After inspecting the house, it didn't match the description.
The inspection and handover of a house or condo is a crucial step that buyers must pay close attention to, as it's the final step before making a payment. As long as the money is in the buyer's possession, they generally have the bargaining power to get the seller to do what they want.
However, sometimes, for whatever reason, buyers may inspect the house or condo and make the payment, only to discover later that the property doesn't match the advertisement. This can become a major problem for the buyer, as houses and condos are expensive – a once-in-a-lifetime purchase for some – and they may be paying off the mortgage for decades. Therefore, this is a very important matter.
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Legal Consequences of Advertisements for Housing and Condo Sales
Before understanding the rights of buyers, it's necessary to understand how advertisements legally bind project developers.
Starting with condos, there are specific laws governing them. According to the Condominium Act, Section 6/1, paragraph three, advertisements or promotional materials are considered part of the contract to purchase a condominium unit. Under this law, it's clear that advertisements are binding on the project developer, meaning they must deliver the property to the buyer exactly as advertised.
As for housing developments... There is no specific law requiring advertising to be considered part of a contract, like with condominiums. However, Supreme Court judgment 851/2544 established the principle that if a developer constructs a house that does not conform to the advertising brochure, it constitutes a breach of contract, giving the buyer the right to terminate the contract. This is considered a court recognition that advertising is part of a house purchase agreement.
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What rights do buyers have after inspecting a house or condominium?
Normally, in a typical purchase and sale contract, once the buyer accepts the goods, the seller's obligation to deliver is considered fulfilled. The buyer cannot later deny that the seller delivered incomplete or incorrect property. Any lawsuit would likely only concern defects, which are imperfections in the product's condition, not whether the product conforms to the contract.
However, in the case of real estate purchase and sale, there is an interesting Supreme Court judgment that I would like to highlight for readers to study: Supreme Court judgment 9157/2539. The court interpreted the law to protect the rights of real estate buyers. A summary of its content is below.
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“Supreme Court Judgment No. 9157/2539: A sale by description is a sale where the buyer has not seen or inspected the property being sold, but agrees to purchase it based on the seller's description of its appearance, features, and quality. Even if the buyer has seen the property, it may be difficult to inspect its quality, and the buyer agrees to purchase based primarily on the seller's description. This is also considered a sale by description.”
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“The defendant advertised the sale of land in its project, including a brochure and a map showing the project location and subdivisions. The plaintiff agreed to purchase the disputed land believing the defendant's advertisement. When the plaintiff and defendant entered into a contract to sell the land, it was stipulated that the land being sold was as shown in the land plan attached to the contract, which was marked as part of the contract.” Therefore, it can be considered a sale by description.”
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“When it later appeared that the defendant had changed the project plan by moving the entrance/exit to the east side, making it 1,200 meters away from the plaintiff's land, and moving the sports center and other facilities to 1,700 meters away, it did not conform to the description.”
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“Therefore, the defendant is in breach of contract. The plaintiff has the right to terminate the contract. The plaintiff sued the defendant for damages due to the defendant's breach of contract, not because the defendant delivered the property to the plaintiff according to the contract but there were defects in the said property. The one-year statute of limitations under Section 474 of the Civil and Commercial Code cannot be applied.”
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From this Supreme Court judgment, the Supreme Court interpreted that the sale of real estate, even if the buyer has seen the property but it is difficult to inspect its quality, is considered a sale by description (a type of sale under the law where the seller describes the details of the product to be sold to the buyer, and the buyer believes and purchases the product without seeing the product beforehand). Therefore, the seller has a duty to deliver the product according to the description (advertised). If the delivery does not conform to the description, even if it has been accepted, the seller is not liable. The buyer can still claim damages.
However, according to the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling, this only applies when inspecting the property's quality is difficult. It does not include cases where the delivered property is clearly not in accordance with the contract. In other words, if the buyer accepts the house or condo even though it is clearly not as advertised, or due to the buyer's own negligence, the buyer is not entitled to claim damages under this Supreme Court ruling.
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Thank you for the valuable information from DD-Property.
