The regulation of the sale contract in the Sixth Book Six of the Civil Code of Catalonia. Analysis of the specific provisions on real estate transactions.

Abstract

The Act 3/2017, of 15 February, regarding obligations and contracts (Sixth Book of the Civil Code of Catalonia), came into force on 1 January 2018 and regulates some contracts with transmission purposes bearing in mind the proposals for harmonization of European contract law, such as the sale contract. In the absence of data that evidences the use of this legal institution in practice, and taking into account the economic relevance of the investment linked to construction and housing, it is necessary to review the provisions of the Sixth Book of the Civil Code of Catalonia to verify whether it is sufficiently attractive and competitive for legal-economic operators, who have the possibility of choosing the law applicable to the sales contract, such as the Spanish Civil Code. In this way, this work analyses some new features that the regulation of the sale contract incorporates in the Sixth Book, in particular those specialties with significance in real estate transactions, such as the regime of the acquisition of dwellings under construction, the down payment, the possibility to withdraw from the contract in case of impossibility of obtaining financing or the contract subject to a resolutory condition. It concludes about the problems legal-economic operators face in practice when applying the Sixth Book.