Still very dubious about experts being able to define if some work was completed within the last 10 years. For example, let’s say you put in a doorway and then redecorate. If it’s been added in the last year or two, then maybe someone might be able to have a hunch, but beyond that in time, I’d say almost impossible. And the experts wont be getting into carbon dating 
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someone put a doorway into a stone wall and used polystyrene as the lintel, hidden behind plasterboard … ooops… 
that mistake came to light after the place caught fire… yep… caused by another cheap fix, gone wrong…
the new owners were not amused !
In that case I think the definition of DIY more refers to Destroy It Yourself 
Flagrant ‘bodging’ never plays out well!
Sadly, some owners will choose to employ a person who speaks their language, rather than choose someone for their professional skills and expertise… 
It depends on what the work is of course but whenever identifiable materials and/or components have been used it is simply a case of checking back through manufacturers catalogues to see when they were manufactured. Some items will have serial numbers which will give a fairly precise date and for many types of products the spec is continually updated, the products may be similar but they do not remain exactly the same for 10 years. So if your works include components that first became available 6 years ago then it is clear they were not completed 10 years ago.
Sure, agree if the material/equipment has a serial number etc, but where there isn’t a manufacturer’s name or serial number e.g. concrete, doors, pipework…………… It’s a might long list of ‘stuff’ that can’t be identified. Just being devils advocate on the practicalities of making any 10 year challenge successful if the works are not formally declared by a DIY’er. Sure if the work is completed by a professional and you have an invoice, proof of work executed etc, then I would expect the situation to be relatively straightforward. But in any case, I’m sure any claim is not a rapid case to close.
hinges, locks, door handles
joints will normally have part numbers
Thus, if no works have been done in the 10 years prior to Sale… it will all be “old stuff” and the price will surely be lower to reflect this…
I’d certainly be looking at the costs to have wiring etc brought up to date… and would buy at a price which allowed for this necessary expenditure…
I am sure there is some French legal wording notaires will have for “sold as seen”
and there’s certainly “vice-caché”…
My understanding is that it is pretty difficult to claim vice-caché.
Though if anything sounds like it would succeed on that basis claiming against the previous owner for supporting a stone wall with a chunk of polystyrene sounds just the ticket.
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Yep… and that was just the tip of the iceberg …
(on that occasion, the snow was actually very thick as we stood amongst the devastation, discussing/translating…)
But there was a satisfactory outcome to the case and I can look back on that time with much satisfaction… made some very good friends, too.
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I wouldn’t say 10 years is old enough to start wholesale refurbishment, and certainly not rewiring, replumbing etc. Price is impacted if work needs doing and lifespans of the vast majority of materials goes a bit past 10 years.
I bloody hope so or we are screwed as we are doing all our renovations. For the size of house and work needed it would be the only way, to get artisans in would cost untold money AND we enjoy it. I’m quite stressed about this thread 
Personally, I wouldn’t worry. Just imagine, for one moment, the vast amount of work done by diy’ers throughout France. You just need to look at the income stats for France in general, and ask yourself, are they all employing artisans at high cost?? And I think there you have the answer. Unless you’re building ‘polystyrene walls’, I wouldn’t lose sleep. I consider it a bit like vide cache for vehicles - it’s mainly there to protect buyers from unscrupulous sellers trying to conceal issues and bodge jobs. It’s clear there are many understandings, but that’s my very pragmatic take, to provide some needed perspective.
One of the earlier posters suggested that all work done now need to be covered by a decinelle which is what freaked me out. We last sold in 2008 so a long while ago. The buyer’s mortgage guy came to inspect, saw new stairs, built by dh, repaired roof ect. He asked if we had decinelle insurance and said no that we’d done to work, so he just made note of that. She got her mortgage!
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And yes I totally agree, a family on SMIC earnings, or just above would never be able to afford an artisan to do major works, presumably why most opt for the souless villas with the 10 years!
no need to be stressed… if the DIY work is all “fit for purpose” and following the correct guidelines, there won’t be/shouldn’t be any problems. 
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@toryroo It might be worth documenting any works in progress with photographs to show (eg) the use of timber lintels rather than polystyrene…
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no joking… this is a great idea.
Incidentally, the polystyrene thingy only came to light when the property was damaged by another slipshod piece of major work… aaaargh…
The place had looked wonderful to the Buyers… but the beauty was only skin deep…
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