Guarantees in the Construction Sector
Where work is done, mistakes will happen, that's just how it is! Even the latest production methods according to ISO quality standards cannot prevent faults completely. At times there can be products or services that do not meet the guaranteed properties and complaints arise. In practice this often leads to lengthy and costly disputes between on the one side, the tradesman and the owner of the building or his architects. and suppliers on the other.
Something can always happen!
The vast majority of the complaints arise during the construction phase and can be traced back to defective processing. However, it can also happen that a product does not meet its guaranteed properties and the functionality of the component is compromised. It must be replaced. Here the tradesman clearly has the worst hand! As a builder, he must offer a five year warranty from the time of acceptance, in accordance with Article 731, Paragraph 5 of the Swiss Code of Obligations.
Statutory warranties in construction
In principle, warranty claims are settled under contract law. They relate to the transactions between two parties, between a supplier and its direct customers. In the construction sector, a relatively long chain of contractual warranty claims is formed. The statutory warranty generally covers the product supplied and also the so-called consequential damage, where often fault is assumed. Many manufacturers and suppliers, however, limit the extent of their guarantees and explicitly exclude consequential damages in their conditions of supply.
The contractual guarantee
The contractual guarantee period is one year, in accordance with Article 210, Paragraph 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. At each step in the supply chain the product is stored for shorter or longer periods of time. Thus it may happen that by the time the claim is made by the tradesmen, the manufacturer's warranty has expired long ago.
Most laws require that defects that are discovered later should be notified immediately; otherwise any warranty rights are forfeit, even if the actual statute of limitations has not expired. In practice, an immediate complaint it is often not made, with the result that rights are forfeited!
