§1.7.1 Rental contracts and building contracts

Article 3 3. This Directive shall not apply to contracts: (e) for the creation, acquisition or transfer of immovable property or of rights in immovable property; (f) for the construction of new buildings, the substantial conversion of existing buildings and for rental of accommodation for residential purposes; The exception under point (e) concerns the general category of immovable property, including land, whilst point (f) deals with buildings. Whereas the rental of accommodation for residential purposes is excluded from the scope of the Directive, the rental of accommodation for non-residential purposes is covered. This is also explained in Recital 26: ‘[…] Service contracts in particular those related to the construction of annexes to buildings (for example a garage or a veranda) and those related to repair and renovation of buildings other than substantial conversion, should be included in the scope of this Directive , as well as contracts related to the services of a real estate agent and those related to the rental of accommodation for non-residential purposes.’ — For example, renting a parking space or a party hall is subject to the Directive. A distinction should be made between construction contracts and service contracts related to the construction. In case C-208/19 NK the Court noted that the exception under Article 3(3)(f) would not apply to a contract between an architect and a consumer, according to which the former is required to prepare the designs for the construction of a new building. Although the design precedes construction works, it is a separate process, and in fact there is no certainty that the building will be constructed at all (35). Furthermore, based on Article 2(3) and (4) and point (c) of the first paragraph of Article 16, such a contract cannot be regarded as supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalized, within the meaning of the latter provision. Although the designs could be provided in tangible form on paper or as digital content, the subject matter of the contract is an intellectual service – architectural design, and the subsequent delivery has only ancillary function (36). Following the above logic, the CRD should apply to service agreements which may be related to construction but constitute a separate process with an independent deliverable, such as contracts concluded with geometers, contracts for interior design, landscape planning, etc.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07