What happens if a developer in Peru is late delivering your home?

The delivery date comes from your contract

The Civil Code has a default rule for sales. Article 1552 says:

“El bien debe ser entregado inmediatamente después de celebrado el contrato, salvo la demora resultante de su naturaleza o de pacto distinto.”

(The property must be handed over right after the contract is signed, unless a delay follows from its nature or the parties agreed otherwise.)

When you buy off-plan, the home does not exist yet, so the contract sets the date. If you buy from a developer, Law 29571 (the Consumer Protection Code) requires that date in writing. Article 78.1 lists the minimum content of the contract, including:

“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 term, date or express conditions of delivery, the penalties agreed for breach, when those penalties apply and how much they are.)

So start with your contract. It holds the delivery date or term, any conditions it depends on, and the penalty for being late. Everything else on this page depends on what it says.

When the developer is in default (mora)

A missed date is not always enough. Article 1333 of the Civil Code sets the rule:

“Incurre en mora el obligado desde que el acreedor le exija, judicial o extrajudicialmente, el cumplimiento de su obligación.”

(The obligor is in default from the moment the creditor demands performance, in or out of court.)

The same article lists four exceptions where no demand is needed. Two matter here: when the contract expressly says no demand is needed, and when the delivery date “hubiese sido motivo determinante” (was a decisive reason) for signing. If your contract says nothing, do not count on a judge treating your date as decisive. Demand delivery in writing. A notarial letter (carta notarial) gives you proof of the date the developer received it.

Default has a concrete effect. Article 1336 says a party in default “responde de los daños y perjuicios que irrogue por el retraso en el cumplimiento de la obligación” (is liable for the damage caused by the delay). The developer can escape that if it proves the delay was not its fault. That proof is on the developer.

The late-delivery penalty (cláusula penal)

Many contracts set a penalty per day or month of delay. Four rules matter.

You don’t have to prove damage. Article 1343 says:

“Para exigir la pena no es necesario que el acreedor pruebe los daños y perjuicios sufridos. Sin embargo, ella sólo puede exigirse cuando el incumplimiento obedece a causa imputable al deudor, salvo pacto en contrario.”

(You don’t need to prove damages to claim the penalty. But it can only be claimed when the breach is due to a cause attributable to the debtor, unless the contract says otherwise.)

You can collect it and still demand the home. If the penalty was agreed for late performance, article 1342 lets you demand “además de la penalidad, el cumplimiento de la obligación” (performance in addition to the penalty).

The penalty is usually the cap. Article 1341 says the penalty limits compensation to that amount, “salvo que se haya estipulado la indemnización del daño ulterior” (unless compensation for further damage was agreed). If your contract says nothing about further damage, you cannot recover more than the penalty, even if your costs are higher.

A judge can reduce it. Article 1346 lets a judge, at the debtor’s request, reduce the penalty “cuando sea manifiestamente excesiva” (when it is clearly excessive). If your penalty is high, the developer can ask for it to be cut.

No penalty in the contract: damages

If your contract has no penalty, you can claim the damage the delay causes you. Article 1321 says compensation for “tardío” (late) performance covers “tanto el daño emergente como el lucro cesante, en cuanto sean consecuencia inmediata y directa de tal inejecución” (both direct loss and lost profit, as far as they are an immediate and direct consequence). If the delay is due to slight negligence (culpa leve), compensation is limited to damage that was foreseeable when the contract was signed.

Rent you pay while you wait is the obvious example of direct loss. That is our reading, not the wording of the law. Keep leases and receipts: without proof of damage there is no compensation.

Terminating the contract (resolución)

If you no longer want to wait, you can get out. Article 1428 says that when one party fails to perform, the other “puede solicitar el cumplimiento o la resolución del contrato y, en uno u otro caso, la indemnización de daños y perjuicios” (can ask for performance or termination and, either way, damages).

You have three routes:

Think before you terminate: it means giving up the home. What happens to the money you paid is covered in what happens to your money if a real estate project falls through. If you paid arras, also read how arras work.

Late delivery as a consumer problem

If you buy from a developer, Law 29571 applies alongside the Civil Code. Article 18 defines suitability (idoneidad) as “la correspondencia entre lo que un consumidor espera y lo que efectivamente recibe, en función a lo que se le hubiera ofrecido” (the match between what a consumer expects and what they actually receive, based on what was offered), and article 19 says “el proveedor responde por la idoneidad y calidad de los productos y servicios ofrecidos” (the supplier answers for the suitability and quality of what it offers). Handing over the home after the date offered can be raised with Indecopi as a lack of suitability.

We don’t repeat the complaint channels here. They are in buying a home in Peru: what to check before you sign, in the section “Where to complain if something doesn’t match”. If your contract’s penalty only punishes the buyer, also read adhesion contracts and unfair terms.

What this page does not cover

We did not review Indecopi decisions or court rulings on late delivery of homes, or how compensation is calculated in practice. We do not cover limitation periods for civil claims, or purchases made with the Techo Propio housing bonus (Bono Familiar Habitacional) or a Mivivienda loan. We also do not cover the handover record (acta de entrega) or defects that show up later.