Lifting reception reservations: protocol, timeframe and adversarial minutes

1. The lifting protocol

The lifting of reservations is an adversarial act between buyer and contractor. Standard procedure: (1) the contractor carries out the corrections; (2) summons the buyer on site; (3) joint inspection item by item; (4) signature of a lifting minutes listing the reservations lifted and any remaining ones.

Keep these minutes carefully — they condition the release of the security deposit.

2. Timeframe and calculation

The lifting timeframe is set in the provisional reception minutes, generally 60 to 90 days depending on the nature of the defects. For complex reservations (structural defect, infiltrations), a longer timeframe may be negotiated.

The clock runs from the signature of the initial minutes. No tacit extension: if the contractor delays, send a registered formal notice setting a final deadline.

3. In case of non-lifting

If the contractor does not lift the reservations within the allotted timeframe, two routes: (1) activation of the security deposit under the Breyne Law — you contact the notary or the guarantor bank with a quote from a third-party provider; (2) legal action before the commercial court, on the basis of an adversarial expert report.

To manage this procedure properly, our team of expert-lawyers prepares the formal notice, the bailiff’s report and the security deposit activation file.