Completion dates slip. A buyer's funds arrive late, a seller can't give vacant possession, a chain stalls. When that happens, a solicitor has to advise quickly and accurately on what the client can do — and, just as importantly, what they cannot do yet. Missing the completion date does not usually let a party walk away; instead, a structured set of remedies kicks in, each with its own conditions and its own place in the sequence.
This lesson takes you through that sequence step by step, so you can advise a defaulting or non-defaulting client with confidence.
- Completion Date and the Sequence of Remedies — why the completion date is a target rather than a deadline, and the order in which remedies become available.
- Contractual Compensation — the daily payment that accrues automatically from the completion date, and how it is calculated.
- The Notice to Complete — how to make time of the essence, the 10-working-day period, and the conditions for valid service.
- Rescission and Remedies on Default — what each party can do once the notice expires, including forfeiture, resale, and specific performance.
- Common Law Damages — how damages sit alongside contractual compensation, the rule against double recovery, and the remoteness test.