How an apartment buyer received back a double deposit with interest

At the end of last year, we began assisting our client with a purchase and sale transaction of an apartment. The parties agreed on a price for the property of 29,000,000 rubles, and the client transferred 200,000 rubles as a deposit under the agreement of intent. The seller refused to sign a deal, so we filed a claim for the deposit's recovery in double the amount, as well as interest on the funds. After the seller refused to satisfy the claim, we filed a lawsuit in the Central District Court of Voronezh (case No. 2-1344/2024). 

History of the case 

The seller purchased this apartment with maternal capital funds; later, as part of the inspection of the property, we discovered a violation of the procedure for allocating shares in the apartment to the seller's children, with the assistance of a notary. 

Our client's risks were limited to the guarantee of withdrawing the apartment from her ownership if the children challenged the transaction. This practice is clear regardless of whether the buyer is a bona fide purchaser in this case. 

The course of the case 

The seller changed his mind about selling the apartment after correcting the violations committed during the negotiation process to finalize the main contract for the sale and purchase of the apartment. He argued that since the conclusion of the preliminary contract for the sale and purchase, the buyer had repeatedly changed the terms of the main contract for the sale and purchase, to which the seller objected, and thus there were no grounds for returning the deposit in double the amount. 

However, we prepared and sent letters proposing to complete the transaction within the timeframes established by the letter of intent, or to extend the terms of the agreement to comply with the contractual terms. And also, we repeatedly expressed our willingness to conclude a purchase and sale agreement under the terms established by the letter of intent. These letters were addressed to the seller and the real estate agency that facilitated the transaction on his behalf. Furthermore, as part of the transaction's messenger correspondence, the buyer repeatedly proposed that the date and time of the transaction be agreed upon. 

As a result, within the timeframes set by the letter of intent: 

• The purchase and sale agreement was not completed.
• The parties did not terminate the letter of intent voluntarily, and the deposit was not returned.
• The terms of the main purchase and sale agreement were not extended through an additional agreement. 

We prepared a claim and sent it to the seller, but it was not satisfied. During the trial, the evidence supporting our position on recovering a double deposit and interest for the use of the funds included letters about the need to enter into a transaction, correspondence in a messenger, and written explanations. 

At the same time, the defendant did not present evidence at the court hearing that he intended to conclude the agreement at a later date or that he proposed agreeing to extend the term for concluding the main purchase and sale agreement. 

The outcome of the case 

The claims were fully satisfied due to the availability of documents proving our readiness for the transaction, as well as multiple attempts to complete the main contract of sale and purchase of the apartment. The court decision stated that “the plaintiff's party took the necessary actions aimed at concluding the transaction, while the defendant avoided concluding the main contract of sale and purchase.” 

The seller was charged a double deposit and interest for using the funds, which accrued until the actual repayment of the amount charged. As a result, we protected the client's interests both during the preparation of the real estate purchase transaction and throughout the trial.

This case, in our opinion, demonstrates the importance of involving lawyers when conducting real estate transactions, beginning with removing the risk of losing the acquired expensive asset in the future and ending with the return of funds paid as a deposit under a preliminary agreement with penalties.