What is the Carrez law ?
3 December 2023
The Carrez law is a French law dating from 1996 that requires owners of jointly-owned properties to state the private surface area of their property in any deed of sale. The private surface area is the constructed floor area after deduction of walls, partitions, stairwells and stairwells, ducts and door and window openings. This measurement enables future buyers to know precisely the living area of the property they wish to buy. The survey is compulsory for all condominiums of more than 8m2.
All flats are covered by the Carrez law, as are houses in horizontal co-ownership, such as those on housing estates. However, it does not apply to detached houses or properties that are not part of a co-ownership.
Its aim is to protect buyers of co-owned property from discrepancies between the advertised surface area and the actual surface area of the property.
This diagnosis is compulsory and will be added to the technical diagnosis file appended to the preliminary sales agreement and the final deed of sale. The diagnosis is specific to the property and cannot be passed on to the next owner. If you are a buyer, you can base your estimate of the surface area on the inspection carried out by the previous owner, but you will have to carry out an inspection in your own name if you wish to sell your property in the future.
The simplest and safest solution is to call in a professional. A property diagnostics expert can then come to your home to carry out a diagnosis. If you need additional property diagnostics for your property, we recommend that you combine them with the same diagnostician to avoid multiplying your travel costs.
Another advantage of consulting a professional diagnostician is that he or she assumes responsibility for carrying out the diagnosis. As a result, you are protected if it turns out that there has been a dispute or a mistake on the surface.
The expert will not only take precise measurements of your property, but will also study the property deeds and land regulations. Finally, he will issue you with a Loi Carrez Superficie Privée certificate.