Off-plan purchase contract in Peru: which clauses should you check before signing?

Buying off-plan means buying something that does not exist yet

When you sign for an apartment off-plan, you are buying a bien futuro (future good). The Civil Code has its own rule for that. Article 1534 says:

“En la venta de un bien que ambas partes saben que es futuro, el contrato está sujeto a la condición suspensiva de que llegue a tener existencia.”

(In the sale of a good both parties know is future, the contract is subject to the suspensive condition that it comes into existence.)

A suspensive condition puts the contract’s effects on hold. If the apartment comes to exist, the contract takes effect. If it never exists, the condition is not met.

This page covers the contract clauses. What documents the developer must give you and where to complain are in our guide to buying a home in Peru. What happens to what you paid if the project is never built is in what happens to your money if a real estate project falls through.

When you become the owner

In Peru, ownership of real estate passes with the contract, not with registration. Article 949 says:

“La sola obligación de enajenar un inmueble determinado hace al acreedor propietario de él, salvo disposición legal diferente o pacto en contrario.”

(The mere obligation to transfer a specific property makes the buyer its owner, unless a law provides otherwise or the parties agree otherwise.)

Two words matter. Determinado (specific): while the apartment does not exist, there is no specific property. Read together with article 1534, our reading is that ownership cannot pass before the good exists. The law does not say this in those words. Pacto en contrario (agreement otherwise): the contract can set another moment, for example full payment of the price. Find that clause and understand it.

The risk that the good is lost through nobody’s fault also has its moment. Article 1567 says it “pasa al comprador en el momento de su entrega” (passes to the buyer on delivery). Before delivery, it is in principle the seller’s.

The most dangerous clause: “the buyer assumes the risk”

The Civil Code lets a buyer take on risks they would not normally carry. There are two kinds, and they are not the same.

Risk of quantity and quality (article 1535):

“Si el comprador asume el riesgo de la cuantía y calidad del bien futuro, el contrato queda igualmente sujeto a la condición suspensiva de que llegue a tener existencia. Empero, si el bien llega a existir, el contrato producirá desde ese momento todos sus efectos, cualquiera sea su cuantía y calidad, y el comprador debe pagar íntegramente el precio.”

(If the buyer takes the risk of quantity and quality, the contract still depends on the good existing; but once it exists, the buyer must pay the full price whatever its size and quality.)

Risk of existence (article 1536):

“En los casos de los Artículos 1534º y 1535º, si el comprador asume el riesgo de la existencia del bien, el vendedor tiene derecho a la totalidad del precio aunque no llegue a existir.”

(If the buyer takes the risk that the good exists, the seller is owed the full price even if it never exists.)

Sign this and you owe the full price even if the building is never built. It is the clause to look for first. When you buy from a developer, Ley 29571 also applies: article 50(e) strips of all effect clauses that exclude or limit a consumer’s legal rights. Our reading is that a risk-of-existence clause may be challenged as unfair against a developer, but we found no Indecopi decision confirming it. The safe course is not to sign it.

What the contract must say under consumer law

If you buy from a real estate business, article 78.1 of Ley 29571 sets a minimum content:

”[…] c. Identificación de la partida registral del inmueble; en los casos de bien futuro, del inmueble matriz. d. Área exclusiva y común, de ser el caso, medidas perimétricas, acabados del inmueble y las características relevantes del inmueble. e. Precio de venta del inmueble ofertado. f. Forma de pago y plazo. g. Plazo, fecha o condiciones expresas de entrega del inmueble y penalidades por incumplimiento que se hubieran pactado. h. Supuestos en los cuales se aplican penalidades y el monto de las mismas.”

(The registry entry, or for a future good that of the parent property; exclusive and common area, boundary measurements and finishes; price; payment terms; delivery period, date or conditions and agreed penalties; when penalties apply and how much.)

