Question: Seven years ago, I bought a property from an off-plan developer and committed to making all payments. Currently, the completion rate is 60 per cent. Delivery was supposed to be in 2021. The developer is currently asking me to amend the purchase agreement so that delivery will be in 2025. I sent the developer a message via email refusing to sign an agreement to modify it. There is no construction going on for six months. Do I have the legal right to file a real estate lawsuit and demand the cancellation of the purchase agreement and refund of the amount paid in addition to appropriate compensation?
Get exclusive content with Gulf News WhatsApp channel
Answer: You are not obliged to amend the purchase agreement and you have the right to file a lawsuit to cancel it and request compensation because if a contract is valid and binding, none of the contracting parties may revoke, modify or cancel it, except by mutual consent, order of the court or a law provision.
According to Article 246 of the Civil Transaction Law, the contract shall be implemented, according to the provisions contained therein and in a manner consistent with the requirements of good faith. And the delay in implementing the contract, which gives the right to one of the contracting parties to request termination of the sales agreement or request compensation, depends on the jurisdiction of the trial court according to the situation and documents submitted in the lawsuit.
Any contract is binding on both parties and either party has the right to request the termination of the contract as long as it is proven that the other party has breached his contractual obligations according to Article 272 of the same Law, In bilateral contracts, if one of the parties does not perform his contractual obligations, the other party may, after serving a formal notification to the debtor, demand the performance of the contract or its termination.
