Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions (GTC) and customer information of SVKontor Hamburg, Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Christoph Schütz.

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Part A: Terms and Conditions

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§ 1. General provisions, scope, definitions

  1. These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all purchase and delivery contracts, orders, and other agreements with our customer. They are deemed accepted at the latest upon placement of the order or acceptance of the service by the customer.
  2. Customers within the meaning of these GTC may be consumers (§ 13 BGB) as well as entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB.
    A consumer within the meaning of these GTC is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business, or profession.
    Entrepreneurs within the meaning of these GTC are natural or legal persons or partnerships with legal capacity who, when entering into a legal transaction, act in the exercise of their trade, business, or independent professional activity.
  3. We expressly object to any purchasing or order terms or other general terms and conditions of the customer that deviate from, contradict, or supplement our General Terms and Conditions. Even if we are aware of such other terms, they do not become part of the contract unless we expressly agree to their applicability.

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§ 2. Subject matter of the contract, collateral agreements

  1. We provide services and orders in connection with expert activities of any kind in the real estate sector and activities relating to client representation as well as project management.
  2. All services are performed impartially, objectively, and to the best of our knowledge and belief, in accordance with the principles applicable to experts.
  3. The precise service or order results from the respective contract concluded with the customer.
  4. If the proper fulfillment of the order requires the involvement of further experts from other disciplines, they will be commissioned after prior consultation with the customer.
  5. There are no oral collateral agreements.

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§ 3. Formation of the contract

  1. All our offers are non-binding, meaning our presentation of our services and any orders do not constitute binding offers on our part, but serve as an invitation to the customer to submit a binding offer.
  2. By their declaration of intent, the customer bindingly declares that they wish to commission us for a specific order or a specific service. Should the customer declare, after the validity period of our offer has expired, that they wish to accept this contract, this shall be deemed an offer to contract addressed to us.
  3. A contract is only concluded once we accept the customer’s order in text form (e.g. by letter or e-mail) or fulfill the order owed or provide the service.
  4. If we have not declared acceptance or performed the service within 14 days of receiving a contract offer submitted by the customer, the customer is no longer bound by their declaration of intent to conclude a contract.

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§ 4. Customer’s duties to cooperate

  1. The customer is obliged to support us in fulfilling our contractual obligations towards the customer. This includes, among other things, providing free of charge the documents and information required for the fulfillment of the contractual obligation and/or enabling access to the object of assessment.
  2. We are not obliged to comply with instructions from the customer if these would result in the content of the report, the order, or another contractual obligation being incorrect.

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§ 5. Prices, terms of payment, expenses, due date

  1. All prices are stated in euros. Unless our offer states otherwise, the prices given are net prices; statutory VAT is shown separately.
  2. Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are due immediately upon receipt.
  3. For journeys by motor vehicle, we additionally charge a flat rate of €0.60 per kilometer driven, plus the currently applicable VAT (currently 19%).
  4. Incidental costs and expenses may be charged at the amount actually incurred (upon proof) or at an agreed amount (without proof), if we need to procure further necessary documents.
  5. If additional services are to be provided at the customer’s request, these services will be invoiced based on time spent and on the basis of an hourly rate, plus the currently applicable VAT (currently 19%).
  6. The customer is at the latest in default of payment of an invoice if they fail to pay within 14 days of the due date and receipt of the invoice.
  7. Deduction of cash discount is generally not permitted.

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§ 6. Prohibition of set-off, limitation of the right of retention, plea of uncertainty

  1. The customer is only entitled to set-off rights if their counterclaims have been legally established, are ready for decision, are undisputed, or have been acknowledged by us.
  2. The customer is only entitled to exercise a right of retention under the conditions set out in the preceding paragraph and only to the extent that their counterclaim is based on the same contractual relationship.
  3. If, after conclusion of the contract with the customer, it becomes apparent that our claim to payment is jeopardized by the customer’s inability to pay, we are entitled to refuse the performance/delivery owed by us. This right to refuse performance ceases to apply if the customer makes payment or provides security for it. We are entitled to set a reasonable deadline within which the customer must make payment or provide security. Upon fruitless expiry of the deadline, we are entitled to withdraw from the contract.

