Rights and Obligations of the Pre-Purchaser under the Law on Pre-Sale of Real Estate in Iranian and Canadian Law

Abstract

The contract of sale is one of the nominate contracts in the Civil Code, which is subject to specific legal provisions. Among these provisions are those relating to the rights and obligations of the purchaser. The most important right of the purchaser is to receive the subject matter of the sale (mabīʿ) at the agreed time and in accordance with the contract, and the most important obligation is to pay the purchase price (thaman) as agreed between the parties. The contract of sale has various forms, one of which is the sale of real estate. At present, pre-sale contracts for buildings constitute one of the most common types of real estate sales. The widespread use of this type of contract in society prompted the legislature to enact the Law on Pre-Sale of Buildings in 2010, which sets forth the rules that must be observed in such contracts, including: the stages of drafting a pre-sale contract for buildings, the matters that must be included in such contracts, and specific enforcement guarantees. In this law, the seller is referred to as the “pre-seller” and the purchaser as the “pre-purchaser,” and specific rights and obligations have been prescribed for each party. This article examines the rights and obligations of the pre-purchaser under the Law on Pre-Sale of Buildings and compares them with the rights and obligations of the purchaser under the Civil Code, in order to identify the differences between the two legal regimes. In summary, the study concludes that the Law on Pre-Sale of Buildings constitutes a special statute and enumerates rights and obligations for the pre-purchaser that differ from those of the purchaser under the Civil Code.