A contract for property sale and purchase is an agreement between the parties whereby the seller has the obligation to hand over the property to the purchaser and receive payment, while the purchaser has the obligation to accept the property and make payment to the seller.
Article 429.- Objects of sale and purchase contracts
1. The object of a sale and purchase contract shall be a property permitted for transaction.
2. In cases where the object of a sale and purchase contract is an object, that object must be clearly defined.
3. In cases where the object of a sale and purchase contract is a property right, there must be documents of title or other evidence proving such right of the seller.
Article 430.- Quality of objects for sale and purchase
1. The quality of the objects for sale and purchase shall be agreed upon by the parties.
2. In cases where the quality of objects has been announced or provided for by competent state agencies, the quality of the objects shall be determined in accordance with the announced standards or the regulations of the competent state agencies.
3. When the quality of objects is not agreed upon between the parties or not provided for by law, then the quality of the objects for sale and purchase shall be determined according to the use purposes and the average quality of objects of the same kind.
Article 431.- Price and mode of payment
1. The price shall be agreed upon by the parties or determined by a third party at the parties' request.
In cases where the parties agree to make payments at market prices, the price shall be determined at the place and time of payment.
With respect to the property in civil transactions, for which the State has set a price frame, the price shall be agreed upon by the parties in accordance with that price frame.
2. The parties may agree to apply inflation coefficients upon the fluctuation of prices.
3. The agreed price may be a specific price level or a method of determining the price. In cases where the agreement on the price level or the price-determining method is not clear, the price of the property shall be determined, based on the market price at the place and time the contract is entered into.
4. The mode of payment shall be agreed upon by the parties.
Article 432.- Time limit for performance of sale and purchase contracts
1. The time limit for the performance of a sale and purchase contract shall be agreed upon by the parties. The seller shall have to hand over the property to the purchaser at the time agreed upon; the seller may hand over the property before or after the time limit, only if the purchaser so agrees.
2. When there is no agreement between the parties on the time limit for handing over the property, the buyer shall have the right to demand that the seller hand over the property and the seller shall also have the right to demand that the purchaser receive the property at any time, but the parties must notify each other thereof in advance within a reasonable period of time.
3. When there is no agreement between the parties on the time limit for payment, the buyer must make payment upon receipt of the property.
Article 433.- Places for handing over property
The place for handing over the property shall be agreed upon by the parties; in the absence of such agreement, the provisions of Clause 2, Article 284 of this Code shall apply.
Article 434.- Modes of handing over property
The property shall be handed over by the mode agreed upon by the parties; in the absence of such agreement, the property shall be handed over in one installment by the seller directly to the purchaser.
Article 435.- Liability for handing over objects in an incorrect quantity
1. In cases where the seller hands over the object in a quantity greater than that agreed upon, the purchaser shall have the right to receive or not to receive the excess portion. In case of receipt, the payment for the excess portion shall be made as agreed upon.
2. In cases where the seller hands over the object in a quantity smaller than that agreed upon, the purchaser shall have one of the following rights:
a/ To receive the portion already handed over and demand compensation for damage;
b/ To receive the portion already handed over and set a time limit for the seller to hand over the deficit portion;
c/ To cancel the contract and demand compensation for damage.
Article 436.- Liability for handing over objects in incomplete sets
1. In cases where the object is handed over in an incomplete set, thereby making the use purpose of the object unachievable, the purchaser shall have one of the following rights:
a/ To receive the object and demand that the seller hand over the remaining part, demand
compensation for damage and postpone the payment for the part received until the complete set is handed over;
b/ To cancel the contract and demand compensation for damage.
2. In cases where the purchaser has made payment but not yet received the object due to the hand- over of an incomplete set, he/she/it shall be paid interests on the paid amount at the basic interest rate set by the State Bank and demand that the seller compensate for damage due to the hand-over
of the incomplete set, starting from the time the contract must be performed to the time the complete set is handed over.
Article 437.- Liability for handing over objects of a wrong kind
In cases where the object handed over is of a wrong kind, the purchaser shall have one of the following rights:
1. To receive the object and make the payment at the price agreed upon by the parties;
2. To demand the hand-over of object of the right kind and compensation for damage;
3. To cancel the contract and demand compensation for damage.
Article 438.- The duty to pay
1. The purchaser must pay in full at the time and place agreed upon; in the absence of such agreement, he/she/it must make full payment at the time and place of handing over the property.
2. The purchaser must pay interests starting from the date of late payment as specified in Clause 2, Article 305 of this Code, unless otherwise agreed upon or provided for by law.
Article 439.- Time for transfer of ownership rights
1. The rights to ownership over a property for purchase and sale shall be transferred to the purchaser as from the time the property is handed over, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties or
provided for by law.
2. With respect to a property for sale and purchase to which the ownership rights must, as provided for by law, be registered, the ownership rights shall be transferred to the purchaser as from the time the procedures for registering the ownership rights to such property have been completed.
