The emergence of the diagnoses real estate which have appeared gradually for 10 years (law on asbestos and lead and Loi Square in 1996, fight against the termites in 1999 and very recently the law on the energy performance and the state of technological risks and naturalness) gave rise to a new trade: that of the real expertise.

To carry out a real diagnosis makes it possible to evaluate the technical state of a building and its technical installations in terms of solidity, safety, lawful conformity.

During the signature of the commitment to sell, you are in the obligation to present a certain number of certificates relating to the presence of asbestos, lead, termite, a certificate law Carrez, a state of natural and technological risks and an energy diagnosis of performance. As well as the CREP since August 2008. The real diagnoses are simple, fast and inexpensive.


The diagnosis asbestos

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Asbestos, harmful substance par excellence, are prohibited of use in the sector of the real estate since 1997. Residences built before this date can however present traces of this material and thus represent a health risk of its occupants. The Public health code thus obliges the salesman of a real estate before July 1, 1997 builds to carry out a real diagnosis in order to detect the possible presence of products and materials containing of asbestos. The expertise on housing will be carried out by a professional of the real diagnosis.

This real diagnosis will have to be provided by the owner at the latest during the signature of the commitment to sell. In the case of a real estate managed in joint ownership, only the privative parts will have to be the subject of a search for asbestos. The expert in load of the diagnosis asbestos will thus carry are attention on a certain number of significant points of the real estate such as for example the false ceilings, the flagstones of ground, the soundproofing and thermal and the products and materials employed (more than 3000 materials containing of asbestos are to date referred).


The energy diagnosis of performance

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The sector of the building constitutes the second source of pollution of carbon dioxide in France, after transport. According to the technical interprofessional Center of studies of atmospheric pollution, the buildings emit a quarter of the total of the French CO2 emissions, that is to say the largest part after the transport sector. According to the statistics of the Interdepartmental Mission to the Greenhouse effect, the French gas rejections with greenhouse effect flew away since 2003 in the private habitat and the offices: +7%, against only +1% for transport. Resulting from an European directive of December 16, 2002 on the performance energy of the buildings and founded on November 1 in 2006 per Jean-Louis Borloo then Minister for housing (decree of September 15, 2006), the real diagnosis of energy performance (DPE) aims to draw up a complete assessment of the consumption of energy of a real estate. The last studies evaluating French housing stock like extremely énergivore, to limit the losses of energies of the residences consequently becomes a priority. In this direction, a real diagnosis DPE will also stick to propose to the owners adapted solutions.

Intended to inform the potentials purchasers or tenants of a real estate on its energy consumption and its rate of gas emission to greenhouse effect, diagnosis DPE accompanying obligatorily since November 1, 2006 any sale contract also must, since July 1, 2007, being provided by the owner of a housing put in hiring. Realized by a professional, the real diagnosis of energy performance takes seat within the file of technical diagnoses essential to each transaction of a real estate. This diagnosis is a document which includes/understands the quantity of energy actually consumed or estimated for a standardized use of the building or part of building as well as a classification according to values of reference so that the consumers can compare and evaluate his energy performance. It will have to be accompanied by recommendations intended to improve the energy performance, thus allowing, in the event of work or of replacement of equipment, to optimize the interventions to control energy consumption and to contribute thus simultaneously to reduce the loads for the occupants and to limit the gas emissions to greenhouse effect. It will have to be established since less than 10 years. However, the diagnosis will have only one informative value. With the difference in other diagnoses, like the diagnosis termites or the diagnosis lead, the purchaser or the tenant will not be able to prevail itself about it against the owner.

The use of a label energy similar to that use for the equipment electric household appliances is a factor of favorable appropriation. The thresholds of the classes are indicated below. A label to know the consumption of energy.




Information is supplemented by an indication on the CO2 emissions related to the uses taken into account in the label climate below.
A label to know the impact of this consumption hard the greenhouse effect.



The diagnosis of the Carrez Law

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Since 1997, the sale of a batch of joint ownership which represents a surface higher than 8 m ² obliges you to indicate the privative surface during the signature of your commitment to sell (compromised sale) commonly named the expertise law Carrez. Are excluded from this real diagnosis, the goods real estate following: garages, cellars and sites of carpark. This real certificate aims to guarantee to the purchaser the surface housing which it is on the point of acquiring but also to secure the salesman against any recourse possible of the purchaser in the event of erroneous surface. The owner can take the initiative to carry out itself measurements of his housing, it is however advised to call upon an expert to carry out this meticulous real diagnosis (only the intervention of a professional of the real diagnosis can give place to obtaining a certificate law Carrez). This last will carry out the measuring of the privative parts of housing using a laser measures utmost precision.

