The Developer Missed the Deadline: Your Contract, Not the Brochure, Is the Evidence
In 30 seconds
On a new build, only the completion date in your contract counts, not a brochure estimate. Once that date passes, and any grace period in the contract has ended, you have the right to a full refund plus statutory interest. This comes from the same bank guarantee that covers developer failure. On a resale property, the process is different and slower.
Which date counts as the completion date?
On a resale property, the buyer and seller agree this date in the contract, and it usually stays fixed. On a new build, the date depends on when the building is finished and licensed, and developers often fall behind schedule. The only date that matters legally is the one written in your own private contract. A "previsión de entrega" (estimated delivery date) quoted in a brochure, or said in a sales conversation before you signed anything, does not count.Many new-build contracts also include a grace period. In practice, this is often an extra three to six months after the stated date, before the delay counts as missed at all. This grace period is common market practice, reported by legal sources. It is not set by law. The real length is whatever your own contract states, if it states one at all. If the contract says nothing about this, there is no automatic grace period.
Delivery date clauseContrato privado de compraventa
- Fecha de entrega prevista
- [DD/MM/YYYY]
- Plazo de gracia
- [X months]
- Consecuencia de la demora
- [clause]
- Fecha de entrega prevista. The only date with legal weight. Never the brochure’s “previsión de entrega”.
- Plazo de gracia. Only binding if your contract states one. If it says nothing, there is no grace period.
- Consecuencia de la demora. What happens once the date, plus any grace period, has passed.
| Term | What it really is | Whether it binds the developer |
|---|---|---|
| Previsión de entrega (marketing estimate) | A non-binding estimate. It is often given before the building even has its licence. | No. It sets expectations, not a legal deadline. |
| Fecha de entrega (contractual date) | The exact date, or a formula for working it out, written in the private purchase contract you signed. | Yes. The guarantee and any penalty clause start counting from this date. |
| Grace period clause, if the contract has one | Extra time, agreed in advance, before a missed date counts as a delay under the contract. | Only if your contract includes one. The law does not set its length or say it must exist. |
Does the delay have to be serious before you can cancel?
The honest answer depends on what you are buying: a new build or a resale property. The answer may surprise you.
New build or resale property?
- New buildThe guarantee starts once the contract date passes and any grace period ends. There is no test of how serious the delay is.
- Resale propertiesCivil Code article 1124 applies. A court decides whether the delay is serious enough to cancel the contract.
What buyers assumeWhat the guarantee really requires
- On a new build, I need to prove the delay is serious, or wait for a court to decide, before I can get my money back
- No. The same guarantee that protects you if the developer goes bankrupt also covers a simple missed date. Once the contract completion date has passed, and any grace period has ended, the guarantee's condition is met: the building was not finished on time. You do not need a court to judge how serious the delay was. You can claim directly against the bank or insurer.
- On a resale property, a missed notary date works the same way
- No, it does not. There is no equivalent legal guarantee for a resale property closing date. The general remedy is Civil Code article 1124. The injured party can choose: demand that the sale goes ahead, or cancel the contract. Either way, they can also claim damages and interest. But a court must first decide if the delay is serious enough to cancel the contract, rather than simply enforce it. A new-build buyer using the guarantee route does not face this test.
- Six months is the legal threshold for a delay to count
- This figure appears often in commentary, but the law itself (the LOE) does not state six months as the guarantee's trigger. It more likely shows how long a court, using article 1124 in a RESALE dispute, has treated a delay as serious enough to cancel the contract. On a new build, under the guarantee, the trigger is the exact date in the contract, not a fixed number of months.
If I would rather wait for the building to finish, instead of taking a refund, can I do that?Yes. Reaching the trigger date gives you a choice. It does not force a refund on you. Many buyers choose to wait, especially when the delay is small and the project is clearly moving forward. What matters is that the choice is yours once the date has passed. It is not the developer's choice.
What does claiming for a delay look like in practice?
A delay claim is simpler than most buyers expect. The guarantee route does not need any court case against the developer.
- Confirm in writing that the contract date has passedYour lawyer checks the exact date and any grace-period clause against the calendar.
- Confirm the guarantee certificate is valid and covers your paymentsYou make the claim against the same certificate that was checked before you paid.
- Watch out
- If the certificate is missing or out of date, a simple claim becomes as hard and uncertain as a developer insolvency case.
- Decide: wait, or claimOnce the trigger date has passed, this is your decision, not the developer’s.
