No it applies to any major work that’s subject to assurance décenelle.
When I bought my house (which is 500 years old) the previous owner had installed a new hot water ballon a few years previously, he’d done it himself so there was no insurance. He had a special clause put in the compromis that I had to sign to say that I was aware the ballon wasn’t covered by the mandatory insurance and I agreed to waive my rights if any problems arose. The notaire said that strictly speaking he should advise me not to sign this.
Each item of major work not done by an artisan would have to be listed separately which wouldn’t look good, but if there is no waiver there is the risk of comeback from the buyer.
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If the Vendor has used product purchased outside of France… it must be compatible and of the same quality… in which case there should be no problem.
If I were to buy a property from a Brit… I would suspect the plumbing and the electrics…as I know that many like to save money, in these areas, by using UK stuff.
I would hope that things met the “norms” and were compatible, but would not be surprised to find that they did not…
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The insurance thing is not the same as vice cachée. Simply, French law specifies what types of work are considered gros oeuvres, and all gros oeuvres must by law be guaranteed for 10 years from completion. Unless the buyer signs a waiver then they are entitled to claim against the seller for any faults.
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Hi Paul… as I heard … it was a small “leak”… that started the flood, so to speak…
You also have to bear in mind that the French know their own law very well, and some will use it to their own advantage. If they see a chance of getting something entirely redone at no cost to themselves, they’ll take it whether the work needs entirely redoing or not.
Though in this case I don’ blame them because with non conforme pipe sizes they could have looked forward to trouble every time they called a plumber out.
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Exactly, Anna…
That was how it was viewed by the Court… the problem would always be there. Thus all the plumbing had to come out and be replaced… and the family had to move out while the remedial works were being done… (floors up etc).
Now, quite possibly (highly likely) you and I would have camped at home while the work went on around us… if we had been at fault in the first place… but as the Buyer was the innocent party, costs for staying elsewhere (albeit briefly), were also charged to the Seller.
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I can see the logic but it still seems extreme. Of course we don’t know that the whole installation wasn’t dodgy - it did leak after all.
Just 15mm pipe shouldn’t have bothered a decent plumber, it would braze to 14mm or 16mm and the French use 1/2" BSP fittings anyway so would fit French available compression fittings (albeit with nuts and olives for 15mm which would have to be sourced in the UK).
It probably would be “illegal” though, in the sense that the tube would not meet the Normes - I can’t quite see the 15mm size being an issue but UK copper tube is typically thinner walled than French (0.7mm vs 1.0mm) and, of course, would not have the relevant NF code stamped on it.
Not that most of the pipework in my place does either as it probably went in when the house was built in 1956.
I confess that my utility sink is plumbed in with UK sourced pipe and both it and the kitchen sink have UK sourced taps (the sinks themselves are French because of the waste pipe size issue). However not 15mm 
- I used 12mm which I could get more cheaply in the UK (there’s less copper in it after all). 12mm is a perfectly standard French pipe size so I doubt there would be much of an issue.
The Courts are not daft (despite what some folk might think/say)… it was obviously not an easy fix.
Had it been so, the Seller would have done it himself…
I find it very easy to understand. A fault occurred after the sale and it was noticed to be a problem with materials that did not conform to the norm. Surely the buyer and the courts would be right to worry about the state of the rest of the mainly hidden pipework. Once bitten…
As David says the buyer might not have been that keen.
Come to that the seller probably wasn’t that keen either - some two plus years down the line from selling the house it’s easy to understand that he wouldn’t feel enthusiastic about returning to do some more DIY.
Just underlines the need to find out how things are done in France and use appropriate materials for the job.
Your final sentence highlights exactly what the OP needs to know.
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Yes but it’s not a case of, a plumber here couldn’t have done a bodge job to make it work. He could, but whereas in the UK that would have been an end of it, in France the trades are more tightly regulated and artisans are held responsible for ensuring that all finished work is in line with French normes and good practice and is covered by the relevant ongoing insurance guarantees. So while no doubt French plumbers can bodge as well as the next man if they want to, they won’t risk their professional reputation by doing a bodge job on the record for a paying client, no matter how hard you try to persuade them.
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Yes, there is something of a cultural difference - occasionally hard to get your head around when, in the UK, you sometimes feel that the main qualification a tradesman needs is a willingness to paint his name on the side of a van.
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Going back to the original question,
I have renovated and lived in 2 houses here and was lucky as bought 2004 and sold 2007 at height of the market,
Since then its got harder, i renovated a house into flats and because i was collecting rent which payed for the work and the mortgage, so made a nice amount and paid capiral gains when it was sold.
But i woukdnt do it in france again,
If you do a few points in my mind, location is the main one, but near a popular town area, like bordeaux, la rochelle, lyon, you get the idea, here the french want to live and will buy.
I woukdnt buy again in the countryside or small town, its dead and getting worse.
Second you have to do the majority of the work yourself, my exception was electrics, as you will never make money paying artisans,
There are so many properties for sale, to someone living in england they think they are cheap but in reality they are still too dear and too many for the demand. Most need the prices cutting by 20 % but people say i bought for this , soent this so i need to get … To ake a profit, it doesnt work like that.
The last point, once you sell if its not your main property, then the notaire only takes costs from artisans into account, your work means nothing to them to get down the capiral gains tax ( plus valor) but as someone said they expect a 10 year guarentee, which isnt really right when they dont class you as a artisan.
Good luck, you can make more money but easier in uk.
Many thanks for all your helpful responses. They have been a great deal of assistance.