Development contracts

Development contracts in Warsaw – it is worth negotiating

Development contract, i.e. the contract under which the developer undertakes to establish or transfer the ownership of a house or apartment to the buyer after the completion of the development project, is for many people one of the most important contracts they enter into. On the other hand, there is often information in the media about developers who, offering very attractive prices for premises, then disappeared without completing the construction.

So how can you be sure that the transaction of buying a flat or a house from a developer will be safe and you will not be cheated? In other words – how to buy a property from the developer safely?

By entering into a contract with the developer will never be completely certain that the developer will meet his obligations. There are, however, a number of issues that should be drafted in the development contract in order to minimize the risk on the buyer’s side. As a law firm from development contracts – we will help you in this.

Development contracts lawyer in Poland – secure your interests

Also remember that the development contract is negotiable and therefore only a starting point for further talks with the developer. Although many developers say that “we use this model agreement and it is not negotiable” this is not true. There are no “non-negotiable” contracts, which developers are fully aware of. We will take all possible steps to determine the individual terms of the development contract on your behalf so that you get the most from the transaction. We will also check the land and mortgage register kept for real estate, especially in terms of the developer’s legal title to the land, possible land encumbrances, mortgages and other legal issues that may be risky for you.

In addition, we will examine the issue of how your money is secured, we will check whether the development contract provides for the possibility of changing the price of the apartment, we will check until when the receipt of the premises, its delivery and conclusion of the final agreement will take place. We will also help you to determine exactly what costs you will be charged after the release of the premises and since when you will be obliged to pay them.

Law Firm Development Contracts – check the developer before buying property

Development contracts often also contain illegal (abusive) clauses. If this situation occurs in the contract you want to enter into, we will draw your attention to it and negotiate with the developer deletion of the prohibited clauses.

We will also help you verify that the premises that are the subject of the contract are actually the premises that the developer has committed to build. We will verify whether the contract contains relevant provisions for common areas (playground, fence area, green areas, etc.) too.

And what if you conclude a development contract and the bank refuses to conclude a mortgage agreement? We will also check whether the development contract provides for the right to withdraw from the contract, what are the withdrawal conditions, what documents you should present, etc.

These are just some of the issues in which we can help you as lawyers with significant experience in the field of development contracts.

Legal claims against developers

We also pursue court cases against developers throughout Poland. The most common cases related to developer agreements are the following:

• claims for payment of contractual penalties for failure to meet contractual deadlines by the developer. It often happens that the developer is late with the deadline for handing over the premises or transferring the ownership of the premises. In this situation, you are entitled to a claim for the payment of contractual penalties specified in the development contract or for the payment of compensation. Our experience shows that developers usually pay contractual penalties even at the pre-trial stage – fearing that the client represented by the law firm may take legal action. We can send a request for payment to the developer on your behalf, and if he does not pay any contractual penalties, we will represent you in court.

• claims for the repair of defects and faults in the common parts of real estate – during the operation of buildings, a number of faults and faults in the common parts of buildings are very often revealed. For example, frequent cases include situations where underground garages are flooded, there are problems with acoustics, incorrectly arranged floor tiles or incorrectly positioned window joinery. We have successfully represented many housing communities in court proceedings related to the warranty for real estate defects.

• warranty and guarantee claims against developers – it may also happen that the premises purchased by you from the developer will have physical defects in the premises, for example in the form of cracking walls, flooding the ceiling, exceeding the standards of noise, moisture, fungus, installation problems. Remember that the developer is fully responsible for any defects in the apartment or house you have purchased. If you don’t want to remove them, we can help you. Our experience shows that when the buyer of the premises is represented by a law firm, most of these cases end at the pre-trial stage and developers remove the defects, fearing lawsuits.

In the field of development contracts, we provide in particular the following services: