Award
The award is the moment the asset is assigned to whoever submitted the best bid. From there obligations arise, first and foremost paying the balance of the price. Ownership does not yet arise: that comes with the transfer decree.
When the bid is accepted
Article 572 of the Code of Civil Procedure distinguishes two situations, and the difference is clear-cut.
A bid equal to or higher than the value set in the order: “it is accepted without further ado”. There is no margin of discretion; the award is due.
A lower bid, but by no more than a quarter: here the judge may proceed with the sale, and only on two conditions — that they consider there is no serious possibility of obtaining more with a new sale, and that no applications for assignment have been submitted by the creditors.
Below the one-quarter limit the bid is not effective: article 571 says so, considering ineffective a bid lower “by more than one quarter than the price set in the order”.
If there is more than one bid
An auction among the bidders opens. Article 573 provides that the judge in any case invites the bidders to bid against one another starting from the highest bid.
The surprising part is how the best one is identified. It is not only the price that counts: the judge takes into account “the amount of the price, the deposits provided, the form, manner and timing of payment, and any other useful element indicated in the bid itself”.
A slightly lower bid with a higher deposit and immediate payment of the balance can beat a higher bid with payment in instalments at the maximum term. It is worth building your bid with this in mind.
Why it is called “provisional”
In sales delegated to a professional, article 591-bis establishes that the report of the proceedings contains “the declaration of the provisional award with the identification of the successful bidder”. That is where the term you keep hearing comes from.
Provisional does not mean uncertain: it means the act that transfers ownership is still missing. In a sale by open auction there is an extra reason, because the assignment remains exposed to the increased bids provided for by article 584.
What it entails
From that moment the successful bidder has a deadline to pay the price. The deadline is stated in the sale order and cannot be extended at will.
Anyone who misses the deadline runs into article 587: the judge declares the forfeiture, the deposit is lost by way of penalty, and a new sale is held. If the new price, together with the forfeited deposit, is lower than the previous one, the defaulting successful bidder must pay the difference.
It is not a symbolic penalty: it is a debt that can far exceed the deposit.
What the award does not do
It does not make you the owner. It does not give you the keys. It does not extinguish the mortgages.
All three happen with the transfer decree, after payment. In the meantime the property remains under the management of the court-appointed custodian, and viewings or access go through them.