Deceptive clauses trapping buyers exposed in contracts of 132 construction companies
In Uzbekistan's new residential real estate market, it has been revealed that the blatant violation of buyer rights and the use of one-sided contracts are widespread. Comprehensive analysis conducted by the Competition Committee has exposed serious legal violations in the contracts of 132 construction companies that restrict consumer rights.
As a result of reviewing complaints, 14.5 billion soums in cash have been recalculated and returned to citizens who were deceived or treated unfairly.
Over 1,700 complaints and regional indicators
During the first 9 months of 2026, the Competition Committee received over 1,700 complaints from citizens regarding the failure to hand over facilities on time and poor-quality construction. The regional breakdown of the 132 contracts where violations were identified is as follows:
Tashkent city — 17;
Namangan, Navoi, and Tashkent regions — 15 each;
Bukhara and Surkhandarya regions — 13 each;
Fergana and Khorezm regions — 10 each;
Andijan region — 9;
Syrdarya region — 8;
Jizzakh region — 4;
Kashkadarya region — 3.
Hidden "traps" in contracts: Numbers and facts
Most of the analyzed contracts were drafted in a way that solely benefits the construction company, leaving the buyer unprotected:
In 77.3% of cases, the deadline for returning the buyer's money upon contract termination was either not specified at all or unreasonably extended;
In 63.6% of contracts, no warranty period was provided after the apartment was accepted;
59.1% of contracts were found to be one-sided documents tailored exclusively to the company's interests;
In 54.5% of documents, the obligation to fix construction defects at the builder's expense was not indicated;
In 50.8% of contracts, no penalty (fine/liquidated damages) to be paid by the builder in case of a delay in handing over the building was provided;
In 33.3% of cases, the exact date and deadline for handing over the house were concealed;
30.3% of contracts were drawn up only in Russian, contrary to the requirements of the legislation on the state language.
Illegal fines and the trick of withholding money
During the investigations, highly unfair clauses used by some construction firms also came to light:
Withholding 4–15% of funds: If a buyer wishes to terminate the contract voluntarily, unreasonably large deductions were specified;
The "money will be returned only after the house is resold" trap: Many companies wrote that even if the contract is terminated, they will only return the money after that apartment is sold to a new buyer;
Unilateral price increases: The practice of unilaterally increasing the price of an apartment during the construction process without the client's consent was used.
The Competition Committee urges citizens to thoroughly study every clause of a contract when purchasing an apartment in newly constructed multi-story buildings and not to agree to suspicious or one-sided terms.
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