CPCV · The moment of signature
What the CPCV signature changes, and what it leaves untouched
Signing does not transfer the property and does not start a warranty period. It changes the price of leaving.
What changes at signature
Immediate effect
- The exit stops being free. The sinal is forfeited if the buyer defaults, and returned twofold if the seller does.Código Civil, Art. 442.º
- A finding becomes a dispute. Before signature the same finding supports a price reduction, a condition, or a decision to walk.
- Specific performance needs to have been preserved. A bare sinal clause is presumed to exclude it.Código Civil, Art. 830.º
What the signature does not do
Unaffected
- It does not transfer ownership. Ownership passes at the escritura, then at the land registry.
- It does not start a warranty clock. Denúncia runs from discovery, and the five-year cap from delivery.Código Civil, Arts. 916.º, 917.º, 1225.º
- It does not shift the burden of proof. Proving the defect exists stays with the buyer.Código Civil, Art. 342.º n.º 1
The practical reading
The statutory rights survive a fast signature. The leverage does not. A dated record of the property's condition, produced before commitment, is what discharges the buyer's half of the evidential burden later.