Construction newsletter | October 2015
“Whatever is well conceived is clearly said” (Boileau). However, the clear expression of a commitment does not always suffice to give it a binding effect. For instance, a clause of a construction agreement, according to which the project owner, who is not a merchant, shall be deemed, when taking possession of his property, to have received it de facto and without reservation, shall be disregarded, as such clause creates a material imbalance, even though the obligor has accepted it.
It is still difficult, in practice, to deal with properties without written documents. Thus, the new digital housing maintenance notebook, created by the Act of 17 August 2015, will enable owners and occupants to have a clear view of the building’s situation (see our focus). Also, the project owner must report to its SPS coordinator the fact that an artisan is working on the construction site, failing which the project owner might be held liable.
It is all the more necessary to define precisely the legal effect of the parties’ respective commitments, since, in those cases where a situation is governed by texts only, the parties may be subject to assessments made by courts at their own discretion, for instance when it is necessary to determine whether or not a construction is unfit for its intended use.
This letter introduces among others the texts and court decisions that gave rise to the said solutions.
Focus
Main new legal developments that occurred this summer
During summer 2015, two major acts modified French construction law.
1. The "Macron Act" of 6 July 2015
2. The Act of 17 August 2015 concerning energy transition and green growth.
Several provisions of this law have a direct bearing on the immovable property sector.
Construction contracts
Contracts for the construction of individual houses
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 6 May 2015, No. 13-24.947: impossibility of defining contractually the conditions of the tacit acceptance
Execution of private works
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 3 June 2015, No. 14-17.744: adversary character of the acceptance
- Cass. 1st Civ., 3 June 2015, No. 14-10.908: two-year statute of limitations
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 17 June 2015, No. 14-19.863: purpose of the guarantee
Builders statutory liability
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 20 May 2015, No. 14-13.271: boundaries of this concept
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 20 May 2015, No. 14-15.107: acoustic insulation defect
Builders’ statutory liability
Other liability theories
- Cass., 3rd Civ., 3 June 2015, No. 14-14.706: apparent defects
- Cass. 3rd Civ., 8 July 2015, No. 14-12.307: aesthetic defects
- Cass. 3rd Civ, 17 June 2015, No. 14-13.350: supply of incomplete information to the SPS coordinator
- Cass. Mixed Chamber, 8 July 2015, No. 13-26.686: building infested by parasites - Liability ot he person responsible for preparing the diagnosis