- If you claim, the process runs against the bank or insurerNot the developer. The deposit-refunds page covers this in full, including disputed claims.
- Where
- The bank or insurer that issued the guarantee
Sometimes the problem is bigger than a missed date. The developer may have stopped building completely, gone silent, or entered formal insolvency proceedings. These are different and harder situations. Each one has its own guide.Steps 1 and 2 above depend on two facts: whether the trigger date has passed, and whether the guarantee certificate is still valid. Arevont's legal-coordination service checks both, before a delay becomes a dispute, not only after.
What to confirm about your own contract, before a delay becomes a dispute
Four things to check. Read them in the contract before you sign it. Do not wait until a date has already passed.| Confirm | Why it matters | What a bad version looks like |
|---|---|---|
| The exact completion date, or the formula for it, in the contract itself | This is the only date with legal weight. Anything said verbally or written in marketing material does not count. | The contract says "the estimated delivery communicated by the developer" instead of giving a fixed date or a clear formula. |
| Whether a grace period clause exists, and its exact length | It changes the exact date the guarantee starts. If the contract says nothing about this, there is no grace period. | Vague words like "reasonable additional time," with no number given. |
| Whether the guarantee certificate is current for every payment made so far | A delay claim is only as strong as the guarantee behind it. An out-of-date certificate weakens the claim described above. | The certificate was issued once, early on, and was never updated for later payments. |
| On a resale property, what the contract says about a missed closing date specifically | Unlike a new build, there is no guarantee to rely on. Under article 1124, your lawyer works from the exact wording on delay in the contract. | The contract talks about the buyer or seller withdrawing in general, but says nothing about a missed date caused by either side. |
A missed date on a new build against a missed date on a resale property
The word "delay" describes two very different situations. Which one applies depends on what you are buying.| Resale properties | New build | |
|---|---|---|
| What remedy applies | Civil Code article 1124: you can demand that the sale completes, or cancel the contract, with damages either way. | The bank guarantee: a full refund plus statutory interest, on the same terms as if the developer had failed completely. |
| Does how serious the delay is matter | Yes. In practice, a court decides if the breach is serious enough to cancel the contract. | No. The trigger is the missed date in the contract, no matter how long the delay is. |
| Do you need a court to get money back | Often, if the other side disagrees. Article 1124 is a right that you may need to go to court to use. | No. You claim directly from the bank or insurer that issued the guarantee. |
| What your lawyer checks first | What the arras contract itself says about a missed date, since the law does not set a rule for this. | That the guarantee certificate is up to date and covers every payment made so far. |
This states the general rule, not what your specific contract allows
This is current Spanish law as of August 2026. We read it from the original sources, not from marketing or from how people usually describe delays. This is general information, not a review of your specific contract. Only an independent lawyer, reading your own documents, can tell you whether your contract date has passed, whether a grace period applies to you, and whether your guarantee certificate is up to date.This page covers one narrow situation on purpose: a delay while the developer is still solvent and still building. If the developer has stopped completely, or entered formal insolvency, that is a harder and different situation, covered on its own page. We do not go to court over contract disputes, and we are not a party to your guarantee. Our legal-coordination service checks that the dates and the certificate are correct, before a delay becomes a dispute, not after.
Frequently asked questions about completion delays
- If my contract has its own penalty clause for a delay, does that replace the guarantee's statutory interest?
- No. These are two different things, and your contract can have both. The guarantee's statutory interest is owed automatically once the trigger date passes. It is calculated from each payment date, whether or not your contract has a penalty clause. A private penalty clause, if your contract has one, starts from the same date and is a separate right, on top of the interest. This is why it is worth checking whether you have one, along with checking the date and the grace period.
- Can the developer offer me something other than money, like an upgrade or a discount, instead of the guarantee refund, once a delay has happened?
- Yes, they can offer it. Some buyers accept a genuinely good alternative instead of cancelling the purchase. What matters is this: you already have a clear legal right to a full refund. The developer is not doing you a favour. Whether an offered alternative is really worth more than the money is a decision to make case by case, with your lawyer, not under time pressure at a sales office.
- If I bought through a mortgage and the completion date slips, does the delay affect my mortgage approval too?
- It can. Mortgage approvals and fixed rates are often valid only for a limited time. A delayed completion can mean your bank has to re-approve or re-price a loan that was arranged around the original date. This is a separate, practical problem. Raise it with your bank as soon as a delay looks likely, not only once the new date is confirmed.
