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 serve only as a guideline and are not binding dates with regard to delivery dates.

HappyBart will keep The Client apprised of their job progress and communicate progress, changes, and delays when necessary weekly as 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 and to ensure continuation of work HappyBart GmbH will have exclusive access to the apartment for the duration of the project.

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 how the property site is maintained, or if damages are cause, when the project site accessed by third-party individuals who 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, or reorganization that results from these situations is 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.  If a decision is not received by the client in a timely manner as determined by HappyBart, HappyBart reserved the right to make the decision on behalf of the client keeping in mind the best interests of the client, which may lead to additional expenses.  If such a decision is made by HappyBart on behalf of the client, the client is obligated to settle any and all expenses related to the necessary adjustment to the scope of work.

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 for ensuring delivery and completeness of the delivery to the project site.  If client provided material is delivered the the street side and must be transported to the site location, HappyBart reserves the right to charge for this additional effort.

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, client communication, and meetings.

Project management is billed based on the actual time needed by each resource working on your project including client communication.

HappyBart reserves the right to charge for this communication.  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.  On-Site Meetings are calculated with a minimum time of 2 hours.  Travel time for Project Management functions is charged one way up to a maximum of 30 minutes where necessary.

The HappyBart Project Manager serves as the sole point of contact throughout the project. The client should not communicate directly with the execution team, discuss financial matters with them, or make any arrangements—including modifications or additions to the project scope—without involving the Project Manager.

The standard HappyBart Project Management Billing Rates are as follows.

 

• Managing Director – 150 € / hour + 19% MwSt
• 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 on behalf of the Client 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 as determined solely by HappyBart.

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.  If a client chooses to terminate their agreement with HappyBart once work has begun, the Client is obligated to pay 50% of the total outstanding balance releasing HappyBart of their contractual obligation to complete the work.

The remaining 60% of each scope line item will be billed when each scope item begins 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 and issue a fee in the amount of 500€ (Bau-stopp fee) due to disruption of the work planning and project delay.  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.

Should a payment become past due, the Client will be informed in writing of the overdue payment status followed by 2 Payment Reminders (Mahnungen).  If the project balance will not be settled within 7 days of the issue date of the 2nd Mahnung, the open balance will be forwarded to the Legal Department for collections.  Any Legal costs incurred including written communication, collection process, court costs, or costs of representatiation during the collections process will be passed onto the Client and a 10% surcharge will be added for additional efforts required to collect said overdue balances. Any time for communication, be it written, phone, or on-site will be billed based on the Project Management hourly billing fees listed in this document.  Delayed invoices will be charged interest in the maximum allowable amount, defined as the Basiszinssatz + 5 p.p, therefore 6.62% per year compounded monthly from the date of the 2nd Mahnung issue date + 7 days.  A 5 € cost will be added for each payment reminder (Mahnung) or communication (email or written) to be prepared and sent by HappyBart to the Client.  

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

Project Change Orders are billed 100% due upon receipt, 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 by HappyBart GmbH.

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 760€ +19% MwSt in addition 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.  If a Change Order approval is critical to achieve a continuation of work, the client permits HappyBart to approve the change order on their behalf and the Client will be financial obligated to settle the costs associated with this change order.  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 as determined by the HappyBart Project Manager 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 (Baustopp fee) in the amount of 500€ 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 from the date of completion thereof (First Abnahme date). 

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 Client and will be subject to each manufacturer’s individual warranty terms and conditions.

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 three (3) years after completion of the Work. If furniture, fixtures, or equipment (FF&E) require an exchange due to a failure-covered warranty, the cost of the material is covered under warranty and HappyBart reserves the right to charge for the labour 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 of 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 3 million Euros for liability claims.