HappyBart Terms and Conditions

Project Timings and Delay

The contractor assures that all work will be carried out in a timely manner.  Work will be completed Monday to Friday within normal business hours, with exceptions as required by HappyBart.

1. 1. Upon signing a contract, the HappyBart Finance Team will issue a deposit invoice for the project within 3 business days.  After receiving this payment, HappyBart will begin the planning phase of your project which takes 3-5 weeks depending on the scope of your project.  This is a required element and while sometimes may be shorter, no timing guarantees will be given for a precise project start date.

Project timings and milestones are set internally for every HappyBart project.  While milestone dates are shared with the client, they are not a clear indicator of progress.

HappyBart will keep The Client apprised of their job progress and communicate progress, changes, and delays when necessary.  If a client would like an update during their project, this can be requested from their Project Manager.  Daily updates or photo documentation will not be provided.

Property and Access

A construction site can be a hazardous environment for someone without the proper training or experience.  In order to avoid safety risk HappyBart GmbH will have exclusive access to the apartment for the duration of the project and reserves the right to change the key of the apartment door to a temporary bauzylinder to allow access for the teams involved.  

Client site meetings will be scheduled with HappyBart a minimum of 2 business days in advance subject to the availability of the Project Manager responsible for the project.

Any trades that are required on-site in parallel with HappyBart Gmbh will coordinate directly with the HappyBart GmbH office for access and clear handover rules will be respected. 

HappyBart GmbH does not take responsibility for the way in which the property site is maintained when accessed by third party individuals that have no relationship with HappyBart GmbH.  If such a situation is necessary, it is expected that the property site will be returned to HappyBart GmbH in the same or better condition as when given.  Any cleaning, reorganization that results from these situations are implicitly approved and will be billed to the Client payable within 3 business days of invoice issue date.

Material Selections and Project Decisions

Material selection and decisions impacting the project will be shared with the client as soon as possible.  Key decisions that impact the continuation of the project should be made in a timely manner.  HappyBart will provide all technically feasible options available in order to provide alternatives to situations for which alternatives exist.

HappyBart will coordinate all orders for finishing materials detailed in Material Selections from any one supplier.  This includes placing the order, tracking the delivery, verifying delivery completeness, and handing over material to the delivery team.  Should the Client wish to use multiple suppliers for their project, the Client is responsible to ensure delivery and completeness of the delivery to the project site.

Material selections will be confirmed with the Client in writing prior to proceeding with ordering, and subject to the payment terms and conditions outlined in the Payment Terms section of this document.  Should any changes be made to materials that have been confirmed, these changes will be subject to the terms and conditions of the material supplier, and may result in return fees, logistic fees, or not be refundable whatsoever.  

Project Management

Tasks captured under Project Management include but are not limited to site visits with clients or delivery teams, material ordering, project-specific research, architectural drawings, logistics, and client meetings in excess of 10 minutes either in person, on the phone, or using internet video conferencing.

 Project management is billed based on the actual time needed by each resource working on your project.  Minor tasks such as answering emails, short phone calls, or any overhead functions such as accounting and office work are not billed to the Client.  Project Management is conducted during normal business hours between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday.  Any Project Management that is conducted outside of normal business hours will be billed with a surcharge of 30% based on standard billing rates.  Travel time for Project Management functions is charged one way up to a maximum of 30 minutes where necessary.

The standard HappyBart Project Management Billing Rates are as follows.

 

Project Manager – 95€ / hour + 19% MwSt

Design – 95€ / hour + 19% MwSt

Office / Logistics – 75 € / hour + 19% MwSt

 

HappyBart shall use its best efforts to timely communicate any Project Management billing and hour summaries in a timely manner. 

Project Plans

HappyBart creates project plans to the detail level required in order to complete the project.  Prior to the start of each project stage, the client may be required to sign or approve by email the plans on which basis work will be performed.  

Should changes to the plans be necessary, HappyBart reserves the right to make planning decisions to ensure the continuation of work on the project.  HappyBart will use best efforts to consult the Client on decisions where possible within a reasonable amount of time.

Payment Terms

Payment terms for each project are outlined in your main project document.

Unless otherwise noted in your contract document, the following payment terms apply to HappyBart projects:

A project deposit is required to secure a project start date and begin project planning.  The deposit will be retained and applied to each scope item as billing progresses.  The Deposit amount will not be applied to any additional / out of contract scope work (“Additional Work”).  If a deposit is paid and the purchase of the property is unable to be completed as a result of variables outside of the control of the client, the deposit will be refunded.

