Couple’s failed Morocco sale cuts French home-buying penalty from €13,200 to €6,000
A couple had made the purchase of a €135,000 house conditional on first selling a property in Morocco. When the sale fell through, the buyers were ordered to pay €13,200, before an agreement was approved by the Colmar Court of Appeal on October 22.
Everything was set out in the preliminary agreement signed on May 18 and 19, 2022: the purchase of the house was subject to a condition precedent—the prior sale of a property in Morocco. The final deed was never signed. In August 2023, the owner brought the case before the Saverne judicial court.
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The seller then claimed €13,200 under a penalty clause. On December 15, 2023, the judges ruled in his favor. The deadline for completing the transaction had passed, and the buyers had not shown that they had met the conditions precedent set out in the contract.
The judgment also included interest at the statutory rate, €1,000 in legal costs and court costs. The couple decided to appeal on March 13, 2024.
From €13,200 to €6,000
The case came before the Colmar Court of Appeal, which held a hearing on June 11, 2026. Three months later, the parties reached an agreement. In joint submissions dated September 25, they asked the judges to approve their settlement.
The October 22, 2026 decision brings the appeal proceedings to an end. The court overturns the 2023 judgment in full and gives the out-of-court settlement the force of an enforceable order. The final agreed amount is €6,000, including the €2,000 already paid as a deposit and an additional €4,000 payable to the seller.
The buyers have eight days from the ruling to pay the €4,000. The judges thus approve the terms negotiated by the parties, after more than four years of dispute over the property transaction.
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The agreement also settles the issue of legal costs: each party will cover its own expenses. The additional €1,000 awarded to the seller by the Saverne court is set aside along with the first judgment.
