First classify the appropriate contract type
§ 650i BGB describes consumer construction contracts as contracts in which an entrepreneur owes a consumer the construction of a new building or substantial conversion work on an existing building. They require text form. [VERTRAG] Not every single tradesman’s order is categorically assigned to this contract type. The actual constellation must fit.
§ 650k governs in this context the significance of the pre-contractually provided construction specification for the execution of the work. Its particulars become contract content, insofar as nothing expressly different was agreed. In case of ambiguity or incompleteness the provision sets out a framework of interpretation including accompanying circumstances and the otherwise described standard. [BESCHREIBUNG] That is a reason to keep preliminary documents carefully, but not an invitation to leave ambiguities until later dispute.
Establish a common reading
Place the actual construction specification alongside the draft contract and associated plans. Mark differing particulars without replacing them yourself with the more convenient formulation. The question is initially which execution the parties intend to agree as binding.
Assign especially those items that are important for your use. A room may, for example, appear furnished on the plan, while the written description contains different equipment limits. Have it expressly stated what belongs to the offered scope and what is illustration or later selection.
Our editorial recommendation: Keep a short list of differences with source reference, differing statement and required clarification. It is a working document for planning and contract review, not a self-drafted substitute contract.
Also read the timeframe
§ 650k paragraph 3 requires binding information on completion or, if the time cannot be stated at contract conclusion, on the duration of the construction work. For missing contract data the provision contains a rule for adopting corresponding pre-contractual information. [BESCHREIBUNG]
Therefore describe not only your desired move-in date. Check what actual prerequisites the present time indications refer to. If another planning version or a still open preliminary service is named, that belongs in the clarification. Which dates and claims apply in the individual case must be assessed separately legally.
A concrete difference instead of a general quality word
In the hypothetical example a pre-contractual description contains a more precise window specification. The later draft only uses a general quality designation. The prospective buyer asks before signing whether an express deviation should be agreed and which technical execution would then be decisive.
She has the question assigned technically and contractually, instead of relying solely on the word “hochwertig”. At the same time the completion particulars are related to the actual level of performance discussed.
A useful result consists of coherent documents and traceably clarified deviations. Withdrawal, payment schedule, securities, individual defect rights and the enforcement of disputed dates are not dealt with in this article. It is intended to help understand the construction specification as an essential part of one’s own contractual basis before becoming bound.