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§ 7. Duties of inspection and notification, warranty for defects, limitation periods

  1. The customer, if an entrepreneur, must inspect our performance for completeness, correctness, and any defects without delay, but no later than within five days of receipt, and must notify us in writing (text form suffices) of any defects or errors within a period of 5 days from receipt of the performance. If the customer fails to give such timely notice, our performance is deemed approved and any warranty claims in this respect are excluded. This does not apply if we fraudulently concealed the defect or if the defect was not identifiable upon inspection.
    Timely dispatch of the notice of defects is sufficient to meet the deadline.
  2. In relation to the entrepreneur, the following applies:
    Insofar as a defect exists, we are entitled, at our own discretion, towards a customer who is an entrepreneur, to subsequent performance in the form of remedying the defect or providing a replacement (delivery of a defect-free item).
  3. If subsequent performance fails, the customer is entitled, at their discretion, to reduce the price or withdraw from the contract.
  4. The customer is entitled to withdraw from the contract in the following cases:
    • if we have refused the type of subsequent performance due to disproportionately high costs,
    • if subsequent performance by us is impossible or unreasonable for the customer,
    • if we have failed to provide a service by a date or within a period specified in the contract (so-called fixed-date transaction), although we were aware before conclusion of the contract, through the customer’s communication or other circumstances accompanying the conclusion of the contract, that timely performance was essential to the customer,
    • if we have seriously and finally refused subsequent performance, or
    • there are, in the case of performance not rendered by our company in conformity with the contract, particular circumstances which, weighing the interests of both parties, justify immediate withdrawal by the customer.
  5. The statutory provisions pursuant to § 437 no. 3 BGB apply to the assertion of claims for damages.
  6. All defect claims of the customer become time-barred upon expiry of three years from the provision of the service, unless we have granted a longer limitation period in an individual case.

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§ 8. Performance and completion dates, force majeure, temporary and permanent obstacles to performance

  1. Performance dates, completion dates, or other deadlines that have not been expressly agreed as binding are non-binding indications only.
  2. Force majeure
    In the event of force majeure or unforeseen and blameless circumstances such as terrorist attacks, weather catastrophes, epidemics (including COVID-19), strikes, sanctions, war, or war-like events, the performance period is extended for the duration of the resulting obstacle to performance. Strikes and lockouts within the affected contracting party’s own company are not covered by this clause.
  3. In the event of force majeure or unforeseen and blameless circumstances such as terrorist attacks, weather catastrophes, epidemics (including COVID-19), strikes, sanctions, war, or war-like events, the performance period is extended for the duration of the resulting obstacle to performance. Strikes and lockouts within the affected contracting party’s own company are not covered by this clause.
  4. The affected contracting party is released from its duty to perform if, as a result of the events or circumstances mentioned above (see para. 2 of this section)
    • a) performance becomes impossible (see § 275 para. 1 BGB).
    • b) performance or delivery requires an effort from the affected party that, having regard to the content of the obligation and the requirements of good faith, stands in gross disproportion to the other contracting party’s interest in performance. In determining the efforts reasonably required of the affected party, it must also be considered whether the affected party is responsible for the obstacle to performance (see § 275 para. 2 BGB).
    • c) the affected party is required to render the performance personally, and this performance cannot reasonably be expected of the affected party, weighing the obstacle opposing performance against the other contracting party’s interest in performance (see § 275 para. 3 BGB).
  5. If the original performance was tied to a date or a deadline, and the other contracting party made the continued existence of its interest in performance contractually dependent on the timeliness of performance, the other contracting party is entitled to withdraw from the contract after the date has passed or the deadline has expired.
  6. If the events or circumstances mentioned in para. 3 of this section persist uninterrupted for more than six weeks, or if the performance date is delayed by more than eight weeks due to force majeure or unforeseen and blameless circumstances, the other contracting party is entitled to withdraw from the contract.
  7. The assertion of further claims, in particular claims for damages, by the other contracting party is fully excluded where events or circumstances under para. 2 of this section apply.
  8. The affected contracting party will inform the other contracting party without delay, but no later than within one week, in writing (e-mail suffices) of the occurrence of the events or circumstances under para. 2 of this section as well as the expected end of the resulting obstacle to performance.
  9. The statutory withdrawal provisions of the BGB otherwise remain unaffected.

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§ 9. Copyright protection

  1. Upon full payment of our invoice, the customer receives, unless otherwise agreed, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, unlimited-in-time right to our work results or works.
  2. We otherwise retain all copyright and exploitation rights to the works we create, in particular reports and opinions.
  3. The customer may only use our work result for the purpose for which it was contractually intended. Any further disclosure of the report to third parties, as well as any other use, is only permitted to the customer with our prior confirmation (at least in text form). The same applies in particular to any reproduction, distribution, publication, or making publicly available of our work results.

