Significant changes in the scope of joint and several liability of the investor

On June 1, 2017, an amendment to Article 6471 of the Civil Code came into force, introducing significant changes in the scope of the investor’s joint and several liability.

The first change in the provision is the introduction of, in fact, two ways in which the investor’s joint and several liability for payment of the subcontractor’s remuneration arises. Thus, the investor will respond in the event that the contractor or subcontractor submits to it the detailed scope of its works before the subcontractor begins performing them (and the investor does not object in writing within 30 days), as well as in the event that the investor and the contractor have specified in a written agreement the detailed scope of the construction work performed by the designated subcontractor. Compared to the current state of law – after the amendment of Article 6471 of the Civil Code, the investor’s consent to conclude an agreement with a subcontractor will not be required if the subcontractor and the detailed scope of the work have been specified in the agreement between the investor and the contractor.

Another important change, is detailing of the investor’s responsibility for payment of remuneration to the subcontractor, which has been limited to the amount of remuneration due to the contractor for construction work, the detailed subject matter of which follows from the notification or the agreement between the investor and the contractor, respectively.

It was also finally resolved that both the subcontractor’s notification and the investor’s objection should take written form under pain of nullity.

As in the current state of law, the provisions of Article 6471 of the Civil Code will also apply mutatis mutandis to the joint and several liability of the investor, the contractor and the subcontractor, who has entered into an agreement with a further subcontractor, for payment of remuneration to the further subcontractor.