The Legal Basis of a Construction Dispute
A dispute arising from a construction contract — unpaid remuneration, damaged materials or a defect discovered within the warranty — is resolved under the contract-for-work norms of the Civil Code. Knowing these norms determines who may demand what and within which period. The ordering party is obliged to pay the contractor the remuneration after the completion of the work, unless the contract provides for payment in instalments — thus, as a general rule, the money follows the completed work, and advance settlement is possible only by agreement. This excludes the argument that cancellation or delay of the order automatically releases the ordering party from payment: the payment obligation attaches to the completed result.
The Contractor's Liability and the Warranty Period
The contractor answers for the loss or damage of the ordering party's property even where caused by negligence — a benevolent attitude to the materials does not release from liability. The warranty norm is the second pillar of the dispute: where the contractor assumed a warranty period for the work product, a defect discovered within that period gives rise to the corresponding rights — the ordering party acquires the right of claim in respect of the defect that was recognised as the object of the warranty. The warranty period is determined by the contract, and where it exists the moment of discovery of the defect is decisive: a defect revealed within the period is protected by law, beyond it — no longer.
Limitation Periods
A claim based on a defect of performance may be advanced by the ordering party within one year, and a claim concerning a building — within five years from the day of acceptance of the completed work. The type of defect thus determines the length of the period: one year for general defects, five years for defects touching a building, and both periods run from the acceptance of the work. In a construction dispute the acceptance act is therefore not a merely technical document — it is the starting point of the limitation period, and fixing its date often decides the fate of the claim. Letting the period lapse means that even a legally sound claim deserves rejection. Therefore, upon discovery of a defect, its documentary fixation and the filing of the claim should be planned together.