Consequences of late completion

Once contracts have been exchanged, the parties are contractually bound to complete the transaction on the agreed completion date. However, occasionally, things don’t go to plan and parties may exchange contracts only for one of them to find themselves unable to complete on the agreed date. It is possible for parties to deal informally with delays, for example, simply by communicating and rearranging the completion date, or to formally vary the completion date in the contract using a deed of variation. Where the parties do not deal with a delay informally, the standard conditions contained in the contract for sale set out a process for managing the situation. This chapter focuses on the position and formal processes under the standard conditions. This chapter is relevant to all Transactions in which a sale contract has been exchanged.