Business Contracts

The Construction and Housing Code protects non-professional purchasers of residential property by allowing them to withdraw from the contract.
Article L. 271-1, paragraph 1, of the Construction and Housing Code stipulates that: “For any agreement concerning the construction or acquisition of a building for residential use, the subscription of shares giving entitlement to the allotment in beneficia …

Withdrawal by beneficiary

The Construction and Housing Code protects non-professional purchasers of residential property by allowing them to withdraw from the contract.

Article L. 271-1, paragraph 1, of the Construction and Housing Code stipulates that: “For any agreement concerning the construction or acquisition of a building for residential use, the subscription of shares giving entitlement to the allotment in beneficial ownership or in ownership of residential buildings, or the sale of buildings to be built or for rent-to-own property, the non-professional purchaser may withdraw from the agreement within a time-limit of ten days from the day following the first presentation of the letter notifying him of the agreement”.

A unilateral promise to sell must be delivered to the purchaser by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or by any other means offering equivalent guarantees for determining the date of receipt or delivery, the right of withdrawal being exercised in the same way. According to the Court of Cassation, the sending by the beneficiaries of a unilateral promise to sell of an e-mail to the notary appointed to receive any eventual notification of withdrawal, who attested to its receipt, is sufficient for them to duly exercise their right of withdrawal . Legal acts concluded through the intermediary of a professional agent may be delivered directly to the beneficiary of the right of withdrawal, with the time-limit running from the day after delivery of the act “which must be attested in accordance with the procedures laid down by decree”. Information relating to the conditions and procedures for exercising the right of withdrawal or reflection must be included in the promise in a legible and comprehensible manner, on pain of an administrative fine not exceeding EUR 3,000 for an individual and EUR 15,000 for a legal entity.

Article L. 271-2 also stipulates that “no one may directly or indirectly receive from the non-professional purchaser any payment on any account or in any form whatsoever before the expiry of the time-limit for withdrawal, unless expressly provided otherwise by law (...)”. However, an exception is made when the promise has been concluded through an intermediary who has received a mandate to assist in the sale, on the understanding that if the purchaser withdraws, “the professional who deposited the funds shall return them to the purchaser within a time-limit of twenty-one days from the day following the date of withdrawal”. The act of demanding or receiving a payment or undertaking to pay in breach of these provisions is punishable by a fine of up to EUR 30,000.

Cass. 3e civ, 2 February 2022, LawLex202200002079JBJ, striking down a judgment by a court of appeal which had held that the sending of an e-mail to the notary responsible for drafting the deed of sale, by the beneficiaries of a unilateral promise of sale relating to an apartment, did not enable them to properly exercise their right of withdrawal, particularly on the grounds that the equivalence between paper and electronic registered letters affirmed by the Law of 7 October 2016 and its implementing decree of 9 May 2018 cannot be extended to a mere e-mail.

Business Contracts

80. Withdrawal by beneficiary

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

80. Withdrawal by beneficiary

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise