Architects have no personal duty to inspect for dry rot during renovations of old and historic buildings
> December 2014
The Kammergericht of Berlin decided in July 2014 on appeal that an architect did not have to provide any comprehensive clarification of the dry rot identified during the renovation of an old/historic building insofar as he had listed, as a contingency, the task of specific determination of the nature and scope of the dry rot and the elimination thereof in the open construction services list of the general contractor and had, by extension, delegated said task to the general contractor.
In the case filed for a decision, a principal (Bauträger) wanted to renovate a multi-family house. He had retained an architect for all service phases contemplated under the Verordnung über die Honorare für Architekten- und Ingenieurleistungen (the Architect and Engineer Services Fee Code)—so-called full-architecture. The architect had obtained an expert opinion on wood protection containing rudimentary references to harmful organisms in the dry rot. The architect did not, however, arrange for any further inspections. The architect had listed said task as a contingency in the services list of the general contractor.A few years after completion, the principal had to have the dry rot identified in the building eliminated under a warranty. He filed suit against the architect and demanded ca. €800,000.00 in compensatory damages. The basis of the complaint was that the architect had violated the contractual duties he had under the agreement for the work and that he had to inspect the mold infestation further and notify the principal of such.
The Kammergericht was of a different view than the Regional Court (previous instance) and held that the architect was not liable. He had not been obligated to conduct further inspections.
It was lawful to impose said task upon the general contractor by way of an “open services list.”
Nor was the architect obligated under the architect agreement to effect any further inspections of his own. Based on this decision, however, it is advisable to include clauses in architect agreements governing such matters.