If no mention of the surface is made at the time of the sale of a real estate in joint ownership, the purchaser is in right to claim the nullity of the act within a one month maximum delay as from the signature. In the possibility where the real diagnosis law Carrez would prove to be erroneous (a lower deviation than 5% of the surface indicated is tolerated), the future owner can ask for a revaluation of the price of the real estate according to the error (generally 1% of reduction per square meter of difference). The purchaser will have one year as from the signature of the sale contract to carry out this complaint.


The diagnosis lead

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The law of July 29, 1998 obliges the salesmen of a real estate to make establish by an expert “a state of the risks of accessibility to lead” (known as diagnosis lead or ERAP). At the conclusion of this expertise, the expert issues a certificate. This certificate must be annexed with the unilateral promise of sale of an apartment, or a house, if this real estate were built before 1948, or if it is located in a “zone at the risk of exposure to lead” delimited by the prefecture. This expertise lead must be established since less than one year at the date of the signature of the commitment to sell. Failing this, the salesman will not be able to exonerate guarantee of the latent defects and could expose himself to penal sanctions.

A real diagnosis lead (or CREP) aims at the prevention and information with respect to lead in paintings in the event of sale of a personal property. Any salesman of whole or part of building with use of dwelling builds before January 1, 1949 is held to annex to the promise or the sale contract a report of risk of exposure to the lead carried out by a technical controller or a technician of construction qualified in diagnosis lead. This qualified diagnostiquor must have thus contracted a professional insurance allowing him to carry out a real diagnosis peacefully lead.

In the absence of presentation of the diagnosis lead, no exemption clause of the guarantee of the latent defects can be stipulated at a rate of the defects consisted the risk of exposure to lead. If this diagnosis lead reveals the presence of coatings containing of lead, it to him is annexed a note of general information bound for the owner, indicating the risks of such coatings to him. This diagnosis lead is then communicated by the owner with the occupants, the companies brought to intervene in the buildings and are held with the provision of the administration. If the diagnosis lead reveals an accessibility with lead, the owner transmits of it, moreover, one copy to the Prefect (Departmental management of the Equipment). Each building or part of building with use of dwelling builds before January 1, 1949 must be the subject of a real diagnosis lead which will have to be attached to a possible promise or notarial act of sale. A diagnosis lead will be requested only for the affected parts the dwelling or everyday usage.

Since August 12, 2008, a real diagnosis lead must be joined to any new agreement of hiring concerning a housing builds before January 1, 1949. In the event of change of tenant (new agreement) and if the absence of lead (or its acceptable threshold) were attested by a preceding real diagnosis, it is not necessary to renew the expertise. The realization of a diagnosis lead imposes a cost which remains with the load of the financial backer.


The parasitic diagnosis of state

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Since June 8, 1999, the sale of a real estate localised in a zone considered at the risk must be accompanied by a real diagnosis attesting or not presence of parasites. With like objective protecting the purchaser and the owner against the agents from biological degradation of wood, the expert will have to determine, by this examination of housing, if the real estate is in prey with an infection, to identify the affected areas and possibly the type of parasite.

Since 1999, the legislation forces the mayors to hold up to date an inventory of fixtures of the contamination of their commune. In parallel, each department must delimit the zones of its territory infected by the presence of parasites. Within these geographical areas, any built real estate or not built must be the subject of a declaration in town hall as soon as the presence of termites or other xylophagous parasites is detected. Concerning the buildings and joint ownerships, only the privative parts are subjected to the real diagnosis termite. The expert in load of a diagnosis termite will have to indicate the real estate concerned, the parts of this last which were visited, for finally specifying the elements infested by the parasite. It should be noted that the professional carrying out this real diagnosis can inform the owner on possible work and treatments but in no case to carry them out itself. The realization of a diagnosis termite must, since November 1, 2007, being entrusted to a professional fulfilling the requirements detailed by the articles

L.271-4 à L.271-6 of the code of construction and the dwelling.



The diagnosis of the natural and technological risks

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The diagnosis of the natural and technological risks relates to any real transaction. It must be attached to any type of written, reservation leasing agreement of a good in the future state of completion, commitment to sell or act carrying out or noting the sale of a real estate or not built. The purchasers or tenants of real estate, any nature, must be informed by the salesman or the financial backer, who it is or not about a professional of the real estate, existence of the natural and technological risks to which this good is exposed. A diagnosis of the risks, founded on the information transmitted by the prefect of department to the mayor of the commune where the good is located, must be in appendix of any type of reservation, leasing agreement written for a sale in the future state of completion, commitment to sell or act carrying out or noting the sale of this real estate that it is built or not built.

This obligation of information of the natural and technological risks (diagnosis ERNT) applies in each commune whose list is stopped by the prefect of the department, for the built real goods or not built located in the perimeter of exposure to the natural and technological risks delimited by a prevention plan of the technological risks having been the approval object by the prefect or in a zone exposed to the natural and technological risks delimited by a prevention plan of the foreseeable natural risks approved by the prefect or certain provisions were made immediately opposable pursuant to the code of the environment (Article L. 562-2) and finally in the perimeter studied in the framework of the development of the technological risks or a prevention plan of the foreseeable natural risks prescribes by the Prefect.

