{"id":8523,"date":"2016-11-23T09:40:34","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T08:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.athome.lu\/blog\/?p=8523"},"modified":"2022-06-14T16:33:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T14:33:14","slug":"the-agreement-of-sale-what-commitment-what-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.athome.lu\/blog\/en\/acheter\/guides\/le-compromis-de-vente-quel-engagement-a-quelles-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"The compromise sale: what commitment? Under what conditions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In general, in order to conclude a property sale, the seller and the buyer first draw up a private agreement recording the essential conditions of the sale, commonly known as a \"compromis de vente\" (or \"promesse synallagmatique de vente\").<\/span> But what is the value of the sales agreement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claudia THIRION, a lawyer specialising in real estate law, answered our questions on the subject. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the complete file on the sales agreement<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the value of the sales agreement?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that the preliminary sales agreement is not obligatory, unlike the notarial deed which formalises the property transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The private deed is a preliminary contract in which both parties have already agreed to the sale: the promisor agrees to sell a property for a certain price to another person who accepts it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the private deed, the parties provide that a notarial deed documenting the sale will be drawn up within a certain period of time by a notary appointed by them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The preliminary sales agreement is not obligatory, unlike the notarial deed.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/u>At what point is the sale actually concluded?  <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people ask why they should sign such a compromise if the notarial deed is the final commitment and one can freely withdraw from a compromise sale. However, this common idea is incorrect.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, Article 1589 of the Civil Code provides that: \"\u00a0The promise to sell is equivalent to a sale, when there is mutual consent of the two parties on the thing and on the price<\/em>\u00a0\".<\/span> This is the true value of the sales agreement in Luxembourg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question has also been clarified in case law (in particular by a judgment of the Tribunal d'arrondissement de Luxembourg of 31 May 1961) which decides that :<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\" the sale of an immovable property, agreed by private deed, is perfected, as soon as this deed states the agreement of the parties on the property and the price. It follows that the statement in such a writing that a notarial deed will subsequently be drawn up is, in principle, only a term of the contract of sale that has been finally formed. This is not the case unless it is clear, either from the terms of the agreement or from the circumstances, that the parties intended to subordinate the formation and effectiveness of the contract to the completion of this formality<\/em> \".<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Couple<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In principle, and unless otherwise stated in it, the preliminary sales agreement is equivalent to a sale and the sale is completed by the signing of the private deed (compromis) by the buyer and the seller of the property, insofar as this deed marks the agreement of the parties on the identity of the property sold and the sale price to be paid.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signing of the preliminary sales agreement concludes the actual sale of the property; the preliminary sales agreement is a legally binding contract that sets out all the rights and obligations of the buyer and seller.<\/span> The value of a provisional sale agreement is therefore that of a contract that commits both parties almost definitively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a commitment that can only be revoked under certain conditions which must be clearly stated in the document.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if one of the parties refuses to sign the notarial deed provided for in the compromise?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This happens regularly, especially when the buyer regrets the purchase of the building.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seller of the property has an interest in taking action: the parties are bound by the agreement and the seller has certain means of coercion against the recalcitrant buyer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He may, in the first instance, send a summons to the buyer by way of a bailiff's deed to execute the deed on such and such a day and at such and such a time at the designated notary's office.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the other party does not appear at the notary's office on the appointed date, the notary will draw up an acte de carence, documenting the buyer's non-appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seller then has two options:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n