Legal mortgage
Legal mortgage
The legal hypothec for artisans and contractors provided for in articles 837 et seq. of the Civil Code allows an artisan or contractor who has taken part in the construction or destruction of buildings or other works, the erection of scaffolding, the securing of an excavation or other similar work to register a pledge on the property for which they have provided materials and work or work only. The basic principle of such a mortgage is that the added value created by the construction must guarantee the claims of the contractors and craftsmen whose services contributed to it, especially as the materials cannot be recovered once they have been incorporated into the building. Thus, a person who has supplied parts that he can take back does not, in principle, have the capacity to request the registration of a legal mortgage. However, the Federal Court has created an exception to this principle by stating that the legal mortgage is open to a craftsman or contractor who has supplied materials that have been specially manufactured for the building and are therefore difficult to use elsewhere. In theory, the mortgage can be registered from the day on which the contractor or tradesman undertakes to carry out the promised work, but in practice it must be registered no later than 4 months after completion of the said work, which is a very short time.Once registration has been ordered by a judge, the craftsman or contractor who benefits from it will have a real right registered in the land register and encumbering the building. In this way, his claim will be guaranteed and he will have a strong argument for obtaining payment of what he is owed.
