Germany: Owing to the enormous economic importance of construction law, wide-ranging changes are planned to the Construction contract law.
The backstory to the planned change in the law is that the Construction contract law is far too general, according to different possible contractual objects. The contract law rules for Work and Labour (“Werkvertragsrecht”) are not sufficiently detailed for the complexity of construction contracts.
Essential questions of Construction contract law are not regulated by law but have to be agreed by the parties. According to the federal government, the absence of clear legal requirements complicates an economically appropriate arrangement and execution of construction contracts that comply with the interests of the contracting parties.
With the proposed amendment the general rules of civil law (BGB) concerning work contract law to special arrangements will be supplemented to close existing gaps.
Besides this change to the general regulations, the following types of contracts will be implemented and customised in the BGB: construction contract, consumer construction contract, architect and engineering contract and developer contract.
Although the federal Government has passed the legislative proposal, it remains to be seen which exact rules will find their way to become legally binding.
Source: Draft law to reform the construction contract law