Do mandatory property surveys protect against hidden defects?

What the technical survey file (DDT) contains

Article L. 271-4 of the French Construction and Housing Code requires a technical survey file (dossier de diagnostic technique) to be attached to the preliminary contract and then to the deed of sale. Its content depends on the characteristics and location of the property.

• The energy performance certificate (DPE), enforceable against the seller since 1 July 2021, except for its recommendations.
• The lead exposure risk report (CREP) for homes built before 1 January 1949.
• The asbestos survey for buildings whose building permit was issued before 1 July 1997.
• The termite report in zones designated by prefectoral order.
• The reports on the indoor gas and electricity installations where they are more than fifteen years old.
• The risks and pollution report (natural, mining and technological risks, seismicity, radon) depending on the zone.
• The inspection report for the non-mains drainage installation, dated less than three years earlier, where the property is not connected to the public sewer network.
• Information on the risk of dry rot (mérule) in designated zones, and on noise in airport noise exposure zones.
• Depending on the case, other documents are added, notably the energy audit for certain energy-inefficient homes sold in single ownership and the compliance certificate for the wood-burning heating appliance in certain zones covered by an atmosphere protection plan.

What the surveys actually cover

A survey is not a general warranty of the property's condition. Each one covers a specific risk, at a given date, following a standardised method that usually excludes destructive testing: the asbestos survey targets visible and accessible materials, and the termite report rests on a visual inspection of visible and accessible parts.

Everything outside the scope of the surveys remains governed by the ordinary rules of the hidden defects warranty: structural cracks, failing foundations, chronic damp, dry rot outside the mandatory information zones. A complete survey file therefore does not shield the seller from every claim, and does not deprive the buyer of remedies for flaws lying outside that scope.

Missing or incorrect survey: the consequences

Missing survey: where, at the signing of the notarial deed, one of the documents listed in paragraph II of Article L. 271-4 of the French Construction and Housing Code (lead, asbestos, termites, gas, electricity, non-mains drainage) is missing or no longer valid, the seller cannot contract out of the corresponding hidden defects warranty. The deed's exclusion clause becomes inoperative for that risk: termites discovered after the sale then engage the seller's liability, even in good faith, if the termite report was missing. A missing risks report carries its own sanction: the buyer may seek termination of the contract or ask the court for a price reduction (same article).

Incorrect survey: the surveyor's liability can be engaged towards the buyer where a fault in the performance of the assignment caused the buyer harm; depending on the circumstances, the compensation may cover the cost of the works made necessary by the undetected risk. The buyer may thus have a remedy against the surveyor even where the exclusion clause protects the seller.