What to do if the construction time is not met

Hello community.
What kind of "penalties" do you have in your construction contracts if the construction company exceeds the agreed construction time (excluding bad weather days).

We are currently worried that our construction start keeps being postponed and want to clear this up in a clarifying conversation. However, we might still need to consider what happens if the delay continues further.

Thanks for your tips and advice!

The first question would be the start of construction is postponed. That means, conversely, that there are contracts? Why would the construction company want to change these retroactively to their disadvantage.

Such thoughts are considered in advance...

Hello,
if the contract is already signed, you don’t need to worry about such things anymore. It is now way too late.
Our contract included a date by which the general contractor had to be finished, except for minor leftover work. Thus, we had a guaranteed move-in date. Every extra day would have cost him 100 €.
I wouldn’t have signed anything else either.
When they start was completely irrelevant to me; I was always only interested in when they would finish!

Best regards,

Andreas

What penalties do you have in your construction contracts if the construction company exceeds the agreed construction period (excluding bad weather days).

For us, it was 50 euros/workday. However, it is important that you effectively put the company in default if deadlines are not met. Even without an explicit provision in the contract, you can of course claim recourse.

- Do you already have a valid contract?
- What does it say regarding deadlines and possible overruns?

The construction has not started yet! Since when have the building permit, soil report, and other necessary documents been available to the [GÜ]?

Phew. We don't have a contract at all. Just a service description with a schedule and payment plan, and a handshake on that..... it will probably work out. So far, he is doing everything as agreed.