Loi ALUR Complicates Apartment Sales in France

The new law that came into effect on March 24, the loi ALUR (Accès au Logement et à un Urbanisme Rénové) has added new steps to the formalities necessary for the completion of the sales agreement in the case of joint ownership or coproprieté, properties such as holiday apartment units, flats or condominiums.

In addition to the usual diagnostics, the Dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT) the owner must now attach to the offer agreement, the compromis de vente, or the sales purchase agreement, the acte de vente, a list of documents aimed to provide a thorough picture of the financial, legal and technical health of the coproprieté.

Some of the 15 or so documents (about 1Kg of paper according to FNAIM) are general meeting minutes of the past three years, a technical evaluation of building, building maintenance records, the amount of current expenses paid by the owner seller two fiscal years prior to the sale, and other documentation will be added when the second stage of the law comes into effect later in the year.

Estate agents are alarmed by the added complications, stating that this new requirement is causing delays in the completion process, pushing the signing of the contracts an extra three to four weeks, and creating uncertainty as to the actual date that the contract becomes binding as the seven-day cooling off period granted to withdraw from the contract does not start counting until all required documentation has been sent to the Notaire.

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