Contractual Completion Date & Penalties – a must

This Article published in the Cyprus Mail is an interesting read with lots of advertising!!

But the main question that the newspaper needed to ask was;

Did you have a legally binding completion date written into your Contract? And did you specify penalties?

These provisions are a MUST but you must be equally careful to define what Completion is so that a legal judgement can be reached as to whether the developer has clearly and simply failed to complete in order that penalties are due to you.

The purpose of a delay clause is that it must not be a penalty, it is a vehicle by which you can be placed financially in exactly the same state as you would have been had the delay not occurred. If the developer considers the rate too high and offers less (or nothing) then you have the option to take him to Court and given that the delay can be proven to be his fault the Court would rule in your favour but the value would be based on proven expenses (receipts etc.) and they would have to be ‘reasonable’.

Courts in Cyprus will only award you damages equivalent to the actual loss you have suffered.  This is regardless of what it says in the contract where the amounts quoted can only act as a ceiling.

However, those damages can include an amount for distress caused.

Your duty would be to stay in reasonable (price wise) rented accomodation although your costs may of course extend beyond just rent to hotel accommodation, meals and furniture storage etc., 

If you need any help go here before you sign. 

This article was not written by a lawyer and it does not intend to constitute legal advice.

Cyprus Property Help & Advice Centre™ ® ©
The Black Art of Buying Property in Cyprus™ ®
The Cyprus Informer™ ® ©
http://cyprusinformer.eu

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