Reservation payment (separación) on an apartment or house in Peru: do you get it back if you change your mind?

What a “separación” is

When you want an apartment, off-plan or finished, Peruvian developers usually ask for a separación payment to hold the unit for you for a while. Later you sign the purchase contract (minuta) and pay the down payment.

Ley 29571, Peru’s consumer protection code, mentions the separación but does not define it or give it an effect of its own. So “do I get my money back?” has no single-rule answer. It turns on two things: what the developer told you before you paid, and what the document you signed says.

What the developer must tell you before you pay

Article 77.2 of Ley 29571 requires developers to give you certain information in advance and free of charge, before you sign. One mandatory item is this:

“f. Condiciones de la separación: vigencia, causales y efectos de la resolución (gastos administrativos y penalidades).”

(The separación terms: how long it lasts, the grounds for terminating it, and the effects of termination, meaning admin fees and penalties.)

So before paying you should know how long the hold lasts, when it ends, and how much is deducted if it does.

Indecopi’s Guide on real estate products and services explains what termination means and sets a clear limit:

“Por resolución del contrato, se debe entender a la decisión del proveedor de poner fin al contrato, como consecuencia del incumplimiento por la otra parte de la obligación que le corresponde, la cual podría comprender el pago de gastos administrativos y penalidades, siempre y cuando hayan sido previamente informados por el proveedor.”

(Termination is the developer’s decision to end the contract because the other party failed to perform, and it may include admin fees and penalties, as long as the developer disclosed them beforehand.)

What this means for you: the developer may keep admin fees and penalties only if it told you about them first. If no deduction was disclosed, our reading is that none should be applied afterwards.

What your separación can be under the Civil Code

“Separación” is a sales word. Depending on the wording, the payment can fit different Civil Code figures, with different effects. This is our analysis: the law does not say which one applies to each separación.

If it is withdrawal arras

The Civil Code says these arras are only valid in preparatory contracts and let either party back out:

“Si se retracta la parte que entrega las arras, las pierde en provecho del otro contratante. Si se retracta quien recibe las arras, debe devolverlas dobladas al tiempo de ejercitar el derecho.”

(If the party who paid the arras withdraws, it loses them to the other party. If the party who received them withdraws, it must pay them back double.)

We do not repeat how arras work here. See buying a home in Peru and how arras work.

If it is a promise to contract

If the document says both sides commit to signing the sale, it is a promise to contract (art. 1414). If you refuse without justification, article 1418 lets the other side either sue to make you sign or end the promise, and in both cases “hay lugar a la indemnización de daños y perjuicios” (damages are due). That article does not say the other side can keep your payment; it speaks of damages, which have to be proven.

If it is an option in your favour

In an option contract, “una de las partes queda vinculada a su declaración de celebrar en el futuro un contrato definitivo y la otra tiene el derecho exclusivo de celebrarlo o no” (one party is bound to enter the final contract and the other has the exclusive right to decide whether to) (art. 1419). If the option is yours, not buying is a right, not a breach. What happens to the money you paid for the option depends on the document.

If there is a penalty

If the document sets a penalty for backing out, that penalty caps what can be claimed from you for the breach, unless further damages were also agreed (art. 1341). If it is manifestly excessive, you can ask a judge to reduce it (art. 1346).

Terms you did not negotiate

Separaciones are usually signed on a form the developer prepares. Article 49.1 of Ley 29571 says that in standard-form contracts (contratos por adhesión), terms that were not individually negotiated and that, against good faith, put you at a disadvantage or cancel your rights are unenforceable. If a term in your separación looks like that, raise it in your complaint. Whether it qualifies depends on the case; the law gives no closed list for separaciones.

If the developer is the one who fails

If the sale does not go ahead because of the developer, a different rule applies. Indecopi’s Guide says it must refund “el íntegro de los pagos adelantados efectuados por todo concepto a sola solicitud del consumidor” (all advance payments of any kind, on the consumer’s request alone). That includes the separación. The details, including a mortgage that is not approved, are in what happens to your money if a real estate project falls through.

How to complain

If a refund you are owed is refused, start with the company’s libro de reclamaciones or Indecopi’s Reclama Virtual. The other routes and their deadlines are in our guide to buying a home in Peru.

What this page does not cover

• Indecopi decisions or court rulings on separaciones: we did not review them.
• “Normal” amounts or percentages for admin fees: none of the rules we read sets them.
• Separaciones tied to a Techo Propio or Mivivienda subsidy: see how the two programmes differ.
• Separaciones paid to a private individual who does not sell property regularly: this page focuses on developers and builders. Who counts as a real estate supplier is explained in our general buying guide.