Use it as a checklist. Clause by clause:

Delivery date

Without an agreement, article 1552 says the good is delivered “inmediatamente después de celebrado el contrato, salvo la demora resultante de su naturaleza o de pacto distinto” (immediately after the contract, unless its nature or an agreement says otherwise). An off-plan building cannot be delivered immediately, so the contract sets the date. If it only says “on completion of the works”, you have no date to hold the seller to.

Also check whether default is automatic. Article 1333 says the debtor is in default “desde que el acreedor le exija, judicial o extrajudicialmente, el cumplimiento” (from when the creditor demands performance, in or out of court), and that no demand is needed “cuando la ley o el pacto lo declaren expresamente” (when the law or the contract expressly says so). If the contract does not say so, send a written demand as soon as the date passes.

Penalties

The late-delivery penalty has an effect few buyers know. Article 1341 says it limits “el resarcimiento a esta prestación […] salvo que se haya estipulado la indemnización del daño ulterior” (compensation to the penalty, unless further damages were agreed). If your real loss is larger, say months of paying rent, you can recover it only if the contract allows. Ask for that wording.

Check the penalties against you too, such as those for a late instalment. Article 1346 lets a judge reduce “equitativamente la pena cuando sea manifiestamente excesiva” (a penalty that is clearly excessive).

Area and specifications

The contract must state exclusive and common area, boundary measurements and finishes (art. 78.1(d)). What happens if the real area differs depends on how the price was set:

• Price per square metre. Article 1574 requires the seller “a devolver el precio correspondiente a lo que se halle de menos” (to refund the price of any shortfall).
• Lump-sum price. Article 1577 says the buyer pays the full price even if the area differs, but “si se indicó en el contrato la extensión o cabida, y la real difiere de la señalada en más de una décima parte, el precio sufrirá la reducción o el aumento proporcional” (if the contract stated the area and the real one differs by more than one tenth, the price is reduced or increased proportionally).

Most off-plan sales use a lump-sum price. So it helps if the contract states what area tolerance is accepted and what happens beyond it.

Price changes

Article 1543 says: “La compraventa es nula cuando la determinación del precio se deja al arbitrio de una de las partes.” (A sale is void when the price is left to one party’s discretion.) Our reading is that a clause letting the developer set a new price as it sees fit clashes with that rule. An adjustment tied to an objective index written into the contract is different. If you see a price-adjustment clause, ask which index it uses and for a worked example.

Termination

If one side does not perform, article 1428 lets you “solicitar el cumplimiento o la resolución del contrato y, en uno u otro caso, la indemnización de daños y perjuicios” (demand performance or termination, and damages either way). The contract may also contain an express termination clause (art. 1430), which must name a breach “establecida con toda precisión” (stated with full precision).

Check whether that clause works both ways. Against a consumer, article 50(b) of Ley 29571 strips of all effect clauses “que faculten al proveedor a suspender o resolver unilateralmente un contrato, salvo disposición legal distinta” (that let the business suspend or terminate a contract on its own, unless a law provides otherwise). For unfair clauses in general, see adhesion contracts and unfair terms. If the contract mentions arras, see how arras work.

At handover

When you receive a future good, article 79 of Ley 29571 lets you record in writing your objection “sobre desperfectos, deficiencias u otras condiciones que desmejoren el valor del inmueble que se le entrega, o que impidan o limiten su uso” (to defects, deficiencies or other conditions that lower the property’s value or prevent or limit its use). If so, you can demand “la reparación, la reducción del precio o la resolución o rescisión del contrato, según corresponda” (repair, a price reduction, or termination of the contract, as appropriate).

What this page does not cover

It does not cover which documents the developer must hand over, how to check the project with Sunarp or the municipality, a mortgage on the land, refunds of a reservation deposit, or the handover record in detail. It also does not cover mortgages or the Techo Propio and Mivivienda programmes. We did not review Indecopi decisions or court rulings on risk clauses or price-adjustment clauses.