When purchasing a property in France, the sales contract must contain the technical diagnosis file or DDT (Dossier de diagnostic technique in French).
Conducted by a third party expert, the various mandatory diagnoses are grouped in one file to allow the buyer to get a more precise idea on the property qualities and defects.
For the purchase of an existing property:
Asbestos :
States the presence or absence of materials or products containing asbestos. If no trace of asbestos is detected, the period of validity is unlimited. On the other hand, if the presence of asbestos is detected, a new check must be carried out within 3 years following the submission of the diagnosis.
Non-collective sanitation (Septic tank) :
States the type of sewer treatment installation on the property when it is not connected to a public network.
Lead :
Reports the presence of lead and the risk exposure. The diagnostic must be accompanied by an information leaflet (effects of lead on health and the precautions that need to be taken in the presence of coatings that may contain lead).
The concerned buildings must be residential and built before January 1st 1949.
Electrical :
States the condition and defects of the indoor electrical installation for residential buildings or part(s) of the building allocated to housing whose installation is 15 years old or more.
Environmental and pollution risks or ERP (Etat des Risques et Pollutions in French) :
Listing and mapping of the environmental and pollution risks such as mining, technological hazards, seismicity, radon gas and polluted soils.
Natural Gas :
States the existence and condition of the indoor gas installation.
Termites / House fungus :
Only for geographical zones at risk (areas delimited by prefectural decrees), it will state the presence of termites and/or house fungus.
Energy performance or DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Energétique in French) :
The report includes an “energy” label with two integrating ratings:
- Energy consumption expressed in kilowatt-hours
- Greenhouse gas emissions expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2)
The overall rating uses a color chart and letters labelling (from A to G) to rate the property performance.
Noise pollution :
Informs the future buyer of the existence of airborne noise pollution if the property is located in a airport noise exposure zone.
CARREZ LAW (Loi Carrez in French) :
Certificate attesting the surface area of the residential or commercial property (except cellars, garages, parking space).
For the purchase of a new build off plan property (VEFA in French):
The list of the technical diagnosis required is shorter than for an existing property.
The following diagnosis are not required :
- Lead
- Natural gas and electrical
- Asbestos
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