The purchase has been agreed. Now the buyer side is withholding part of the purchase price and refers to an allegedly outstanding performance or a defect. You want to know whether you can demand payment or suspend further steps yourself. Before responding, legal advice needs the complete contract, performance and payment status. This article prepares it for a German case and does not decide any claim.
Precisely record the allegation
Our editorial recommendation: Secure the actual letter or message. Which specific point is named, which amount is not paid and what justification is given? A general “The buyers are dissatisfied” is too imprecise for the review.
Separate the alleged fact from its legal consequence. Whether a technical deviation exists, whether a performance is owed and whether this leads to a defence of non-payment are different examinations. None of them is answered simply by an arbitrarily chosen large sum.
Submit the contract and prior performance together
Compile the complete deed, annexes and later agreements. Assign actual payments and delivered performances with dates and receipts. A self-created overall balance does not replace the allocation of individual items.
§ 320 BGB governs a general defence of non-fulfilled contract and contains, among other things, limits regarding the obligation to perform in advance and partial performance. [BGB-320] Whether this or other rules apply in the specific property transaction must be examined on the basis of the actual arrangement. The article does not state a blanket permissible retention.
An invented dispute about an ancillary performance
A buyer withholds a partial amount because a specific performance mentioned in the contract has not yet been carried out. The seller believes it was completed long ago. He finds an engagement document, but initially no proof of the work actually performed.
He submits precisely these documents and the remaining course to the advice. In parallel he clarifies the actual performance status with the specialist office involved. An order is not presented as proof of execution; however, the buyer’s assertion is not treated as a confirmed contractual breach without examination.
Do not derive countermeasures from anger
The article recommends neither an unauthorised lockout nor a freely worded declaration of withdrawal. Which reaction, demand or further legal measure is appropriate depends on the contract and the situation. If an appointment or an existing own obligation is affected, this will be communicated specifically.
Self-improvised repairs can also raise new questions. Technical measures and legally required procedures are coordinated appropriately before the alleged point of dispute is made harder to verify by changes.
Receive a verifiable next step
The advisory response should make clear which question was clarified and what you should do concretely next. Note required documents, responsible person and confirmed return channel. A general question of trust between the parties thus becomes a processable factual matter again.
This keeps the dispute focused on the actual contract content, proven performance and correctly classified payment status. You do not have to decide the dispute legally yourself in order to have it fully examined without rosy assumptions.