By Extending the Provisions of the Law

This decision provides important clarification on your property law. Here is what it changes for you.

The situation

By extending the provisions of the Law of 13 July 1979 on information and protection of borrowers in the real estate sector to transactions concerning buildings for professional and residential use, the legislature intended to protect purchasers of mixed-use premises in which the occupant, most often a member of a liberal profession, carries on his or her profession, and this law excludes commercial buildings. Consequently, a Court of Appeal legally justifies its decision when, after conclusively holding that the purchasers of a wine estate had not made this purchase with a view to housing themselves, but in order to create an agricultural land holding company and with the essential aim of buying a prestigious vineyard of which the residential buildings were merely "ancillary", it declares that those purchasers are not entitled to rely on the provisions of the Law of 13 July 1979.

What the law says

This decision confirms the fundamental principles of property law.

Points to remember

• Strictly observe the statutory deadlines for legal recourse.
• Keep all your supporting documents (title deeds, instruments, correspondence).
• Anticipate: preventive advice always costs less than litigation.

For an analysis of your situation: 30-minute consultation at €45 with Maître Zakine.