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DRAINAGE
Drainage
is an issue to be considered in relation to most French property
purchases, particularly where the property is in a rural area or outside
of a town. Recent legislative changes have modified the law with regards
to the checks of drainage systems where properties are not connected to
mains drainage. A certificate to be provided by the vendor has been
introduced but this will only be a legal obligation from 2013.
The
first main check that is to be made is whether the property is connected
to mains drainage. The notaire is to verify the information given by the
vendor with the local authority. If there is mains drainage but the
property is not connected then, unless there has been derogation for
some reason, the owner is legally required to connect within two years
of the mains drainage system being made available. The situation where
there is a mains drainage network but the property is not connected to
it should be dealt with in the contractual paperwork i.e. who is to be
responsible for this, what is the deadline etc. Where there is a
connection to mains drainage or the vendor undertakes to do this, two
further points should be dealt with: is there proof that the connection
has been properly made and has the now obsolete previous individual
drainage system been correctly put out of service.
In the
event that the property is not connected to mains drainage and there is
no current possibility of connecting thereto, the second main check is
whether there is an individual drainage system such as a septic tank. If
there is not then this situation needs to be dealt with contractually.
Does the purchaser take the property in its current condition and
install a drainage system post completion of the purchase? If yes then
it would be advisable to ensure that it will be possible to install such
a system that complies with the norms because otherwise, once the
obligatory deadlines for checks have run (see below), the new owner
could have a very major problem. Such verifications include the size of
the land to comply with regulations on filtration and the soil type.
Soil testing is likely to be necessary. If the seller agrees to install
the system then evidently the conditions of this will need to be
specified in the paperwork.
If
there is an individual drainage system then it is necessary to ask
whether it complies with the current norms on drainage systems. This is
where matters can become complicated and the information is not always
available to purchasers. Local authorities have now been given until at
the latest 31st December 2012 to organise the verifications of the
compliance of individual drainage systems. This deadline was initially
set at 2005 but very few compliance checks have in reality been done
which means that it has been extended as aforementioned. If the checks
have been done then evidently the vendor is to inform the purchaser of
the results of the checks. If the drainage system complies then all is
well and good. If not then the owner has four years following the checks
to render the system compliant. In the latter case, what is to occur
should be specified contractually e.g. does the vendor agree to
undertake the work or, if not, what will the purchaser be required to do
and by when.
If the
local authority has not organised the checks then the vendor cannot, at
this present time, be legally obliged to produce any form of certificate
or have the system checked. If a purchaser wishes to have the system
checked then, subject to negotiation with the vendor, it would usually
be for the purchaser to organise at his charge. However, for sales from
1st January 2013 vendors will be legally required to produce a
certificate confirming that the system has been checked.
The
vendor should also certify the current working order and maintenance of
the drainage system, be it a connection to mains drainage or an
individual system. Any problems and defective maintenance should be
drawn to the purchaser’s attention and not doing so may constitute a
breach of contract.
04/03/2008
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