What protects me if handover is late?

Where is the delivery date written?

The delivery date is a term of the sale contract, not a line on a brochure. It names the month and year by which the developer undertakes to hand the unit over, and it is the date a late-delivery claim is measured against. A listing shows a delivery year before you talk to the developer — the delivery years on the catalogue reach 2032 today — but the binding date is the one written in your contract, and it can differ from the year on the listing.

What is a grace period?

A contract can allow the developer a grace period after the delivery date: a stated number of months during which a delay is not treated as a breach. Read its length before you sign; it is the first clause a developer points to when a handover slips. A delay inside the grace period carries no compensation, so the date that matters to you is the delivery date plus that period.

What does a delay penalty look like?

The contract carries a delay-compensation clause: a figure the developer owes the buyer for each month or day of delay beyond the grace period, stated as a percentage of the price or of the paid instalments. That clause is your financial protection, and it is why the delivery date is not a formality. Where the contract names no penalty, the protection is weaker and the terms you agreed are what a claim would rest on.

Who pays if the delay is the developer's fault?

Compensation turns on fault. A delay caused by the developer's own works is a different case from one caused by force majeure, a clause the contract sets out. Read the force-majeure clause beside the penalty clause, because it lists the events that excuse a late handover. Together the two clauses tell you what part of a delay the developer answers for.

Can I cancel the contract if the delay runs long?

Some contracts give the buyer the right to terminate once a delay exceeds a stated period, and to recover what was paid; others limit the buyer to compensation and keep the sale alive. Which one applies is a clause, not a rule, so ask for it in writing at the point of sale. Where the contract is silent, the remedy is not something to assume.

What should I keep while the unit is being built?

Keep the contract, the payment schedule and every receipt. Pay against the schedule and keep proof of each instalment, because a compensation claim rests on showing what you paid and when. If a delivery date passes with no handover, put your position to the developer in writing rather than by phone, and keep a copy.

Does a late handover change the rest of my plan?

It can. The payment schedule is built around the delivery date, and its final instalments are tied to it; a slip can move them or leave them as contracted. Read the closing instalments together with the delivery clause so you know what falls due when. The payment plans on the catalogue run to fifteen years today, and the tail of a plan is where handover sits.