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A step-by-step plan to prepare for provisional delivery

01

You buy a house or an apartment

Through notary

 

Buying a home is an exciting event. The provisional sales agreement or 'compromis' may form the basis for the notarial deed, but the latter is no less important. Only through a notarial deed does the buyer enjoy protection  and the certainty that his purchase is protected against claims from third parties.

Read carefully thelittleprint and you have the right toamendments to do in an agreement ordeed of the notary if you do not agree with certain statements...and you can add something yourself... even if they want to refuse!

BV: are once an adjustment made by a customer of mineand attached as follows...

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SUBJECT OF THE AGREEMENT-SALE

 

The parties have asked me, civil-law notary, to authenticate the contract concluded directly between them as follows:

 

The seller hereby declares to sell, assign and transfer under the ordinary guarantees as of right and free, clear and unencumbered of all debts, registrations and rights of mortgage whatsoever, to and in favor of the buyer, who accepts under the conditions agreed in this deed. The parties declare that they agree to execute the deed remotely in accordance with article 9, §3 of the law of 25 ventôse year XI on the notary's office

 

The buyer declares to accept the purchase

For example: payment of the final settlement of the last 5% and the additional work is added to it in the deed...

Within 3 days after mutual acceptance of the provisional acceptance, set out in the Official Report of the provisional acceptance b) For the salvage 2.5%

For revision of the purchase price it has been noted as follows....

The purchase price stated above is not subject to revision and is therefore fixed and unchangeable pursuant to an express agreement between the parties, subject to agreed additional or reduced work.

Surface

with a guarantee of size or surface, whereby the surface of ....m2 (excluding terrace) proposed in the sales plans will not differ more than one/twentieth of the aforementioned surface. The buyer declares that the actual realized area is not yet known by it.

Urban planning

The seller guarantees to the buyer that the works and actions that he himself has carried out on the property are in accordance with the legislation on spatial planning and all other applicable legislation.

Post intervention file

at the latest within 6 months after the provisional delivery of the private parts has taken place

Execution term

In the event of non-timely provisional delivery of the privatives sold in this agreement, attributable to the seller, the compensation equal to a rental value of this house or apartment per month  and per garage/storage room together , counting from the legally valid notice of default, to the exclusion of any other compensation, all this barring force majeure.

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By making only a few adjustments before a compromise was signed, my client was more firmly in her shoes and afterwards we were much better able to defend ourselves after the discussions that arose.

Please inquiredefinitely in advance with a lawyer for yousigns! You have the right to make these adjustments as e.g. above in a deed or sales agreement! Don't let the seller fool you and let the notary note it...you have that right!

Read more at "Sign the notarial deed"

Via contractor/building promoter or project developer

For example, you can also make adjustments to a sales agreement as described above.

02

You pay in installments and request additional work from the contractor orbuilding promoter/Project developer

Please bear in mind that by law breyne with key on the door ... and from you make payments in installments and also additional work (as client) gives an assignment to the contractor or building promoter ... you will then already be seen as the client and to be owner.

 

(e.g. choose a larger kitchen or more expensive floors and have them installed, etc.)

 

You then have more rights, including, for example, requesting multiple site visits, etc.

03

You pay at the end at the notary

Then you will only receive the keys once the deed has been signed by both/all parties at the notary!

Please note...if provisional acceptance takes place in advance and PV (Process Report of Provisional Acceptance) has been signed by both parties and full payment has been made...the handover has actually already taken place and the contractor is no longer responsible for this house or apartment.

So ... from here you already own this house or apartment ... even if you still have to pay after signing the deed!

Please note that you have the right to have a sum blocked at the civil-law notary due to, for example, work that has not yet been carried out (i.e. deferred work). The notary then in most cases withholds 10% of the total sum...and places it in a separate account...and this pending payment if both parties agree that the deferred works have been fully executed.. .and after approval by the owners of execution according to the art.

In the case of lawful withholding of a sum by the civil-law notary, there can be no reason not to proceed with the deed and not to hand over the keys. The sellers are then obliged to have the deed executed at that time and to hand over the keys.

