Sale of movable property

Published byDocMuse

For a private sale of equipment, furniture, tools, instruments — anything handed over by hand. The contract describes the item, the price in words and in figures, and the seller's declaration that the item is theirs and is not pledged. Note that it will not do for a motor vehicle: there the law requires the signatures to be notarised.

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Common questions

Is a contract needed for the sale of a second-hand item?

It is not compulsory, but it is what later proves who the item was bought from and in what condition. With valuable items, and with items carrying a serial number — equipment, tools, bicycles — its absence is a question of provenance as well as of warranty.

Am I liable for hidden defects if I am selling as a private individual?

For defects you knew about and did not disclose, yes. That is why the contract has a field for known defects: what is described stops being hidden, and what is concealed stays your responsibility.

The buyer says the item does not work. What follows?

What decides it is what the contract described and whether it was handed over with a record. If the condition was described and accepted, the claim is weak; if the contract is silent, the argument is conducted from memory.

Can an item be sold on instalments?

It can, provided the payment schedule is written down — instalments, dates, and what happens on a missed one. Agree also at what point ownership passes, because that decides who bears the risk if the item is damaged.