CNUE – Immobilier

Initial agreement between the seller and the buyer - Before Contract

What form can this agreement take? Preliminary contract?

The preliminary real estate sales contract can be drafted both in a standard written form and in the form of a notarial deed, like the final sales contract.

With whom must the parties (buyer/seller) formalise the initial agreement? Is a legal form imposed?

The preliminary real estate sales contract can be signed with or without the participation of a notary and be drafted in any form. The real estate sales contract must take the form of a notarial deed.

What are the legal effects of this preliminary contract? Is a preliminary contract necessary?

The conclusion of the final contract can be claimed only when the preliminary real estate sales contract was drafted in the form of a notarial deed. In the case of a final contract drafted in an ordinary written form, the buyer can only demand that the seller remedy the damage.

The conclusion of a preliminary real estate sales contract is not obligatory.

Are there amounts to be paid, and to whom? Can these amounts be repaid?

Within the scope of the freedom of contract, the parties to the contract decide freely on the payment conditions.
As a rule, in the case of a preliminary sales contract, it is 10%, 5% of the real estate value. In the context of the deposit - the amount paid on account of the total price can be returned to the buyer.

Are there any consumer protection measures (cooling-off period, right of withdrawal)?

The preliminary contract ceases to be in effect upon its termination by both parties or when one of the parties renounces this contract effectively.

It is possible to renounce the preliminary contract if this right has been additionally and clearly stipulated in the contract and a deadline to exercise this right has been fixed (in accordance with Article 395 of the Civil Code) or if the preliminary contract provided for a deposit (in accordance with Article 394 of the Civil Code).