Preparing the notice of defects
A good notice of defects is specific, provable and timely. This checklist helps you to describe the defect cleanly, secure evidence, keep the deadlines in view and deliver the notice provably.
Anyone who discovers a construction defect should not only raise it verbally but give notice in a structured and provable way. A notice of defects is the report of the defect to the contractor together with the request to remedy it. How specific it is and when it is received often decides your rights later.
Three things matter: a precise description of the defect, secured evidence and observing the deadlines. Blanket collective terms, missing photos or a merely telephone notice regularly lead to evidentiary problems in practice.
This checklist is a guide and not a finished notice letter. It does not replace an assessment of the individual case or legal advice. It helps you to prepare the notice well and to avoid the most common mistakes.
Work through the points before drafting the notice. You can tick off each point; the status is saved on your device.
0 of 30 points done
01 Describe the defect precisely
The more specifically the defect is named, the harder it is to dispute.
02 Secure evidence
Evidence you secure today cannot be created retrospectively later.
03 Check the contract and deadlines
Whether the notice is timely depends on several deadlines.
04 Deliver the notice provably
A notice is only useful if you can later prove its receipt.
05 Document the response and next steps
After the notice, what counts is how things proceed and what you record of it.
06 What does not belong in the notice
Some wording does more harm than good.
What matters legally
The notice of defects is the report of a defect to the contracting partner, combined with the assertion of warranty rights. For a building the warranty period is three years from handover (section 933 ABGB). Within this period defects should be notified in time and provably. In the first six months the presumption under section 924 ABGB applies, that a defect that appears was already present at handover; after that the burden of proof may fall on the customer.
In a two-sided business transaction the duty to give notice under section 377 UGB is added: the work must be inspected after delivery and a defect notified without undue delay. If this is omitted, warranty and certain damages claims can be lost. In a consumer transaction this strict duty to give notice does not apply in the same way.
Which rights exist depends on the nature of the defect and the course of events: primarily repair or replacement, in addition price reduction or rescission. Substitute performance and self-help have their own preconditions and should not be undertaken hastily. Where ÖNORM B 2110 has been agreed, supplementary rules may apply; it does not apply automatically.
This checklist is a general guide to the Austrian legal position (as of June 2026) and makes no claim to completeness or legal certainty. It does not replace advice in the individual case and is not a finished notice letter or a legally certain generator. Whether a defect was notified in time and correctly depends on the individual case.
Further topics around the notice of defects
Handover and notice of defects
The focus page on acceptance of the building, the handover protocol and the deadlines for notice of defects.
Construction defects and warranty
What warranty rights exist for construction defects and in what order they are to be asserted.
Construction defect deadline calculator
Estimate which warranty deadlines run from the handover of your building.
Notice of defects and deadlines for a building
How to give legally effective notice of a construction defect: form, content and deadlines under ABGB and UGB.
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte
Salzburg law firm for real estate, construction and corporate law
Every matter is handled by a coordinated team of lawyers, legal staff and specialists. In construction cases we look at contract, evidence, deadlines and commercial consequences together.
Defects, a remuneration dispute, looming litigation?
In construction law, deadlines and evidence decide. Call us directly or send an email, callback within one business day.
A direct line to the firm.
Address
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
Phone
+43 662 6280000