A German customer who orders a building has five years to claim for defects. Section 634a of the Civil Code says that these claims expire in fünf Jahren bei einem Bauwerk, in five years for a building. For work on a thing, such as making, servicing or changing it, the period is two years. Die Verjährung beginnt in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Nr. 1 und 2 mit der Abnahme. In both cases the period starts with the formal acceptance of the work.
If the contractor hid a defect on purpose, the regular limitation period applies instead. For a building, the claim still does not expire before five years. Many construction contracts use the standard terms VOB/B. They set four years for buildings, and the parties can agree on a longer period.