Real client case, followed between September 2025 and May 2026. First-time-buyer couple, new 2-bedroom apartment in Tournai. Contractual delivery on 15 September 2025. Actual delivery on 12 May 2026. 243 days of delay. Here is the full account of this late delivery file by a developer, the analysis of available remedies under the Breyne Law, and the method that secured 14,255 € of compensation paid into the buyers’ account in May 2026. To be used as a template if you find yourself in the same situation.
The contract: what was planned
Preliminary agreement signed in December 2023 with a well-known developer in the Tournai region. Contractual delivery “no later than 15 September 2025, except for duly justified cases of force majeure”. Set compensation provided: 35 € per calendar day of delay beyond a 30-day tolerance. This is a classic clause under the Breyne Law, often overlooked by agency-side buyers but legally very solid.
For reference, the 2026 market on average shows:
- 20 to 35 € per calendar day of compensation for standard Breyne Law sales
- 40 to 70 € per day for premium sales with reinforced clauses
- Cap often set at 10% of the total price
In the Tournai file, the contract provided 35 €/day with no explicit cap — a clause favourable to the buyer that we were able to fully exploit.
How the delay unfolded
Three successive slippages announced by the developer:
- June 2025: first slippage announced (“6 weeks delay from window supplier”)
- October 2025: second slippage (“manpower issue”)
- January 2026: third slippage (“EPC inspection to redo”)
Each time the contractor invoked force majeure, but without sufficient documentary evidence. Yet, under Belgian law, force majeure requires three cumulative conditions:
- Event unforeseeable at the time of signing
- Event irresistible (impossible to overcome)
- External to the debtor’s will
“Force majeure must be proven, dated and independent of the contractor’s will. A supplier stock shortage is not generally recognised as such by Belgian case law.”
In our file, none of the three grounds invoked met the conditions of force majeure. Supplier shortage: foreseeable and substitutable. Manpower issue: internal to the company. EPC to redo: consequence of an earlier mistake. Walloon case law 2023-2025 is consistent on these points.
The strategy deployed
I was contacted by the buyers in January 2026 after the third slippage. Three methodical steps:
- File audit (D+0 to D+5): re-reading of the preliminary agreement, calculation of days owed, verification of the compensation clause
- Documenting the delay (D+5 to D+15): compilation of emails, letters, site photos, witness statements
- Registered formal notice (D+15): formal letter with detailed calculation of compensation due, 30-day period for amicable settlement
Total cost of the preparatory phase: 850 € excl. VAT for the expertise, to compare with the 14,255 € obtained.
The outcome
Registered formal notice in February 2026. Refusal by the contractor to acknowledge the compensation, systematic invocation of undocumented force majeure. Conciliation before the Justice of the Peace of Tournai in April 2026 (fast procedure for disputes < 5,000 €… but we exploited a specific procedural route by exceeding it).
Court decision: retains 213 compensable days (243 days - 30 days of contractual tolerance).
Calculation of the final compensation:
- 213 days × 35 € = 7,455 € of contractual compensation
- 6,800 € of relocation rent evidenced by lease + invoices during the delay
- Total paid: 14,255 € to the couple’s account in May 2026
Procedural costs were charged to the developer. The Breyne Law retention guarantee (5%) was maintained until the final reception in May 2027.
The additional compensation to claim
Beyond the set compensation in the contract, here is what Belgian case law regularly admits as compensable harm:
- Relocation rent during the delay period (invoices to be kept)
- Furniture storage costs if move-in postponed
- Double mortgage charges (interest running unused)
- Moral damages in extreme cases (rare, capped)
- Costs of prior technical expertise
Combined, these items can double the basic contractual compensation amount. But they require rigorous real-time documentation.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Do not verbally accept a new deadline without a written amendment
- Beware of “commercial gestures” that lead you to waive compensation
- Keep all evidence of relocation
- Do not sign a reception PV without a reservation regarding the delay
- Verify the compensation clause in your preliminary agreement from the moment of signing
For the full text of the Breyne Law and the developer’s obligations, see ejustice.just.fgov.be — Act of 9 July 1971.
What to do next?
If your delivery is delayed and you want to activate compensation, do not delay. My firm offers Breyne Law support covering the drafting of formal notices, calculation of compensation due, and legal coordination. For an initial audit of the file, request a free quote.