What is the prescriptive period for an action based on breach of warranty of sale of immovable against non-apparent and unregistered burden or servitude?

What is the prescriptive period for an action based on breach of warranty of sale of immovable against non-apparent and unregistered burden or servitude?

• A. 40 days from the date of contract of sale or from the discovery of burden.
• B. 6 months from the date of contract of sale or from the discovery of burden.
• C. 1 year from the date of contract of sale or from the discovery of burden.
• D. 3 days from the date of contract of sale or from discovery of burden.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that a sale of immovable property includes an implied warranty that the title is free from encumbrances not disclosed. When a non-apparent and unregistered burden or servitude is discovered, the buyer’s remedy is governed by a short prescriptive period: one year. This one-year window starts either from the date of the contract of sale (if the burden was already present or known at the time of sale) or from the moment the burden is discovered (if it was latent). In other words, you sue within one year of discovering the burden, unless it was already evident at contract, in which case the countdown begins on the contract date. That’s why the correct choice is the one-year period from either the contract date or the discovery of the burden. The other timeframes (40 days, six months, or three days) are too short to allow a meaningful remedy for a latent encumbrance.

The key idea is that a sale of immovable property includes an implied warranty that the title is free from encumbrances not disclosed. When a non-apparent and unregistered burden or servitude is discovered, the buyer’s remedy is governed by a short prescriptive period: one year.

This one-year window starts either from the date of the contract of sale (if the burden was already present or known at the time of sale) or from the moment the burden is discovered (if it was latent). In other words, you sue within one year of discovering the burden, unless it was already evident at contract, in which case the countdown begins on the contract date.

That’s why the correct choice is the one-year period from either the contract date or the discovery of the burden. The other timeframes (40 days, six months, or three days) are too short to allow a meaningful remedy for a latent encumbrance.