A late project needs more than a comparison of planned and actual completion. We examine the event, contractual responsibility, affected activities and financial consequences so that delay claims and defences can be assessed on evidence.
Reconstruct the programme
Establish the agreed milestones and a credible baseline. Then connect each obstruction to the work it prevented, the resources affected and the resulting change to the sequence. General statements that the site was chaotic rarely explain the amount of an individual claim.
Employer instructions, missing design, late access, contractor resourcing and exceptional events require separate treatment. A notice of obstruction is useful evidence but does not by itself prove entitlement to money or an extension of time.
Select the legal basis before calculating the claim
Damages, compensation for a failure to cooperate and payment for instructed changes have different prerequisites. Section 642 BGB addresses specified failures of employer cooperation; it is not a universal reimbursement rule for every consequence of a longer project.
Contractual penalties require a valid agreement and examination of the triggering event, applicable cap and any reservation requirements. German contractual penalties and common-law liquidated damages should not be treated as interchangeable concepts.
Protect delivery while preserving rights
We help formulate notices, organise programme evidence and assess realistic settlement options. A recovery plan should identify responsibility, resources and revised milestones without accidentally releasing unresolved claims.
Four practical examples
Illustrative scenarios: the appropriate steps depend on the contract, evidence and applicable law. These are not reports of client matters.
Late site access
A contractor cannot begin because another trade occupies the work area. Record planned activities, available labour and alternative deployment before quantifying compensation.
Design issued in fragments
Successive drawings interrupt several trades. Track each affected operation instead of presenting only the overall completion slippage.
Overlapping causes
A supplier delay occurs during an employer-caused obstruction. Analyse the periods and actual effect before attributing the whole delay to one party.
A penalty at handover
The employer proposes deducting a completion penalty. Review the clause, dates and reservations before agreeing the final account.
Documents that help us assess your position
The baseline programme, updates, daily reports, resource records, notices, design register, meeting minutes and proof of claimed costs.
Discuss your project or dispute
Tell us where the project is located, who is involved and whether a deadline is approaching. We can then clarify the scope of the proposed engagement and the next steps.
Related construction law services
Legal framework & further reading
Reviewed: 12 November 2026. Statutory references are to German law unless stated otherwise.