Information about the Hoguet Law

1. Applicable legal framework

BRIVEO's activity falls within the following regulatory framework.

• Law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, known as the Hoguet Law, regulating the conditions for carrying out certain transactions relating to real estate and business assets;
• Decree no. 72-678 of 20 July 1972 setting out the conditions for applying the law;
• Law no. 2014-366 of 24 March 2014, known as the ALUR Law, which introduced mandatory continuing training and the Conseil National de la Transaction et de la Gestion Immobilières (CNTGI);
• Articles 1112-1, 1137 et seq. of the Civil Code on pre-contractual information duties and good faith;
• Article L.271-4 of the Construction and Housing Code on the technical diagnosis file (energy performance certificate, asbestos, lead, gas, electricity, termites, risks and pollution report);
• Articles L.561-1 et seq. of the Monetary and Financial Code on anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations.

2. “Transactions” professional card

Under article 1 of the Hoguet Law, anyone who habitually carries out, even as a secondary activity, transactions relating to other people's property must hold a professional card known as the T card (for Transactions).

BRIVEO, trading name of Liberty House Real Estate SAS, holds this professional card.

• Card number CPI 7501 2024 000 000 155
• Issuing authority CCI de Paris Île-de-France
• Date of issue 2024
• Validity 3 years, renewable

Holding the T card is conditional on proof of

• professional competence (diploma or experience);
• a specific financial guarantee;
• professional civil liability insurance;
• the absence of any incapacity or ban on practising.

3. BRIVEO's obligations as a regulated intermediary

As an estate agent holding the T card, BRIVEO (trading name of Liberty House Real Estate SAS) is bound by a set of strict obligations.

• Duty to inform and advise, BRIVEO must fairly inform sellers and buyers of all the characteristics of the property and the terms of the transaction;
• Duty of good faith (art. 1104 of the Civil Code), contracts must be negotiated, formed and performed in good faith;
• Duty to verify the information supplied by the seller, in particular ownership of the property and the mandatory diagnoses;
• Duty to keep documents for 10 years (mandates, registers, correspondence);
• Duty to keep the mandate register (article 72 of the decree of 20 July 1972), in which each mandate receives a serial number before being handed to the principal. As BRIVEO holds no funds, it keeps no register of payments;
• Continuing training obligation (art. 3-1 of the Hoguet Law, introduced by the ALUR Law), 14 hours a year or 42 hours over 3 years;
• Compliance with the code of ethics laid down by decree no. 2015-1090 of 28 August 2015;
• TRACFIN reports where money laundering or terrorist financing is suspected.

4. Financial guarantee and no handling of funds

Under article 3, 2° of the Hoguet Law, every estate agent must hold a financial guarantee covering the sums paid into its account by its clients.

BRIVEO holds a financial guarantee of €120,000 underwritten by GALIAN-SMABTP, 89 rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris.

No handling of funds. Under its model, BRIVEO holds no funds, instruments or securities belonging to its clients. All payments linked to a transaction (deposit, balance of the price) are made directly to the officiating notary, who acts as the statutory escrow agent.

5. Types of mandate offered by BRIVEO

In accordance with article 6 of the Hoguet Law, every intermediation transaction must be covered by a written mandate, signed by the principal (the seller) and bearing a serial number in the mandate register. BRIVEO offers three types of mandate, which the principal chooses independently of their plan (Smart or Premium).

Duration. The principal chooses the duration of the mandate at signature, from three, six, twelve or twenty-four months (Terms of Use, article 11.1). The mandate ends at its term, without tacit renewal.

Revocation. The principal may revoke the mandate at any time, in accordance with article 2004 of the Civil Code (Terms of Use, article 12.7). Three months after signature, either party may terminate the mandate at any time by giving the other at least fifteen days' notice by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Without that letter the mandate continues: exclusivity does not lapse on its own.

Simple mandate

The seller entrusts the sale of the property to BRIVEO while remaining free

• to sell by themselves (without an intermediary);
• to entrust the property to other estate agencies.

Fees are owed only to the agency that actually concluded the sale.

Semi-exclusive mandate

The seller undertakes to entrust the sale to BRIVEO alone, while remaining free to find a buyer themselves without going through BRIVEO.

If the sale is made through another agent, BRIVEO may claim compensation. If the seller makes the sale themselves, no fees are owed.

Exclusive mandate

The seller undertakes to entrust the sale to BRIVEO alone, to the exclusion of any other agency, and not to look for a buyer themselves.

If the property is sold during the term of the mandate, fees are owed to BRIVEO whoever made the introduction. In return, BRIVEO steps up its resources (greater visibility, home staging, photographic presentation).

The right to terminate after three months, described above, is exactly what the duration clause of the mandate you sign stipulates.

6. Fees and price transparency

In accordance with the order of 10 January 2017, BRIVEO displays its fees clearly and legibly. Fees are calculated on the sale price stated in the deed (Terms of Use, article 13.10).

• Smart plan, 2% incl. VAT of the sale price stated in the deed, paid exclusively by the seller;
• Premium plan, or a completed Delegated Viewing, 5% incl. VAT of the sale price stated in the deed, paid exclusively by the seller;
• No enrolment, file or publication fee is charged upfront;
• Fees are owed only if a sale actually takes place, as recorded by the signing of the notarial deed.

Every listing expressly states the amount of the fees and who pays them, in accordance with article 3 of the above order.

7. Enhanced pre-contractual information

In accordance with article 1112-1 of the Civil Code, BRIVEO makes available to buyers all information whose importance is decisive for their consent. This includes in particular

• The technical diagnosis file (DDT) within the meaning of article L.271-4 of the Construction and Housing Code, namely the energy performance certificate, asbestos, lead, gas, electricity, termites, risks and pollution report, and drainage;
• The tax items, namely property tax, residence tax on second homes where applicable and the tax on vacant housing;
• The co-ownership items for co-ownership lots, namely the rules, the descriptive statement, the minutes of the last 3 general meetings, the amount of the charges, the works voted and the proceedings in progress;
• Easements and public utility easements;
• Natural, mining and technological risks.

Where the duty to inform is breached, the seller and the estate agent may be held liable (articles 1112-1 and 1240 of the Civil Code).

8. The buyer's right of withdrawal

In accordance with article L.271-1 of the Construction and Housing Code, a non-professional buyer of residential property has a 10-day withdrawal period from the day after the deed is notified.

During this period, no payment of any kind may be demanded from the buyer (except for the deposit paid to a notary or to a professional holding a financial guarantee).

9. Penalties for breaches

Failure to comply with the Hoguet Law exposes offenders to criminal, civil and administrative penalties.

• Criminal penalties (article 14 of the Hoguet Law), namely up to six months' imprisonment and a €7,500 fine for unlawful practice;
• Civil penalties, namely nullity of the mandate, repayment of fees wrongly received and damages;
• Professional card (article 3 of the Hoguet Law and articles 1 et seq. of the decree of 20 July 1972). The card is issued by the territorial chamber of commerce and industry, which suspends or withdraws it when its holder no longer meets the conditions of issue;
• Administrative penalties (articles L.511-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). Breaches of consumer information rules and commercial practices are recorded and penalised by the DGCCRF.

BRIVEO undertakes to comply strictly with all of these provisions and to inform its clients of any regulatory change affecting their transactions.

10. Frequently asked questions