Developer missed the handover date in Uzbekistan: how to claim a penalty or a refund

If the handover date in your contract has passed and you still have no keys, you can claim a penalty for every day of delay, and if the delay is serious, terminate the contract and get your money back together with compensation for your losses. Below we explain how to check your contract, write a claim letter, where to complain and what to do if the case goes to court or the developer goes bankrupt.

What to check first

Start with your documents, not with complaints. Almost everything that follows depends on what the contract says and how it was registered.

• The handover date. Find the exact date or period in the contract. If the deadline is tied to "commissioning of the building", check whether there is a final date.
• The penalty clause. A contract usually sets the developer's liability as a percentage of the price for each day of delay. This is the basis of your claim.
• Registration of the contract. A shared construction contract must be registered on the electronic platform of the Ministry of Construction. Once it is registered, the buyer receives an SMS, and every page of the contract carries a unique number and a QR code. Under the Regulation, unregistered contracts are deemed invalid.
• Payments. Collect every receipt, bank statement and payment slip. Buyers' money must go to a separate bank account the developer opens for each housing complex.
• Correspondence. Keep letters, messenger chats and the developer's announcements about new deadlines. A new date you were "told about" does not change the contract unless you signed an addendum.

Shared construction is currently governed by Presidential Resolution PP-4732 of 27 May 2020 and the Regulation it approved. A separate law on shared construction with escrow accounts is still being considered by Parliament, so rely on the Regulation, the Civil Code and the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights".

What penalty can you claim

If the contract sets a penalty, claim it under the contract. If there is none, or it is negligible, and you are buying the apartment for yourself rather than for business, you can rely on the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights":

• for missing the deadline for performing work, the contractor pays the consumer 1% of the price of the work for each day of delay, capped at the price itself (Article 19);
• for missing the delivery date under a sale contract, the seller pays 0.5% of the unperformed part for each day, and the total cannot exceed the price of the goods (Article 12¹, in force since 2 November 2025).

Which of these rules fits your contract depends on its wording, and the court has the final say. Besides the penalty, you can claim compensation for losses, such as the rent you pay while waiting, and for moral damage (Article 22 of the same law). Note that if a penalty is clearly disproportionate to the consequences of the breach, the court may reduce it (Article 326 of the Civil Code).

Example. Suppose an apartment costs 600 million soums, the contract sets a penalty of 0.1% per day, and the building is handed over 100 days late. The contractual penalty is 600,000 soums per day, or 60 million soums for the whole period. That is the amount you put in your claim letter.

How to write and send a claim letter

A claim letter (pretenziya) is a written demand to the developer. A consumer does not always have to send one before going to court, but it is almost always worth it: it records the delay and your demands, and some developers agree to settle after receiving it.

1. State your details, the developer's name, the number and date of the contract and its registration number on the platform.
2. Describe the breach: the handover date in the contract and the fact that the apartment has still not been handed over.
3. Set out your demands: pay the penalty (with a calculation), name a realistic handover date, compensate your losses. If you want to exit the contract, propose terminating it and returning your money.
4. Give a deadline for a reply, for example 10 or 30 days.
5. Send the letter by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, or hand it in at the developer's office and have your copy stamped as received.

Can you terminate the contract and get your money back

Yes. A significant delay is a ground for termination. Under Article 382 of the Civil Code, a court can terminate a contract if the other party materially breaches it, and under Article 337, if the delay means performance is no longer of interest to you, you can refuse it and claim damages. The consumer protection law (Article 19) also lets you withdraw from the contract and claim damages when it becomes obvious that the work will not be completed on time.

The sequence matters. First send the developer a proposal to terminate the contract. You can go to court with this demand once the developer refuses or fails to reply within the period stated in your proposal, or, if no period was stated, within 30 days (Article 384 of the Civil Code). Until the money is returned, you can charge interest on it for the use of another person's funds (Article 327 of the Civil Code).

Before terminating, weigh your options honestly. If the building is almost finished, it may pay to wait for the apartment and collect the penalty. If construction has stopped and the developer is running out of money, waiting is risky.

How to file a lawsuit

If the claim letter does not work, go to the inter-district civil court. A consumer may sue where the developer is located, where the consumer lives or where the harm was caused (Article 29 of the consumer protection law). You can file online at my.sud.uz.

Individuals are exempt from state duty in lawsuits over violations of consumer rights (the same Article 29). The general limitation period is three years (Article 150 of the Civil Code).

What to attach to the claim:

• a copy of the contract and any addenda, plus proof of its registration;
• payment documents;
• your claim letter, proof that it was sent and the developer's reply, if any;
• a calculation of the penalty, losses and interest;
• evidence of your losses: a rental agreement, receipts, a loan agreement.

Where else you can complain

While your claim letter is pending, you can also contact the bodies that supervise developers:

• The Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services and its regional departments. They keep the Electronic List of developers and the register of contracts. Under the PP-4732 Regulation, a housing complex is classed as a problem project if its commissioning is delayed without good reason by more than six months. Files on problem projects are passed to law enforcement, and no new contracts for that complex are registered.
• The Inspectorate for Construction and Housing and Communal Services Supervision, if there are signs that building standards were violated.
• The Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Protection, if your consumer rights were violated or the advertising was misleading.

You can look up a developer and its project on the Shaffof Qurilish portal (dshk.shaffofqurilish.uz). A complaint to a government body is not a substitute for a lawsuit: only a court can award you money and a penalty, unless the developer pays voluntarily.

What happens if the developer goes bankrupt

The Law "On Insolvency" has special rules for shared construction developers (Articles 190–193):

• the court-appointed manager must notify buyers in writing within 10 days of being appointed;
• by decision of the creditors' meeting, an unfinished building may be transferred to another developer from the Electronic List, together with the obligations to buyers;
• buyers' claims for damages are paid in the second rank, ahead of other creditors;
• founders and managers whose actions led to the insolvency may bear subsidiary or joint liability.

Once insolvency proceedings start, file your claim in the case on time. Missing deadlines can cost you your place in the queue.

When to call a lawyer

You can write a simple claim letter with a penalty calculation yourself. But in some situations a mistake is expensive:

• the contract is not registered on the platform, or it is framed as an "investment", "preliminary" or loan agreement, so you need to work out which rules apply;
• the amount is large and the developer is already delaying payments to other buyers;
• you are deciding whether to terminate or wait for the apartment, which affects both the risks and how much you can realistically recover;
• insolvency proceedings or a criminal case have been opened against the developer.

A lawyer handling real estate and construction disputes can review your contract, calculate your claims correctly and help you choose a strategy: negotiation, a lawsuit or participation in the bankruptcy case.

In short

• Check your contract: the handover date, the penalty clause and registration on the Ministry of Construction platform.
• Claim the contractual penalty; if there is none, rely on the consumer protection law. A court may reduce a clearly excessive penalty.
• Send a written claim letter with a calculation and keep proof that you sent it.
• To terminate through the court, first propose termination to the developer and wait up to 30 days for a reply.
• Consumers pay no state duty in such cases and can sue where they live, including online at my.sud.uz.
• If the developer goes bankrupt, buyers' claims rank second, ahead of other creditors.

Photo: Uzbekeditor, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)