How long do you have to bring a claim for breach of contract?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

In Catalonia, generally ten years, counted from when you know or can reasonably know about the breach and who to claim against. There are shorter time limits, such as the three years a professional or a business has to get paid for its work or those that buyers and sellers have to bring claims under a sale. The contract can set a different time limit, provided it is not less than half the one laid down by law or more than double. Under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”), which applies in most of the rest of Spain, the general time limit is five years from when performance could be demanded. The general time limit in Catalonia The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, gives ten years for any claim that does not have a special time limit. That is the time limit for demanding performance of the contract, for terminating it or for claiming damages, if the contract is governed by Catalan civil law. If there is any doubt as to which law applies, work on the basis of the shorter time limit. To calculate it, bear in mind these rules: It starts when you know, or could reasonably have known, about the breach and who to claim against, which is not always the day on which the other party was due to perform. Even if you do not know about it, the claim is extinguished thirty years after it arose, unless the time limit has been interrupted in that time. For example, if a painter undertook to paint a flat on 15 March 2024 and did not turn up, the client can claim against the painter until 15 March 2034, unless the time limit is interrupted before then. The shorter time limits Three years for a professional or a business to claim the price of its services or its work. A client who claims because the work was not done or was done badly keeps the ten years. Three years for periodic payments, such as rent or instalments. Three years in sales and exchanges signed since 2018, for any of the buyer's and the seller's claims for breach, such as demanding delivery, terminating, asking for a price reduction or claiming damages. They run from when they can be brought and, if what was bought has a defect, from when the buyer knows or could know about it. The law says that those claims are extinguished, without making clear whether a letter stops the time limit, so do not count on it. If, instead of commissioning the painting, someone had bought a sofa that was due to be delivered that day, the time limit would end on 15 March 2027. Ordering furniture that has to be made to measure is also a sale. The contract can lengthen or shorten the time limit, provided it does not go below half the statutory period or above double and does not leave either party defenceless. The ten years can be set anywhere between five and twenty. If your contract sets a shorter time limit, the prudent course is to respect it. How it is interrupted and what happens outside Catalonia The general time limit starts again in full if it is interrupted by any of the following: A written claim that records the date and the content, such as a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. A court claim or the start of arbitration. The other party acknowledging what it owes, for example by asking for more time to perform. The letter inviting the other party to negotiate before a claim is brought, if it also demands performance. Even though the time limit is long, it is best not to wait, because over time it becomes harder to prove what happened. In most of the rest of Spain, the Spanish Civil Code gives five years from when performance could be demanded. It also has shorter time limits, such as the three years professionals have to get paid or the six months from delivery to claim for latent defects in what was bought.