Eviction Undertaking Red Flags
Red flag 1: signed as part of the initial lease package
If every document appears to have been signed together and there is no independent evidence that the premises were delivered first, this is material. Article 352 concerns a written undertaking after delivery; reconstruct the actual sequence instead of relying on the printed date.
Red flag 2: no traceable original
A phone image with no original or explanation of custody increases authenticity and proof risk. Request the chain of possession and best authenticated version. If the original cannot be found, make that visible in the acquisition decision rather than calling the document “available.”
Red flag 3: unexplained blanks or alterations
A date written over an erasure, an empty field, a different page or an unsigned addendum can alter meaning. Do not “clean up” the document. Preserve it, obtain explanations and independent supporting evidence, and seek legal review.
Red flag 4: tenant or premises do not match the lease
A minor spelling difference may be explainable, but a different person, unit or capacity can mean the undertaking does not address the possession the buyer expects. Reconcile identity, address/unit, lease and actual occupant.
Red flag 5: ambiguous or multiple vacate dates
If one version contains one date and another version a different date, or later messages say the date was extended, identify the governing date through evidence. The buyer should not build a closing calendar around whichever date a sales intermediary prefers.
Red flag 6: the date passed and nobody can show the action taken
This is severe. TBK 352 connects the relevant route to action within one month from the promised date. “We have not decided yet” or absence of a file number and filing date calls for immediate legal assessment of whether the route has been affected.
Red flag 7: a dispute is minimised
“The tenant is only objecting” is not a sufficient status report. Denial of signature/date or an existing mediation, enforcement or lawsuit belongs in the risk file with documents. Do not price the property as vacant while possession is genuinely disputed.
Red flag 8: reliance on a verbal promise to leave
Statements such as “the tenant will go next week” or “we know him personally” do not replace actual handover or a sound legal file. Stress-test the acquisition with the tenant remaining and decide whether price and intended use still work.
Red flag 9: pressure to pay before disclosure
A request for a non-refundable deposit or transfer before the original undertaking or dispute file is disclosed creates a separate transaction risk. Material evidence should be available before irreversible financial commitment.
Red flag 10: no handover package for the buyer
An undertaking sitting with the seller is of limited use if the lease, supporting evidence, correspondence and proceeding records do not transfer to the new owner. Require a signed document inventory at title transfer.
Response to red flags
Not every red flag cancels a transaction. Classify each as curable before closing, requiring legal opinion, or making vacant possession unreliable. Where several combine — for example, missing original, doubtful chronology and a possibly missed period — do not let the purchase price assume an outcome better than the evidence supports.