Legal assistance with new construction problems | Legal aid

Questioner

We recently bought a new-build house. The construction agreement was concluded at the end of September in connection with the VAT increase. We were then given lists with shell and finishing options on which prices were stated including VAT, on which it was stated that it involved 19% VAT. During the month of October we selected the options in phases, whereby we were always sent quotes to sign with amounts including VAT, where no percentage was stated. The amounts were unchanged compared to the previous lists. Now we recently received a quote as a final confirmation on which '19%' was suddenly written again with 'incl. VAT'. Inquiries show that the contractor wants to add this later so that 21% is still charged. My question: can they do this? Did they not neglect to report the incorrect prices, despite the fact that we could have seen that the prices had not changed after 1 October?

Lawyer

If the contractor uses amounts including VAT but without this being broken down, I would say that the contractor is not entitled to additional payment, but must bear the 2% disadvantage (difference between 19 and 21%) himself.

Questioner

Many thanks for the response. In the meantime, we have been in contact with the contractor and they have indeed admitted that the fault lies with them and that there will be no upward adjustment of the costs.

Lawyer

Glad this was resolved!