Hold contractor liable? Get free advice!

Questioner

Best legal aid shop I had a house built and after a year it turned out that the facades were causing leakage in several places, probably at the connection to the supporting structure. The contractor says that the architect is liable because he built according to the architect's drawings. I have three questions about this. main question Can I hold the contractor liable? The specifications state that the contractor (in the event of contradictions in the work description) must adhere to the Building Decree with priority, which states that a house must be wind and watertight. The provisions of the Building Decree therefore take precedence over the specifications description and the specifications drawings. subquestion 1 In the specifications, the architect referred to STABU Standard Conditions 2001, which states that the connection of aluminium facades to the supporting structure must be carried out according to the manufacturer's specifications. In my opinion, this means that the (sub)contractor had to ensure that these specifications were known to him or that he had to look for them. The specifications do state that the specification drawings take precedence over the provisions in STABU Standard 2001. subquestion 2 The contractor has hired a subcontractor, a specialist in installing aluminium facades. Can I expect the main contractor and subcontractor to be able to install the facades according to the rules of the art and that they would supplement or revise the architect's drawings when necessary and that they would bring specialist knowledge to the construction meeting?

Lawyer

Good morning, thank you for your question. The contractor is responsible for the work being done correctly. Now that it turns out that the facades are leaking, the house has a defect, for which the contractor is in principle liable and which must therefore be repaired by him. It could be further, but further investigation will have to show that it concerns an error in the drawings, which could not have been noticed by the contractor. In that case the architect is liable. I therefore advise you to hold both liable. I am a lawyer and specialized in real estate law, including construction law. I am happy to advise you further in this matter and to assist you if necessary. If you wish, you can contact me for further questions without obligation and free of charge.