The Status of Construction Partnership Agreements in the Iranian Legal System and Their Impact on the Parties' Obligations toward Third-Party Buyers
Subject Areas : Civil LawNarjes Khan Vali 1 , Sayyed Ali Jabbar Golbaghi Masouleh 2
1 - Master's degree student in private law, Law Department, Ahrar Higher Education Institute, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Law, Faculty of Humanities, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran.
Keywords: Construction partnership agreement, third-party purchaser, relativity of contracts, law mandating the formal registration of transactions, joint and several liability.,
Abstract :
Despite its widespread prevalence in Iran's construction projects, the legal nature of construction partnership contracts remains ambiguous within the classification of nominate and innominate contracts. This ambiguity intensifies when the developer pre-sells a portion of the units to third-party purchasers and subsequently the underlying partnership contract is disrupted. Using a descriptive-analytical and desk research methodology, this study pursues two fundamental questions: First, does the intrinsic nature of the construction partnership contract create any direct obligation for the landowner toward third-party purchasers? The working hypothesis posits that the doctrine of privity of contract governs and primary liability rests with the developer, unless an agency or representative clause within the contract is established. Second, what impact does the Law on Mandatory Official Registration of Real Estate Transactions have on these obligations? The findings indicate that while this law enhances registration certainty, it does not fundamentally alter the nature of these tripartite relations; therefore, the necessity to reform the Building Pre-Sale Law and clarify the joint and several liability of the landowner and developer remains imperative.
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