Expert article
Warranty periods in construction: four years or five?
Whether VOB/B or the German Civil Code applies decides a whole year of liability. Miscalculate the period and you lose a valid claim — with nobody there to object.
Expert article by Open Experience GmbH. · As of: August 2026
How long are warranty periods in construction?
For buildings, defect claims become time-barred after five years under the German Civil Code (BGB, § 634a para. 1 no. 2) and after four years under VOB/B (§ 13 para. 4 no. 1), the German construction contract procedures. Both periods start at acceptance. The VOB/B period applies only where VOB/B has been validly incorporated into the contract; without that incorporation, the five-year period of the Civil Code stands. Contracts may agree different periods, and those take precedence over the statutory defaults.
The periods side by side
The statutory default periods of both regimes. They apply whenever the construction contract says nothing else.
| Work | BGB (§ 634a) | VOB/B (§ 13 para. 4) |
|---|---|---|
| *Building* | 5 years | 4 years |
| Other work — producing, maintaining or altering an object | 2 years | 2 years |
| Fire-exposed parts of heating installations | no special rule | 2 years |
| Fire-exposed and flue-gas-insulating parts of industrial heating installations | no special rule | 1 year |
| Mechanical and electrical installations where the client omits maintenance | no special rule | 2 years |
Source: § 634a BGB, § 13 para. 4 nos. 1 and 2 VOB/B. Where the Civil Code has no special rule, the period follows the nature of the work — five years in the case of buildings.
When does the period start — and what does it hang on?
Both regimes tie the start to acceptance. Under VOB/B the period starts with acceptance of the works as a whole; only self-contained parts start with their own partial acceptance (§ 13 para. 4 no. 3). That makes the acceptance date the single most important figure in the entire project — and precisely the one nobody can state with confidence years later.
- No date, no periodWithout a documented acceptance date, expiry cannot be calculated. In a dispute, the risk falls on whoever relies on the period.
- Partial acceptances run on their ownEvery partial acceptance starts its own period. Keep them together and you are counting from the wrong day.
- Implied and deemed acceptanceAcceptance can occur without any protocol — through conclusive conduct or on expiry of a deadline. The date is then not on record; it has to be proven.
A defect notice extends the period — but only for the defect it names
Under VOB/B a written defect notice has a particular effect: if the client demands removal of a defect in writing before the period expires, the claim to have that defect remedied becomes time-barred only two years after the demand is received — and never before the ordinary period has run (§ 13 para. 5 no. 1). Once the remedial work is complete, a fresh two-year period runs for that remedial work.
What counts is receipt by the contractor, not dispatch. If you cannot prove receipt, you have not extended anything.
Suspension and fresh start — the two mechanisms worth knowing
Alongside the special VOB/B rule, the general provisions of the Civil Code apply. They distinguish two effects that are routinely confused in practice.
- Suspension — the clock stopsNegotiations about the defect (§ 203 BGB) and legal steps such as an action or independent evidence proceedings (§ 204 BGB) suspend limitation. Time already elapsed still counts.
- Fresh start — the clock returns to zeroIf the contractor acknowledges the defect — by part payment, security, or unreserved remedial work — limitation begins anew (§ 212 BGB).
- Why this matters in practiceYears can lie between "suspended" and "started afresh". Both require that the event can be evidenced with a date.
The five most expensive mistakes
VOB/B assumed, never agreed
Without valid incorporation the period is five years, not four — in the client's favour, at the contractor's expense.
Acceptance date not evidenced
Without a dated protocol, expiry is pure assertion.
Partial acceptances lumped in
One overall period for every trade — the classic spreadsheet error.
Notice given verbally
The extension under § 13 para. 5 VOB/B requires written form and receipt.
The period lives in the project manager's head
Warranty runs on long after the team has moved elsewhere. What is not in a system simply expires.
Better
Acceptance, period and notice in one record — with date, receipt and evidence in the same place.
Deadlines that report themselves
With Construction Time, every deadline stays attached to the event it came from: the acceptance protocol, the individual defect, the remedial work. The system calculates expiry from the recorded acceptance date, speaks up before the cut-off, and keeps a record of when each notice was received — five years later too, when nobody from the original team is on the project.
Frequently asked questions
Does VOB/B apply automatically?
No. It has to be validly incorporated into the construction contract. Without incorporation the Civil Code applies — five years for buildings instead of four.
Can the warranty period be extended by contract?
Yes. Agreed periods take precedence over the statutory defaults. In standard terms and conditions, however, they are subject to review for fairness.
What applies to fraudulently concealed defects?
The ordinary limitation period of the Civil Code applies (three years from knowledge or grossly negligent ignorance). For buildings, however, limitation does not occur before the five-year period has run (§ 634a para. 3 BGB).
Does the period start again after remedial work?
For the remedial work itself, VOB/B provides a fresh two-year period. The period for the remaining works continues unchanged.
What is the difference between warranty and guarantee?
Warranty is the statutory liability for defects with the periods described here. A guarantee is a voluntary additional undertaking by the contractor or manufacturer and may carry its own periods.
Who has to prove the defect?
After acceptance, the client does. That is exactly why documentation from the construction phase decides whether a claim can be enforced.
Never miss a deadline again.
In 45 minutes we show how acceptance, defects and warranty periods come together in one record — right through to the final cut-off date.