2025/06/20

The moment of the transition of property rights to things at the auction in France

 

At auction, title passes from the seller to the buyer at the time the auctioneer declares the lot sold to the highest bidder. Nevertheless, many auction houses have contractually postponed in their conditions of sale the title transfer until payment of the price by the purchaser in full and cleared funds. In a decision made on 28 March 2024, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that those title retention clauses were incompatible with the provisions of the French Commercial Code, according to which title passes at the moment the auctioneer declares the lot sold, a principle that is not subject to any exception.

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