Timeshare
Advice
Your Rights in the European Economic Area
The Timeshare Directive gives timeshare buyers rights throughout the European Union. It applies to any timeshare contract made under the law of an EU country or where the property is in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Some countries, like the United Kingdom, have given the timeshare buyer more protection than the Directive requires. All Member States must give buyers of timeshare apartments and houses the protection and rights set out below.
A right to a 10 day cooling off period, counted from the day you sign the timeshare contract. During the cooling off period, you have the right to cancel the contract at no cost (apart from necessary legal costs of making the contract such as having the signatures witnessed by a lawyer, which is required by law in some countries, if these costs are mentioned in the contract).
Any associated credit agreement is cancelled automatically when you cancel the timeshare contract.
The seller must not seek or accept any money from you during the cooling off period, for himself or anyone else.
If you ask for a brochure, the seller must give it to you. The brochure must contain the information about the timeshare property specified below. This information must be included in the contract if you buy.
The seller must give you the brochure and contract in your own language, if you ask for it, providing that this is an official language. The official languages of the EEA are English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic.
The seller must give you a translation of the contract in the language of the country where the timeshare is located, providing that this is an official language. This will be needed if you have to go to a foreign court.
Information which must be in the brochure and which forms part of your rights if you agree to buy a timeshare
Who you are dealing with, a person or a company, the owner of the timeshare or an agent;
The name and address of the owner of the development;
What legal rights you have under the law of the country where the property is located, and how long you hold those rights, and any conditions that limit those rights;
Description of the property and its location;
If the property is under construction;
how close it is to completion;
when it will be completed;
number of the building permit and name and address of the authority which granted it;
whether services are laid on (ie gas, electricity, water and telephone);
a guarantee of completion or of full repayment of your money if the property is not completed;
The services (lighting, water, maintenance, refuse collection) available, with charges and conditions;
Common facilities (such as swimming pool, sauna etc) available, with an estimate of the charges and conditions;
Basis on which maintenance and repair will be done;
The price to be paid for the timeshare;
An estimate of the charges for management, maintenance and repairs, and the basis on which they will be calculated;
An estimate of the levels of fees and taxes and the basis on which they will be calculated.
Be particularly careful if you sign a contract outside the UK as you are unlikely to be protected by UK law. If you run into problems, you may have to go to a foreign court which could cost you lots of money and trouble.
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