Law on contractors' contracts
CONTRACT LAW
Law on contractors' contracts
You need support from lawyers in connection with a contract for work and services. We represent clients and contractors in legal disputes.
Your project
Advice on trade projects: in the event of a dispute with tradesmen or contractors, you will receive legal protection from our lawyers, who will help you in the event of problems with work contract law.
Litigation
Dispute resolution and litigation: In the event of disputes with tradesmen, customers or purchasers, we represent you both out of court and in court. Our aim is to find a satisfactory solution for you and to represent your interests in the best possible way.
For builders
Consumer law also benefits customers in the law on contracts for work and services. Even if the tradesman does not respond to complaints. We examine possible damage caused by tradesmen (e.g. water damage) and your claims for compensation.
For tradesmen
Our lawyers can help if your services as a tradesman are not paid for. If your customers are dissatisfied, we will find a solution. Debt collection is only of limited help here: you need a good lawyer before you go to court at the latest.
What are proceedings to preserve evidence?
The independent preservation of evidence procedure is a judicial procedure that precedes the actual main proceedings.
It serves to preserve evidence of construction defects before, during or after acceptance of the construction work.
Various objectives can be pursued with the preservation of evidence procedure:
- Prevention of loss of evidence
- Avoidance of a legal dispute (settlement)
- Suspension of the statute of limitations
- Judicial findings
The result of the preservation of evidence procedure is not a court judgment. Instead, both parties receive a written expert opinion from a publicly appointed and sworn expert. The expert opinion has a strong probative value for the main proceedings and is generally binding on both parties.
If no out-of-court settlement is reached despite the results of the expert opinion, an action can be filed in court. The court will then decide on the basis of the expert opinion and other evidence
The preservation of evidence procedure is particularly recommended in the case of protracted construction defect disputes in order to avoid a loss of evidence. It can take months for the court to gather evidence by obtaining an expert opinion in the legal proceedings. A private building survey is not an alternative, as this is not admissible as evidence in court, but merely represents a qualified party submission.
What limitation periods apply in the law on contracts for work and services?
The limitation period for construction defects is regulated in the German Civil Code (BGB) and is generally five years (regular limitation period), Section 634a (1) no. 2 BGB.
During this period, the client can make use of the following warranty rights:
- Claim to rectification of defects (subsequent performance or self-performance)
- compensation for damages
- Withdrawal from the contract
- Reduction in remuneration.
The limitation period for warranty rights generally begins when the client declares acceptance of the construction work.
Acceptance
Express acceptance (verbal)
Declaration of acceptance by the client
Formal acceptance
Meeting of client and contractor at the site of the construction project and preparation of an acceptance report
Implied acceptance
Acceptance by conclusive behavior, if the work is has been completed essentially free of defects according to the client's expectations and the contractor may understand the client's behavior as approval of the work performed essentially in accordance with the contract
Fictitious acceptance
Acceptance by legal fiction in accordance with § 640 Para. 2 BGB,
if the contractor has set the client a reasonable deadline for acceptance after completion and the client does not refuse acceptance within the deadline, stating at least one defect.
Terminating a building contract
A distinction must first be made here as to whether the contract was concluded in accordance with the provisions of the BGB (German Civil Code) or those of the VOB (German Construction Contract Procedures).
Termination of contract according to § 648 BGB
The client may terminate the contract at any time in writing (§ 650h BGB) without giving reasons. However, the Contractor shall be entitled to the agreed remuneration, less any expenses saved and the remuneration incurred by the Contractor as a result of accepting new orders.
Vertragskündigung nach §§ 8 und 9 VOB/B
The client can terminate the contract at any time in accordance with § 8 VOB/B until completion of the work, but must then - as also provided for in § 648 BGB - bear the disadvantageous consequences of remuneration.
If the client terminates the contract for good cause (Section 8 (2-5) VOB/B), it may assert its own counterclaims against the contractor's claim for remuneration for the work performed up to the termination.
Section 9 VOB/B regulates the contractor's right of termination.
The contractor can only terminate the contract under certain conditions, which are specified in Section 9 (1) VOB/B. These include, for example, the failure to make a payment. The termination must be declared in writing. It must be preceded by a deadline. In addition, the standard regulates the contractor's right to compensation,