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§ 10. Liability, limitation of liability, exclusion of liability

  1. For damages arising from injury to life, body, or health, we are liable in accordance with statutory provisions. No limitation or exclusion of liability applies in this respect.
  2. For other damages, we are liable for intent and gross negligence in accordance with statutory provisions.
  3. In the case of simple negligence, we are only liable
    • for breach of material contractual obligations (so-called cardinal obligations), the fulfillment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on the observance of which the customer regularly relies and may rely.
    • in the event of our default, insofar as a fixed delivery date was agreed.
    In this case, our liability is limited in amount to the typically foreseeable damage. In particular, we are not liable for loss of profit.
  4. Otherwise, liability for simple negligence is excluded.
  5. The above liability provisions also apply to breaches of duty by our legal representatives and vicarious agents.
  6. Claims under the Product Liability Act as well as from guarantees expressly assumed by us for the quality or existence of a specific result, or in the event of assumption of a procurement risk, remain unaffected.

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§ 11. Applicable law, place of jurisdiction, severability clause

  1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to all legal relationships between the parties. The provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods do not apply.
  2. If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, Hamburg is the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract. The same applies, even towards a consumer, if the customer has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany or if their domicile or habitual residence is not known at the time the action is brought. Otherwise, statutory provisions apply.
  3. Should individual provisions of the contract with the customer, including these General Terms and Conditions, be or become wholly or partly invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

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Part B: Customer information

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1. Information on the identity of the seller

The customer concludes the contract exclusively with SVKontor Hamburg, unless expressly stated otherwise.

SVKontor Hamburg
Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Christoph Schütz
Brodschrangen 4
20457 Hamburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 40 35743711
Fax: +49 (0) 40 35743731
E-mail: cs@svkontor.hamburg

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2. Essential characteristics of the service

The essential characteristics of the service to be provided result from the offer.

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3. Information on payment and delivery

Payment can be made by invoice or bank transfer. Payment options and further terms of payment are set out in § 5 of these GTC (Part A).

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4. Information on the total price of the service

The price of the service results from the product description. The price applicable at the time of order shall apply in each case. All prices are stated net in euros; the applicable statutory VAT is shown separately.

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5. Information on the existence of a right of withdrawal

If the customer is to be regarded as a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB, they are entitled to a right of withdrawal in the case of a distance contract.

A consumer under this provision is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business, or profession.

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Right of withdrawal notice

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day the contract was concluded.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (SVKontor Hamburg, Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Christoph Schütz, Brodschrangen 4, 20457 Hamburg, Germany, phone: +49 (0) 40 35743711, e-mail: cs@svkontor.hamburg) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or an e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, although this is not mandatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and no later than fourteen days from the day on which we received notification of your withdrawal from this contract. For this reimbursement, we will use the same means of payment you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no case will you be charged any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

If you requested that the services should begin during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of services already provided until you notify us of your exercise of the right of withdrawal from this contract, compared with the total scope of services provided for in the contract.

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Model withdrawal form

(If you wish to withdraw from the contract, please complete this form and return it.)

To
SVKontor Hamburg
Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Christoph Schütz
Brodschrangen 4
20457 Hamburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 40 35743711
Fax: +49 (0) 40 35743731
E-mail: cs@svkontor.hamburg

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/we (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract for the purchase of the following goods (*)/the provision of the following service (*)

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)

Name of consumer(s)

Address of consumer(s)

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)

Date

(*) Delete as appropriate.

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6. Costs of using means of distance communication

No separate costs are incurred for concluding the contract.

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7. Information on the storage of the contract text

The content of the contract concluded with us is stored by us.

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8. Warranty and guarantee terms

The applicable warranty rights are set out in § 7 of the GTC (Part A). Statutory provisions apply to the guarantee terms.

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9. Language for conclusion of the contract and customer information

German is the only language available for the conclusion of the contract and for the pre-contractual information under Art. 246 b § 1 EGBGB. We hereby undertake, with the customer’s consent, to communicate exclusively in German for the duration of this contract.

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10. Contractual termination conditions

The general statutory provisions apply. The right to termination for good cause without notice remains unaffected.

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11. Dispute resolution body for consumers, duty to inform pursuant to § 36 VSBG

We are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.