4 steps in a real-life VEFA delay case by Maître Zakine
Explanation of a case finished in 2022 handled by Me Zakine, lawyer in VEFA and CCMI
1. Un well behind schedule, a self-confident promoter.
The property purchased in VEFA is behind schedule currently estimated at 12 months. The developer, contacted by Mr Zakine's client, explains that he owes no penalty.
Schedules change, so do the causes...
The client has already contacted the promoter, who is on a loop: We are not responsible, read your contract'.
For the promoter: "Sir, we have signed an agreement, the certificates of the project manager are legally binding, you have accepted it".
For the customer: "They're taking me for a ride".
The contract has been signed and the purchasers have given their free and informed consent.
However, a contract must be executed in a manner that is good faith et the promoter cannot hide behind the causes of force majorr to legitimise its delay.
However, the causes of delay must be clearly justified and not be the result of bad faith on the part of the builder, which would lead to a significant imbalance between the parties involved, namely the trader and the consumer.
In an opinion issued on 29 September 2016 (CCA, 29 Sept. 2016, opinion no. 16-01), the Unfair Contract Terms Commission ruled on the validity in principle of time extension clauses in VEFA, considering that they were not unfair.
However, promoters should not use such clauses to justify particularly unfair delays.
" There is no communication.
The promoter does not respond to my emails or letters of formal notice ".
"In any case, I re-read the contract and the promoter is within his rights. There is a clause that allows him to justify his delay.
are the classic phrases that I hear most
Sometimes the date is so delayed that the promoter does not provide any more until the buyer is more assertive.
It is also possible that the planned delivery date is postponed orally and that no written proof of the delay is sent to the buyer.
The buyer is faced with a developer or builder who does not provide clear and transparent information.
The delay must be documented and not just lightly invoked.
It should be noted that the Courts appreciate thes bad faith and punishes it.
The latter cannot indeed hide behind a contract to impose a delay which is not admissible.
2. A letter of formal notice written by a lawyer to contest the delay
The formal notice given by the lawyer,
is to make it clear that the customer is now advised, and above all able to defend himself pugnaciously: he is advised of its rights.
The Client had already started writing letters
However, a letter of formal notice sent by a lawyer was drafted by Maître Zakine. A letter from a lawyer is not the same as a letter from a private individual. It does not carry the same weight in the mind of the recipient.
The letter of formal notice was not answered. The promoter made the choice (or lack of competence) not to respond to the first piece of a legal act: formal notice .
The delay must be documented and not just lightly invoked.
It should be noted that the Courts appreciate thes bad faith and punishes it.
The latter cannot indeed hide behind a contract to impose a delay which is not admissible.
The Mise en Demeure is a letter of complaint addressed to the opposing party, from whom a service or the payment of a sum of money is claimed, in the context of a dispute or an emerging dispute. It asks the other party to comply within a specific period of time, or else the case will be taken to court.
The typical formula : "Otherwise, I already have a mandate to pursue the matter in court.
This formulation has the merit of at least pressing the opponent to respond and explain.
This sometimes leads to a fruitful exchange, often between lawyers, which will result in an amicable settlement of the dispute.
Once all the formal requirements have been met and the debtor of the obligation has failed to perform, legal action can be brought.
Having a lawyer write a letter is smart. It sends two messages:
you will defend your rights
you know how to go to a lawyer. So you are a real opponent and just a paper shuffler.
The promoter should therefore answer you because you are not someone who was talking in the wind.
3. An action launched before the Court of First Instance
The property purchased in VEFA is behind schedule currently estimated at 12 months. The developer, contacted by Mr Zakine's client, explains that he owes no penalty.
Damages that can be claimed or negotiated:
- economic damage (rent, cellar or garage rental, travel, rental of a parking space while waiting for the delivery of the VEFA car park) etc...
- moral damage,
- loss of enjoyment (rental loss)
4. An agreement reached with two months to go before the hearing
Without falling into the adage that a bad agreement is better than a good trial, an agreement is always possible throughout the procedure.
Without falling into the adage that a bad agreement is better than a good trial, an agreement is always possible throughout the procedure.
The best way to put pressure on the developer is to take legal action.
We never negotiate as well as we do in court, because through legal action we can find ways of putting pressure on the developer to give in.
We only contacted her by reading reviews on the internet.
Master Zakine assisted us throughout the process explaining things to us in simple terms. Consistent, pugnacious and strategic, we simply won our case with her. Thank you so much.
Read more: 3 tracks on vefa law with a lawyer
We are talking about firm in the presshere.
Master Zakine has also set up the structure vefa-retard.com for you assist in estimating potential compensation in view of the delay or deficiencies in the delivery of the dwelling.
A VEFA problem?
Maitre Zakine, lawyer, Doctor of Law is one of the VEFA.
Once the property has been delivered, when there has been a long delay, it is common for there to be many concerns about defects in the delivery of the property