The diagnosis of the natural and technological risks (ERNT) is established directly by the salesman or the financial backer, if necessary with the assistance of a professional who intervenes in the sale or the hiring of the good. This diagnosis must be established less than 6 months before the date of conclusion of any type of reservation, leasing agreement written for a sale in the future state of completion, commitment to sell or act carrying out or noting the sale of the real estate to which it is annexed. Diagnosis ERNT is valid for the totality of the duration of the contract and its possible renewal. In the event of collocation, it is provided to each signatory at the time of his first entry in the places. If necessary, it is brought up to date in the event of an entry differed from one of the joint tenants. The state of the natural and technological risks mentions the seismicity and the natural or technological risks taken into account in the prevention plans and to which the good is exposed. This state is accompanied by the extracts of the reference documents allowing to locate the good taking into consideration these risk.


The diagnosis gas

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In agreement with the decree n°2006-1147 of September 14, 2006 relating to the state of the interior installation of gas in certain buildings, since November 1, 2007, the salesman of a real estate equipped with an installation dating of more than 15 years will have, at the time of the transaction of housing, to provide a specific real diagnosis which is the diagnosis gas. This evaluation will aim to detect the possible health risks and the safety of the occupants.

The diagnostiquor carrying out the compliance certificate of gas plant of a real estate will pay his attention on various significant points. He will have moreover to check the fixed natural gas feed equipment (boiler, radiators, etc), as well as the state of pipings and accessories of connection. He will control the apparatuses of medical production of warm water and will evaluate the ventilation systems and of ventilation of the real estate. At the end of the real diagnosis, the professional will have drawn up an assessment of the natural gas plant entering one of the following categories: absence of danger, risks minor, serious immediate danger. The discovery of one disfonctionnement involving any danger obliges the diagnostiquor to refer about it to the gas distributor: the gas supply can then be suspended. The realization of a real diagnosis gas relates to the parts visible and accessible from the installation and generally does not require any demounting of components.


The electric diagnosis

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Since January 1, 2009, the electric diagnosis integrated the list of the real diagnoses to realize obligatorily at the time of the sale of a housing, which it is of a house or an apartment. A coming into effect carried out according to the terms defined by the decree on enforcement of a law of April 22, 2008, published in the Official journal of April 24. The realization of an electric diagnosis exclusively relates to the sale of a real estate (which it is of a house or an apartment) equipped with an electrical installation dating of more than 15 years. The salesman will have to join this electric real diagnosis to all new promise or sale contract.

Concerning a real estate subjected to the statute of joint ownership, the electric diagnosis will apply only to the privative parts. The diagnostiquor will have also as a spot to make sure of the presence of certain security systems. Lastly, the main mission of the electric diagnosis will be to identify the possible electrical materials unsuited to the use or presenting risks of direct contacts with elements under tension, the not mechanically protected drivers. In optics to always circumscribe the risks being able to carry breach of security of the people, an adequate electric diagnosis will have to be carried out by a professional subjected to criteria very strict: to have a professional insurance, to be independent compared to the transaction, etc Subjected to his realization, the salesman of a real estate not presenting an electric diagnosis during the signature of the notarial act of sale will have no possibility to exonerate guarantee of the latent defects.


The diagnosis conformity swimming pool

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Since the law of January 3, 2003, and this in order to combat the risks of drowning, the legislation imposes quite precise security standards swimming pool. Since January 1, 2004, that they are of individual or collective use, the lately built deprived swimming pools must be equipped with a safety device answering as much the new regulation with the security standards with swimming pool that a respect with comfort and quality of use. Since May 1, 2004, the existing swimming pools of the seasonal hirings must also be equipped with such a device of setting in safety. At January 1, 2006, these security standards of swimming pool have to equip all the other existing swimming pools. The barriers of protection must answer the regulation relating to safety swimming pool while preventing that a child of less than 5 years can reach the basin without the assistance of an adult. The covers must be able to avoid the immersion of a child of less than 5 years. The shelter proceeds of safety swimming pool while making inaccessible the basin to the children of less than 5 years. Alarm must have a system of startup that a child of less than 5 years will not be able to stop to be able to be in conformity with the regulation safety swimming pool.

This setting in conformity enacted by the new regulation on the safety of a swimming pool relates to the private swimming pools of outdoor of which the basin partially is completely or buried (family swimming pool, of camp-site, hotel…). No size minimum of basin not having been defined to qualify a swimming pool, the buried spas are also concerned with the law on the safety of the swimming pools. When a security system is already present, a checking of conformity is necessary (an attesting document of a good conformity to the security standards for swimming pool will have to be delivered by manufacturing or a technical controller).