Delayed construction in Bulgaria: review deadlines, the responsible party, penalties, rescission and the effect of a proposed extension.
The promised date for your new apartment has passed, and the answer is another few months. Before accepting an extension or withholding payment, establish what was due: completion of works, a construction-stage document, commissioning, transfer of title or delivery of possession.
These events may be linked in one agreement, but they are not interchangeable. Photographs of an almost finished building do not demonstrate performance of every obligation.
The project's trading name, the building contractor and the company that signed your agreement may be different. Establish who undertook the particular obligation. Correspondence with showroom staff can be useful evidence but may not replace proper notice to the contractual counterparty.
Collect the agreement, specifications, payment schedule and amendments. Check whether the deadline is a fixed date or depends on another event, and whether it has already been changed.
Weather, administrative procedures or increased material costs do not automatically remove liability. The clauses, actual obstacle and its connection to non-performance require examination. Article 81 of the Obligations and Contracts Act states that lack of funds alone does not release the debtor from liability.
Your own performance also matters. An unpaid instalment may affect the assessment. Conversely, withholding reciprocal performance has its own requirements and should not be based on a generic online recommendation.
Check which breach triggers a contractual penalty, when it starts, whether it is capped and any conditions for liability. Article 92 permits an agreed penalty without proof of the loss itself, but the contractual basis and breach still need to be established.
Other losses, such as additional rent, raise questions about causation, evidence and applicable limits. Paying rent does not automatically mean that every payment will be recoverable.
Rescission also requires assessment. Article 87 generally envisages an appropriate period for performance with a warning, subject to exceptions. Where rights in the property have already been transferred, judicial rescission may be required. Rules for an ordinary preliminary agreement should not be applied mechanically to a completed property transfer.
Read whether the new date comes with a release of penalties, an acknowledgement of performance or a statement that no claims remain. Expressly address accrued rights.
Preserve payment records, written promises, dated photographs and evidence of expenses attributed to the delay. A contractual right to repayment does not guarantee that the debtor has money to repay.
Discuss your circumstances with a lawyer. Leave a phone number or email, or call us directly.
This article is for general information only. It does not constitute or replace individual legal advice.