Short answer. The seller must deliver the thing, together with its accessions and accessories, in the same condition it was in when the contract was perfected. The fruits belong to the buyer from the day of perfection, even though actual delivery may only happen weeks or months later.
What the law says
The vendor is bound to deliver the thing sold and its accessions and accessories in the condition in which they were upon the perfection of the contract.
Civil Code, Article 1537 — Condition of the Thing; Fruits. Read the full provision →
What the law says
All the fruits shall pertain to the vendee from the day on which the contract was perfected.
Civil Code, Article 1537 — Condition of the Thing; Fruits. Read the full provision →
The condition is frozen at perfection, not at delivery
Article 1537 sets the benchmark plainly: the vendor is bound to deliver the thing sold and its accessions and accessories in the condition in which they were upon the perfection of the contract. Perfection is the moment the parties agreed on the thing and the price — not the day the deed was notarised, not the day the keys changed hands. That is the snapshot the seller must match. If a house was intact when you shook hands and a wall was knocked out before turnover, or a car had four good tyres at signing and two bald ones at release, the seller has not delivered what the article requires. Ordinary wear over a reasonable interval is one thing; stripping, substitution or deterioration the seller allowed is another.
Accessions and accessories come with it
The obligation is not limited to the main object. Accessions are things added to or produced by the thing — a structure built on the lot, an improvement attached to the building. Accessories are items that serve the thing's use — the spare tyre and tools of a vehicle, the keys and remote controls of a house, the fixtures fitted to a unit. Both must be handed over in their state at perfection unless the contract clearly excluded them. This is why an inventory attached to the contract is worth the trouble: it converts a later argument about what was "always part of" the property into a document comparison, which is a far easier thing to prove.
Fruits belong to the buyer from perfection
The second sentence answers the money question: all the fruits shall pertain to the vendee from the day on which the contract was perfected. Fruits here means what the thing produces — the harvest of the land, the offspring of animals, and importantly the rent a leased property earns. So if you bought a rented building in March and took possession in June, the rentals for those three months are in principle yours, not the seller's. Sellers frequently keep collecting them out of habit, and buyers frequently forget to ask. Raise it at signing, agree in writing who collects during the interim, and put the tenants on notice at the right time so the money is not spent before the issue is raised.
What the article does not do, and how to protect yourself
This provision fixes a standard; it does not by itself tell you what happens when the standard is breached. Whether you may demand fulfilment, rescind, or claim damages, and whether the loss falls on seller or buyer when the thing is destroyed before delivery, come from separate provisions of the Code. It does not override a clear contrary stipulation — parties are generally free to agree that fruits accruing before turnover stay with the seller, or that the property is taken in its present condition, and such clauses are common. It also does not cover hidden defects that existed all along, which the warranty provisions handle. Practically: photograph and date the property at signing, list the accessories, note the meter readings and any existing leases, and inspect again before accepting delivery. Raise discrepancies in writing at once rather than after signing an unqualified acceptance.