 

Make sure that you provide the notary with a detailed list, e.g. of the deferred works and the sum per part thereof (sum of purchase + installation!)

04

Penalty clause

Do not forget to send a registered letter before the expiry of this agreed term according to the sales agreement.

Send this at least a few days before...You don't have to take into account weather lost days etc...it's up to them to present this proof that they also make use of weather lost days and add this._d04a07d8-9cd1-3239 -9149-20813d6c673b_

If you do this after the agreed delivery date, it will count from the date of your notice of default.

 

05

Penalty for lateness

In a sales agreement one very often mentions a penalty for delay between 20/30€ per calendar day, which clearly in most cases does not correspond to a rental value per month of a house or apartment...even if it is signed by both parties. ..according to the "Breyne Act" this is still considered unwritten (not valid) and there are clear sanctions against it.​

If a penalty for delay is requested by sending a registered letter ... please indicate immediately in your letter that they must calculate this on the basis of the rental value of the house or apartment per month!

The provisions of the law are mandatory (one cannot and may not deviate from them).


 

06

Preliminary site visits to which you are entitled

In new-build homes

Ask to make regular site visits...you are certainly entitled to that...with larger projects it is more difficult to do this during the structural work...and this om security reasons when entering the construction site.

Sometimes they allow this during the construction work.

Let yourself be assisted by a construction expert who will guide you through this check ... he will see many more things that may have been done incorrectly ... and can then make adjustments before it is too late.

It will then list alle comments that are subject to change...and can be supplemented after further thorough checks at other checks on other days.

At apartments

For apartments the same as above except that they will never allow this during the structural work! (the erection of the building itself in shell...ie excluding finishes)

07

Requested payment of a final invoice before the provisional acceptance takes place!

Too often there is a demand to pay the final invoice in full before the provisional delivery...while all agreed works have not even been fully completed...

The law of July 9, 1971 is clear...and BW. Art.14 Anyone who directly or indirectly violates the provisions of Article 10 by demanding or accepting payments shall be punished with imprisonment from eight days to one month and a fine.

At our insistence...now all construction promoters and construction companies of which we have completed deliveries and those who did not comply with this...this provision of the Breyne Act Art.10 and
BW.art.14...(payments), except for 1 construction company that stubbornly persists with this violation. We will therefore continue to persevere and act stubbornly...that these legal rules
should follow.


 

08

When do you pay your final invoice and the additional work!

If you make a payment of the final settlement...which the contractor or building promoter asks to pay...and this must also be on their account 3 days before completion​...is this automatic an acceptance of the works and delivery...even if you have not yet signed the PV.

Never do that!

According to the law, payment of the last installment (5% for most and additional work) is equivalent to acceptance of the delivery and the work performed.

The client is therefore actually asking to accept the delivery and the work that has been carried out!

Only pay your final balance after signing your PV...they should never refuse!

A customer called me and tells his story...

"This client informs me that he believes the works of months ago have not been carried out according to the rules of art...he has commissioned an architect to coordinate these works from start to finish.

Architect posesturn contractor to whom he has already worked with several times...the faulty execution of the contractor is not even noted by the architect en corrected according to the builder.

No site reports were made by the architect during his site visits which he claimed to have done partly without the client being present. Architect cannot prove his fee costs in this regard because he has not dated site reports and made photos for each site visit!

At the end of the works, the client is put under pressure to pay the final invoices of both the contractor and the architect, otherwise he would not provide the documents regarding subsidies to the client.

The client pays  the invoices and this under pressure from the architect and time pressure for applications for subsidies that would go through quickly. He then asks for a delivery of the works...he receives the answer from the architect that due to the payment of final invoices, the works have already been approved and there is no longer any reason to make a delivery and check the work carried out ... let alone draw up a PV!

The architect knew what he was doing and took advantage of the situation to put pressure on the client."

Of course I will check what else I can do to help the customer.

The architect

The architect has a control assignment as well as a duty of assistance and information towards the client. If the architect during the notices shortcomings in the performance of his inspection assignments, they must first inform the client about this,
initially by means of site reports.

