Eviction Undertaking Closing-Day Check
Purpose of the closing-day check
Title-transfer day is the wrong moment to discover that the original undertaking cannot be found or that a new proceeding was never disclosed. The closing check revalidates facts that may have changed since diligence: is the tenant still in possession, were new payments or agreements made, has the promised date arrived, has mediation or enforcement begun, and is the version reviewed by the buyer the same version being handed over? The objective is to freeze the factual and legal position at closing.
Step 1: match the original to the reviewed copy
Produce the original or best authenticated version and compare it page by page with the buyer’s diligence copy. Check name, premises, signature, date, handwriting and attachments. Do not accept a last-minute replacement without explanation. Record the version, who delivered it, who received it and whether the original is physically transferred to the buyer or counsel.
Step 2: refresh tenant status
Confirm the last rent payment, latest communication, keys returned or outstanding and any later agreement. If the tenant has already moved out, do not equate that statement with completed possession until keys, remaining persons and belongings are checked. If the tenant remains, record that the purchaser understands the tenancy continues and that title transfer is not itself an eviction.
Step 3: compare closing with the promised date
If the vacate date is still future, the handover file needs a clear legal calendar and named owner of the follow-up. If the date has passed, obtain proof of any proceeding, its filing date and file number. Article 352 links the route to a one-month period from the promised date, so closing should not proceed on an undocumented assumption that there will always be more time.
Step 4: identify new disputes
Require a final disclosure of mediation, notices, enforcement, litigation, objections or settlement since the prior review. Reconcile the statement to lawfully available documents. A material surprise is not routine administration; reopen the risk, pricing and closing-condition decision. Procedure in a rental dispute requires legal review, including the mandatory-mediation framework and its official exception.
Step 5: execute the handover package
Use a signed inventory covering the lease, undertaking, evidence of delivery supporting chronology, rent ledger, deposit, notices, material correspondence, relevant powers and any mediation/enforcement/court file. A scattered folder of PDFs is not enough. The buyer should know exactly what transferred and what remains with the seller.
Step 6: coordinate with payment and registration
If the transaction or any payment depends on vacant possession or a tenant-related event, counsel should review the condition and payment mechanism before execution. Verification of the undertaking does not authorise the sales team to invent an escrow or withholding structure. The control objective is that money instructions do not contradict the verified closing facts.
Final sign-off questions
- Is the undertaking original in the package?
- Is post-delivery chronology still supported?
- Has occupancy, the lease or payment status changed?
- Has the vacate date passed, and if so what procedure started and when?
- Is there any new dispute or settlement?
- Does the buyer understand the tenant-remains scenario?
- Did both sides sign the tenancy-file handover inventory?
Closing result
Classify the file as ready, ready with a defined follow-up, or not ready and requiring pause/adjustment. Do not label it ready where validity is unknown, the original is missing or the current procedural stage is not understood. The closing check exists to prevent an invisible tenancy risk transferring together with title.