not accept the house. Be careful not to tacitly accept it, for example by moving in. In the end, I would personally want to withhold a mid four-figure amount for it. Provided the defect on the balcony is not so serious that the adjacent room could be flooded during a storm.

Is this all only just now becoming apparent to you? These are all things that a layperson could have seen themselves. Who checks all the other things that a layperson cannot see? My tip: Make sure to urgently get someone who will carry out the acceptance with you and stand by your side.

In this type of execution, you should also quickly paint the tiles from the [Bauträger]

You're only noticing all this now? These are all things that even a layperson could have seen themselves. Who checks all the other things that a layperson can't see? My tip: Get someone urgently to do the acceptance inspection with you and stand by your side.

I don't quite understand this now either! Was the step in front of the window never criticized before? At the latest after window installation, it should have been a clear matter. If nothing happened then, you were asleep at the wheel. A mistake was obviously made here – but you should have intervened much earlier. How often were you on the construction site?