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‘Diagnostics’ or obligatory inspection reports.

The obligatory inspection reports, paid for by the vendors, will be annexed to the contract. 

Not all the reports mentioned below will apply to the property you purchase. It depends on the age, type and location of the property. 

Energy Efficiency (diagnostic de performance énergétique, or DPE)

This report was introduced a few years ago and was intended to highlight differences in heating costs between properties. The DPE results have to appear on all advertising. The report is valid for 10 years (unless it was issued before 30th June 2021).

A DPE must be carried out in all dwellings, unless the accommodation is intended to be occupied less than 4 months per year. It is not required for properties where the only form of heating is open fires, or where there is none at all. 

From April 2023, where the property to be sold is classed F or G,  the vendor will need to have an energy audit undertaken in order to inform the buyer of the nature of the works required to improve the score. It will apply to class E from January 2025 and D from January 2034.

Furthermore from 1 January 2025, G-rated properties will no longer be allowed to be rented out. From 1 January 2028, F-rated properties will no longer be allowed to be rented out. From 1 January 2034, E-rated properties will no longer be allowed to be rented out.

Electricity

The electrical safety report is not obligatory for properties built, newly-wired or completely re-wired within the last 15 years. The report is valid for 3 years.

Gas

The report is necessary when fixed gas pipes have been installed in a property for at least 15 years. The report is valid for 3 years.

Asbestos 

An asbestos report is not required for properties built after July 1997.

If asbestos is present, the report outlines the condition of the material concerned, and indicates whether any action is required.

The report is valid indefinitely where no asbestos is present, or for 3 years if asbestos is present..

Lead

A lead report is not required for houses built after 1st January 1949.

Where traces are found, this is often in undercoats of paint but still detectable by the machine used by the inspector. 

The report is valid indefinitely where no lead is present, or for 1 year if lead is present..

Termites

A termite report is not required for properties outside of designated risk zones.

The report must be less than 6 months old at the time of final completion.

Risks

Some areas of the country are subject to specific risks such as earthquake, flooding, land-slip, radon, industrial accidents, accidents due to mining, etc. The purpose of the report is to inform buyers of the level of risk, if any, in the commune concerned. The risk report concerns the whole of the commune, not specifically the property itself.

There is also a requirement for the vendors to declare whether or not they have made, or have knowledge of, any insurance claims following damage to the property due to certain recognised ‘catastrophic’ events in the past..

The report must be less than 6 months old at the time of final completion.

Loi carrez 

A precise measurement of surface area must be supplied for properties within a copropriété (usually an apartment or part of a gite complex)

It remains permanently valid unless work has been carried out which changes the surface area.

Drainage 

Any essential remedial work highlighted by the report is obligatory and the buyer will usually have one year after purchase to carry it out.  

The report must be less than three years old at the time of completion of your purchase.

In some areas, properties connected to mains drainage are exempt from this legislation.