Ambiance Zen

Since the mid-1990s a host of real estate consumer and environmental 
protection laws has come into effect in France. These laws require 
people selling properties as well as landlords to carry out various 
surveys before putting their properties on the sales or rental markets. 
Buyers and tenants must be informed of the results before the sales 
contract or lease is signed. 
Recently the French Real Estate Association SNPI invited its members to
a seminar where these new laws were discussed. These are the most 
important points: 
One of the first laws adopted was the "Loi Carrez" passed in the 
mid-1990s which requires sellers to indicate the exact size of the 
property when the sales contract is signed. If it is subsequently 
revealed that the actual size is more than 5% smaller than that stated 
in the contract, the buyer is entitled to claim a price reduction of 
the same proportion within a year of the purchase being completed. 
Since then, additional requirements have been imposed on sellers and, 
in some cases, landlords of rental properties, including producing 
mandatory certificates for the following: 
1) The presence of asbestos (under the decree of 7th February 1996). 
2) The presence of lead (under the Law of 29 th July 1998). 
This also applies to residential property rentals. 
3)  Any termite infestation (under the Law of 8th June 1999).   
The so-called "Loi Bachelot du 30 juillet 2003 came into effect on 1st 
June 2006 which requires sellers and landlords of properties to deliver 
a certificate of "natural and technological hazards" 
("les risques naturels et technologiques"). The law distinguishes 
between two risk categories: 
1) natural disasters ("catastrophes naturelles") and 
2) natural and technological hazards ("risques naturels et technologiques"). 
If the property has been affected by a natural disaster in the past, 
the seller is legally required to inform the buyer. Landlords have the 
same obligation to their tenants.  
Sellers have been required to provide a certificate "DPE" for the 
"energy performance" of the property ("diagnostique de performance 
énergétique" or "DPE") since 1st November 2006. Landlords have had the 
same obligation since 1st July 2007. This provision is found in the Law 
of 9th December 2004 ("Loi no. 2004-1343 du 9 décembre 2004) and affects 
essentially all closed or "covered" properties. The "DPE" must include 
information about heating, sanitation, energy consumption, ventilation 
and lighting of the property and has a primarily informative function. 
The latest in the series came into effect on 1st November 2007 and 
requires sellers of residential properties to provide a certificate 
"EEIG" listing all "internal gas" installations ("état de l'installation 
intérieure de gaz" or "EIIG"). This is aimed at identifying accident 
hazards and at checking gas installations conform to legal standards. 
According to the French broker association "SNPI", legislation requiring 
two further mandatory certificates is currently pending: 
1) Checks on electrical installations , expected to become law in 2009. 
2) Checks on sanitation and wastewater installations , which should come 
into effect in 2013.   
As of 1st November 2007, all mandatory documents are to be delivered by 
the seller in a special file known as a "dossier diagnostic technique" 
or "DDT" . 
It is not surprising if these complex laws can, at first glance, 
appear somewhat off-putting. However, since 1st November 2007 only 
officially licensed surveyors have been allowed to provide the mandatory 
certificates. As a general rule, they offer a professional service to 
customers and most offer "package checks" that include all the mandatory 
surveys. This simplifies the entire procedure and means that both sellers 
and landlords do not have get concerned with the details. 
In evaluating the current legislation, the pros certainly outweigh the 
cons. It may appear inconvenient to carry out all these checks before a 
property can be sold. However they provide a great deal of security to 
the future owner and will undoubtedly avoid numerous lawsuits.