3. In cases where the property for sale and purchase has not yet been handed over while yields and/or incomes are generated, such yields and/or incomes shall belong to the seller.
Article 440.- Time for bearing risks
1. The seller shall bear the risks to the property for purchase and sale until the property is handed over to the purchaser; while the purchaser shall bear risks to such property from the time of receiving it, unless otherwise agreed upon.
2. With respect to a contract for purchase and sale of property to which the ownership rights must, as provided for by law, be registered, the seller shall bear risks to such property until the registration procedures are completed, and the purchaser shall bear the risks from the time the registration procedures have been completed even when it has not yet received the property, unless otherwise agreed upon.
Article 441.- Transportation costs and costs related to the transfer of ownership rights In cases where there is no agreement between the parties or no legal provision on transportation costs and costs relating to the transfer of ownership rights, the seller must bear the costs of transportation to the place of handing over the property and the costs related to the transfer of ownership rights.
Article 442.- The obligation to provide information and use instructions
The seller is obliged to provide necessary information on the property for purchase and sale, and instructions on the use of such property; if the seller fails to perform this obligation, the purchaser shall be entitled to request the seller to perform it; if the seller still declines to perform it, the purchaser shall be entitled to cancel the contract and demand compensation for damage.
Article 443.- Security of the purchaser's ownership rights to the property for purchase and sale
1. The seller is obliged to secure that the ownership rights to a property sold to the purchaser are not disputed by a third party.
2. In cases where the property is disputed by a third party, the seller must take side with the purchaser in order to protect the latter's interests; if the third party is entitled to own part or the whole of the property for purchase and sale, the purchaser shall be entitled to cancel the contract and demand that the seller compensate for damage.
3. In cases where the purchaser knew or must have known that the property for purchase and sale is under the ownership of a third party, but still purchases it, he/she/it must return the property to its owner and shall not be entitled to demand compensation for damage.
Article 444.- Security of the quality of objects for purchase and sale
1. The seller must secure the use value or properties of an object for purchase and sale; if after the purchase, the purchaser discovers a defect that devaluates or reduces the use value of the object already purchased, he/she/it must promptly notify the seller of the defect upon the detection thereof and is entitled to request the seller to repair or change the defective or devalued object and
compensate for damage, unless otherwise agreed upon.
2. The seller must secure that the object for sale conforms to the descriptions on its pack, trademark or to the sample that has been selected by the purchaser.
3. The seller shall not be liable for defects of the object in the following cases:
a/ Defect that the purchaser knew or must have known when purchasing the object;
b/ The object auctioned or object sold at a second-hand shop;
c/ The purchaser is at fault in causing the defects of the object.
Article 445.- The obligation to provide warranty
The seller shall have the obligation to provide warranty for a sold object for a period of time called warranty time limit, if the warranty is agreed upon by the parties or provided for by law.
The warranty time limit shall be counted from the time the purchaser has the obligation to receive the object.
Article 446.- The right to demand warranty
Within the warranty time limit, if the purchaser discovers a defect in the purchased object, he/she/it shall be entitled to request the seller to repair it free of charge, reduce its price, exchange the defective object for another one, or return the object and get back the money.
Article 447.- Repair of objects within the warranty time limit
1. The seller must repair the object and secure that the object meets all the quality standards or has all the properties as committed.
2. The seller shall bear the expenses for repair and transportation of the object to the place of repair and from the place of repair to the place of residence or the head- office of the purchaser.
3. The purchaser shall be entitled to request the seller to complete the repair within the time limit agreed upon by the parties or within a reasonable period of time; if the seller cannot repair or complete the repair within such time limit, the purchaser shall be entitled to demand a price
reduction, an exchange of the defective object for another one, or return the object and get back the money.
Article 448.- Compensation for damage within the warranty time limit
1. In addition to the demand for the application of warranty measures, the purchaser shall be entitled to request the seller to compensate for damage caused by technical defects of the object within the warranty time limit.
2. The seller shall not have to compensate for damage if he/she/it can prove that the damage was caused due to the purchaser's fault. The seller shall be entitled to a reduction of damages if the purchaser has not applied the necessary measures within his/her/its capacity to prevent or limit the damage.
Article 449.- Purchase and sale of property rights
1. In case of purchase and sale of property rights, the seller must transfer all documents of title and carry out the procedures for transfer of ownership rights to the purchaser, whereas the purchaser must pay money to the seller.
2. In cases where the property rights are rights to claim debts and the seller warrants the debtor's solvency, the seller shall be jointly liable for the payment if the debtor fails to pay the debt when it is due.
3. The time for transferring the ownership of property rights shall be the time at which the purchaser receives the papers certifying the ownership of such property rights or from the time of registration of the transfer of ownership rights, if so provided for by law.