The remaining 60% of each scope line item will be billed at the time each scope item is beginning and will be due within 3 days of issue, or as otherwise stated in your contract.  Should any progress billing invoice become overdue, HappyBart reserves the right to stop the work until outstanding balances have been settled.  Any delay due to non-payment will be subject to the terms and conditions outlined in this document.  Snagging (Mängelliste) corrections will only be completed after all payments have been settled in full. 

Notwithstanding, if Additional Work invoices become past due, HappyBart may (at HappyBart’s option), apply portions of Deposit towards said invoices and the Client will be responsible to promptly replenish the deposit.  

Project Change Orders are billed 100% due upon receipt unless otherwise noted, and complete payment is required before Change Order planning commences.  Project Change Orders are non-refundable.

Finishing materials are billed 100% in advance prior to ordering materials.  Materials will only be ordered once payment is received on the HappyBart account.

Project Changes

All project changes should be made in writing using the HappyBart Change Order Process.  

Changes are possible to a project within the scheduling and availability limitations of HappyBart.  After a certain point in the project as determined by HappyBart GmbH, changes will no longer be possible.

If changes to a project require a change to the sequencing of work, a change in the timeline, or other internal replanning HappyBart GmbH reserves the right to charge a one time re-planning fee in the amount of 752€ +19% MwSt in additional to the cost of resources required to implement the requested change.

Change Order Process

1. 1. When new information is discovered that requires a change in scope, HappyBart will assess and document the situation, and propose feasible solutions by email for the client for review in the form of a Change Order Proposal.

1. 2. A meeting can be scheduled (if required by the Client) either by phone, online, or in-person to discuss the new information and the Change Order Proposal.

1. 3. The Change Order is clearly accepted or declined in writing by email, and a signed version of the document is prepared at the next convenient time.  An email confirmation is sufficiently binding to proceed with a Change Order.

1. 4. Work continues based on the decision that has been made.

If a decision regarding a Change Order is essential in proceeding with further work and there is no decision made by the Client within a reasonable time from the time the Change Order Proposal has been sent to the Client via email, the project will be stopped if required until a decision is reached.  Any delay resulting from a lack of decision will be subject to the terms and conditions outlined in this document. 

Delay

Should the construction project be unable to continue for any reason including lack of client decision, external factors outside of HappyBart’s control, or payment delay HappyBart reserves the right to charge a Project Delay Fee in the amount of 350€ +19% MwSt per business day starting from the date where HappyBart determines significant work cannot be completed.  

If a construction stop occurs at the choice of HappyBart, the project will be delayed until work can continue and will be subject to the availability of HappyBart construction teams.  Any previous timeline commitments or estimates will be subject to change based on complete information when that becomes available.

HappyBart does not guarantee specific delivery dates.  All timelines provided to the clients are estimates based on information available at that time, and subject to change.

Warranty

All works completed by HappyBart GmbH are subject to a 3 year warranty.  

Warranty includes and is limited to all works completely entirely by HappyBart GmbH specifically outlined in the core Contract or additional Change Orders either (a) approved by both a representative of HappyBart GmbH and The Client or (b) that have been paid in full as of the first sign off date of the project (Abnahme).  If any areas affected by the contracted scope of work are used by the client prior to a written sign-off (Abnahme) occurring, this will be deemed as a sign-off (Abnahme(.  Any work that is not expressly stated in the contract is not subject to this Warranty.

The Client shall obtain the manufacturer’s warranties for the elements which have been provided as part of the Project and which are customarily given by such manufacturers without additional cost to the Owner, and will be subject to each manufacturer’s individual warranty terms and conditions.  

Warranty Duration

The Contractor shall guarantee that the Work shall be free from any defects in workmanship for a period of not less than three (3) years from the date of completion thereof (First abnahme date). 

Responsibility of Repair

The Contractor shall be responsible for the replacement or repair, without additional charge, of all work done in accordance with the original Core Contract and related Change Orders which shall become defective within five (5) years after completion of the Work.   If furniture, fixtures, or equipment (FF&E) require an exchange due to failure covered warranty, the cost of the material is covered under warranty and HappyBart reserves the right to charge for the labor involved with the exchange of equipment as per normal billing rates.

Correction

The correction of such Work shall include, without additional charge, all additional expenses and damages in connection with such removal or replacement of all or any part of the Work which is necessary to remedy the defects in a reasonable period of time subject to HappyBart GmbH availability.

All such warranties or guarantees the workmanship with respect to the Work shall be contained in the contract with the Contractor. 

Insurance

HappyBart GmbH is insured with an up-to-date insurance policy as of the signing date of this contract, with coverage of up to 2 million Euros for liability claims.