L'acquéreur qui n'a pas sollicité la

Application pratique:

This 2013 Cour de Cassation ruling (n°12-15.663) means the couple cannot claim penalties for the period after the contract was terminated, because they never formally called on the garant de livraison (the completion guarantor, usually a bank or insurer) to resume the works before terminating. The correct sequence is: put the builder on formal notice, then require the guarantor to take over completion, and only claim late-payment penalties for the period before termination. Anyone in this situation should immediately check their CCMI for the guarantor's contact details and send a registered letter (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception) requesting resumption of works before taking any further step, and keep every letter and invoice as evidence.

Application pratique:

Under this case law, penalties accruing after she terminated the original contract cannot be recovered, since she bypassed the guarantor who was contractually obliged to fund or organise completion. Before terminating any CCMI, homeowners must write to the garant de livraison (its name and address appear in the guarantee certificate, usually annexed to the loan documents) and formally ask it to ensure the works continue. She should now consult a lawyer to check whether any penalty claim can still be made for the pre-termination delay period, and gather the original contract, guarantee certificate, and all correspondence with the builder.

Application pratique:

This ruling is a useful precedent for the agent to flag when advising any client entering a CCMI: penalty clauses only remain enforceable if the buyer follows the correct procedure, meaning any delay must first be addressed through a formal request to the garant de livraison, not by unilaterally cancelling the contract. The agent should recommend that the buyer keep a paper trail of every notice sent to the builder and the guarantor from day one, and advise them to seek advice from a real estate lawyer as soon as delays exceed the contractual deadline, ideally before terminating anything. This protects the buyer's ability to later claim any penalties that accrued while the works were genuinely late but the contract still in force.