These site reports are essential so that the architect can demonstrate that he has fulfilled his duty of regular site inspection and has informed the client of the shortcomings identified by the architect and committed by the contractor.
contractors and to have corrected them!

09

What is the difference between deferred works and comments! 

The contractor or building promoter indicates that he wishes to make a delivery...and to include the work still to be carried out in a PV of provisional delivery as a delivery point....eg. garden fencing in wire or other ... tiling outside / patio ... facade cladding ... kitchen appliances ... shower taps ... electricity connection ... etc ... I give here just a few examples of many. (also read Art.10 of the Breyne Act)

Is not correct... because then it becomes a delivery point and no deferred works ... and there they use a year to solve this, which is not correct ... also you can no longer invoke a late penalty ... even after a provisional delivery...if both parties agree to deliver of course! You can also postpone a delivery for this... regardless of both, they will always have to pay a fine per calendar day if they deliver the planned works too late according to the agreement!

The most important thing is how you formulate this on your PV of provisional delivery! Of course contractors and building promoters don't like to see this coming....because that costs them money of course. They will do everything they can to avoid this and try to deliver anyway with the aim of considering this as a delivery point...which is not allowed! 

Items that have not yet been delivered and carried out are regarded as deferred works and must also be noted under that heading in the PV.

With deferred work, there are also deferred payments...keep this clearly in mind and indicate clearly that they also note this in PV...and immediately deduct the amount from your final balance.

The balance of the price of the work is only payable in installments that may never exceed the price of the work already performed.


 

10

Delivery of apartments before delivery common sharing takes place

An article in the deed of the notary that has been taken over from a building promoter or contractor I was able to determine the following...

"Cannot be regarded as a reason for refusal to deliver:

The condition of the common parts can in no way prevent provisional delivery of a private lot.

For the common parts, a longer implementation period is foreseen, which may result in the fact that, for example, the elevator has not yet been put into service. however, access to the private plot will be ensured."

This article is completely incorrect

What I do not understand is that a notary just takes over this article from a building promoter or a contractor without sufficiently informing himself about the legally required application of the 3 points for the common parts that must first be in order before the private parts are allowed/ can yield.

The next pointsmust  must have been inspected and put into service before only 1 private apartment can be completed:

1) Common parts and stairwell must be accessible and safe and the handrails in stairwell must be present!

2) The lift must be inspected and put into service and accessible to the public!

3) The fire safety must be tested and commissioned!

If only 1 of these points is not in order, you can indeed refuse delivery of your apartment.

There is one additional point...fire safety...I will come back to that in point 14.

I've done deliveries 23 stories high...can you imagine being forced to take the stairs to get to your apartment here...and for older people..."when they get up"...on the 23rd floor they have to rest for at least a week to recover!

By the way, the common staircase is regarded as an emergency exit ... so go downstairs ... if you understand me.

11

The delivery itself

Acceptance is the unilateral, substantive legal act whereby the contractor makes the construction works available to the client, so that the latter can receive the works for assessment and acceptance. Acceptance implies the transfer of ownership of the structures and can thus be compared to the seller's obligation to deliver. 

Acceptance is the substantive legal act whereby the client actually takes delivery of the construction works and thus effectively takes possession of the property. 

So drawing up an official report of provisional delivery and signing it by both parties is the only wayofficially transfer document of the house or apartment!

There are therefore no other documents during this delivery that they use to transfer thisproperty to do...even if everything has not yet been paid...and also if it goes through the notary...see point 03.

A deliveryself want to say

A house or apartment transfer to the client (buyers) when it is ready.

12

Handing over the keys

Since that actually the transfer of a property has already happened during the provisional delivery by signing PV...you only get the keys immediately after all payments have been made, except for the deferred payments of deferred works. ..you only pay it when it is delivered andexecuted zijn...and after your assessment whether this has been done according to the rules of the art.

I therefore advise you to make good arrangements in advance with the bank that it is still possibleowed amount is ready so that you can deposit immediately after delivery via mobile phone or laptop that youpossibly takes.

If you're pressed for time and want to jump right in...

First do the rounds quickly to see if everything is there and whether or not there is any talk of deferred work here...then you pay what you still have to pay and only then do your full round of inspection.

