📝 Contract for work, quotation and cost estimate
In brief
A trade order is usually a contract for work: you owe a finished result, not just working hours.
- Put the service, price and schedule in writing.
- A cost estimate is an approximation if you do not guarantee the price. If a large overrun becomes apparent, you must tell the customer immediately.
- Special rules apply to larger building projects for private individuals. Customers can withdraw from the contract if it was not notarised.
- The VOB/B applies only if it was agreed.
Step by step
- Describe the service preciselyWrite down scope, material, price and deadlines. Unclear services are the most common source of disputes.
- Label the cost estimate correctlyState whether the price is binding or estimated.
- Report an overrun immediatelyIf it is foreseeable that the estimate will be substantially exceeded, inform the customer without undue delay.
- With consumers, note the right of withdrawalFor a consumer construction contract, do not forget the withdrawal notice.
Deadlines
- Without a withdrawal notice the period does not start; the right of withdrawal expires at the latest 12 months and 14 days after the contract is concluded (§ 356e BGB). Check the duty to give notice (Art. 249 § 3 EGBGB).
- A non-guaranteed cost estimate protects the customer: if it is substantially exceeded, the customer can terminate (§ 649 BGB).
- The VOB/B changes deadlines and rights. Agree to it only deliberately.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Cost estimate
§ 649 BGB governs the non-guaranteed cost estimate: if the work cannot be carried out without a substantial overrun and the customer therefore terminates, the contractor's claim is limited to the legal consequence of § 645 Abs. 1 BGB. If such an overrun is to be expected, the contractor must notify the customer without undue delay (§ 649 Abs. 2 BGB).
Consumer construction contract
Under § 650l BGB, consumers have a right of withdrawal under § 355 BGB, unless the contract was notarised. The withdrawal period is 14 days (§ 355 Abs. 2 BGB); the start of the period and its expiry are governed by § 356e BGB (at the latest 12 months and 14 days without a notice). The contractor must inform the consumer of the right of withdrawal under Art. 249 § 3 EGBGB. Further duties under the consumer construction contract (§§ 650i ff. BGB), such as the building description, were not evaluated in detail here.
Inclusion of the VOB/B
The VOB/B is a set of standard terms that becomes part of the contract only by agreement. For example, it shortens the limitation period for claims for defects in buildings to four years (§ 13 Abs. 4 VOB/B, 2016 version, if no other period is agreed; for fire-exposed and flue-gas-insulating parts of industrial furnace installations it is one year). Whether and how its inclusion has an effect towards consumers must be checked in each individual case; no statement is made here.
In practice
A written quotation with a description of the service, type of price (lump sum or unit price), execution period and payment terms reduces disputes. This is a practical recommendation, not a legal duty.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.