A new trend has recently appeared on the AtHome.lu website: the promotion of ” price reductions ” for properties:

After checking, however, it seems that some of the prices shown as crossed out do not correspond to the prices that were being charged 10 days earlier for the same property:

Even if the temptation is great to artificially inflate the starting price in order to pass off a bigger discount (in this case 10% instead of 5%), it should be remembered that estate agents are subject to the rules of the Consumer Code (see our article on the right of withdrawal in particular).

However, following the entry into force of the Act of 30 November 2022 transposing the European Omnibus Directive into the Consumer Code, the new article L.112-2-1 specifically governs price reduction advertisements – including in the property sector – in Luxembourg.

Art. L. 112-2-1

(1) Any advertisement of a reduction in the price of a good shall indicate the previous price applied by the trader for a specified period prior to the application of the price reduction.

(2) The previous price means the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of not less than thirty days prior to the application of the price reduction.

If the goods have been on the market for less than thirty days, the previous price means the lowest price applied by the trader since the marketing of the goods concerned.

(3) By way of derogation from paragraph 2, if the price reduction is gradually increased, the previous price means the price without reduction before the first application of the price reduction.

The risk is not insignificant, since in addition to the – relatively modest – fine provided for in article L.112-9 of the Consumer Code (from €25 to €1,000), the practice could be considered an unfair commercial practice, including misleading practices, within the meaning of article L.122-2. and give rise to much higher fines (from €251 to €120,000), as well as the right to compensation for consumers who feel they have been cheated, and who could try to claim, for example, the same percentage reduction but in relation to the lowest price recorded over the last 30 days.

Finally, it is interesting to note that in a ruling of 26 September 2024, the CJEU confirmed that the obligation to indicate the previous price must, in the case of successive promotions, include the last lowest price charged over the 30-day period, all discounts included, in order to further protect consumer rights.

It follows that, in order to comply both with the specific objective of Article 6a of Directive 98/6 and with the objectives pursued generally by that directive, Article 6a(1) and (2) thereof must be interpreted as meaning that, in an advertisement relating to a reduction in the selling price of a product, that reduction must be determined by reference to the ‘previous price’ of that product, within the meaning of paragraph 2 of that article. It follows that the selling price of a product presented in an advertisement as being a reduced price cannot, in reality, be the same as that “previous price”, or even be higher than it. (CJEU – 26 September 2024, C-330/23, Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg eV v. Aldi Süd Dienstleistungs SE & Co. OHG, §27).

Care must therefore be taken to avoid exposing oneself to potential legal proceedings, and estate agents are strongly advised to keep a record of the history of a sale price, in the event that they resort to the process of highlighting a price reduction.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about real estate or consumer law in Luxembourg.