Finally, some good advice!

Never let yourself be pressured if they indicate that they have not provided too much time for it...there is no law that says how long a delivery can take...you will be given all the time it takes to do a thorough inspection ...they are obliged to do so...and proper deliverytakes minimum 3 hours and more!

Threats such as (I've already had it several times) with the announcement that they will then delivernot wanting to continue due to lack of time that they had not foreseen... clearly not allowed! 

The moment a delivery is requested by them anddate is fixed by both parties...both parties can no longer refuse if entry is possibleadmittedly (Habitable and able to use all facilities).

In exceptional cases, a delivery can be refused if there are importantconstructive works in the absence of this still have to be executed or redone.

13

Execution of comments list after delivery

As I have described before between comments and deferred works, I will come back to terms of executions.

With terms for comments that are noted in the PV, there are already companies that do this automatically and use between 30 to 35 working days for this ... except for matters that have to be reordered, such as glass for exterior joinery / furniture / repainting of exterior carpentry, etc... one can never set a time frame for this, since it is not known at this time when the delivery will arrive... repainting of profiles is time-bound depending on the temperatures and dry weather.

Do ask for comments that are necessary before the painter arrives ... and to do this as soon as possible ... preferably within 14 days. Some eg. plastering / baseboards / door casings / repair of wall tiles etc ... other matters that are not urgent can be done within 35 working days.

In the case of deferred works, this must be done immediately when the delivery arrives...because this had to be carried out before a delivery is requested!

For those who have not yet noted it, you must certainly force them to note it down (Maximum 35 working days!)...saying "we don't do that" is not allowed...you have rights to enforce that in the PV and write what you want...they can/may also contradict that in the PV!

Clear agreements must be made and stated in the PV ... because they promise so much with beautiful words, but from experience I know that nothing will come of it!

 

Better that it is in the PV ... then you have the right to send a notice of default afterwards if they do not comply with the agreements made!

If they keep refusing to write down your notes, whatever…may also be conditional on matters…then have a bailiff come immediately and record this in his statement…is very important and they are usually shocked by that ...I always do...I then call our legal department and they immediately send a bailiff who is nearby...within 20 minutes he is there and draws up an official report of the findings on the spot!

14

Insurance block policy of common parts

For more than 3 years I have been checking whether the three points of the common parts are met...and there is a reason!

Especially with regard to fire safety...let me explain:

I often notice that the fire safety installation (Control box) in the entrance hall is not active (out of service) ... and people still proceed to provisional delivery of private parts (Apartments).

What are the consequences for you as owners:

The private parts are also insured in the block policy of the common parts via the VME ... what does that mean.

All fixed parts ... all interior walls including kitchen / doors / bathroom decor etc ... are also insured in this block policy ... taking into account the standard value ... i.e. if you have other luxurious, more expensive doors / If you have had a kitchen installed, the additional costs are not insured with it ... these are extra luxuries ... and you need to insure them separately with your household effects ... don't forget that!

When asking various insurance companies for the following..."what if"...fire breaks out from the common parts to the private parts and apartments have already been delivered, while the fire safety of the common parts was not yet in order/ are...does the fire insurance of the block policy taken out by the VME cover the damage to private parts?

The answer from the insurance companies was clear...if a causal link can be established to the fire safety installation if it had not been put into service and no inspection certificate was/is present...there is no cover for the private parts from the block policy of the VME!

The insurance companies were shocked by my question because they had never thought about that before...now they did!

So my conclusion

A provisional delivery of private parts can never take place before the 3 points described above ... must be clearly in order and inspected ... and certainly with great attention to this fire safety and commissioning!

In view of the fact that if a delivery is requested and done, this also means that a transfer has taken place from your apartment to you...and the contractor / building promoter is no longer responsible for your property after signing this PV "provisional acceptance report"! They are then no longer allowed to enter your property without your permission....even if you have not yet paid everything!

So there is no longer any coverage through the insurance of the contractor or building promoter in case of a notice of default with regard to fire safety that is not in order...because the transfer has taken place! 

I hope I have been able to help you enough with this...if you have any additional questions...just call...information is free of charge.

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