Joint private valuation (expertise amiable conjointe)

A joint private valuation is a valuation that two or more parties commission together: heirs who have to divide an estate, spouses who are divorcing, business partners who are parting, landlord and tenant renewing a lease, an owner and a neighbour who want to settle a dispute without going to court. They choose the valuer by mutual agreement, sign the same engagement contract, are invited to the inspection, may submit their observations and receive the same report. Nothing is done behind the back of any of them.

This format differs from the single-party private valuation, commissioned by one party alone, and from the court-ordered appraisal, ordered by a judge. It is often faster and cheaper than the latter, while producing a report that both parties can accept, and that the judge can use if agreement fails.

Where the rule comes from

The Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière (French property valuation charter, Title I § 1.1) distinguishes three situations: the single-party private valuation, of which only the client is informed; the joint private valuation, commissioned jointly by two or more parties; and the court-ordered appraisal, requested by a judge. The engagement contract (Title II § 9.1) identifies the instructing parties, the purpose and the conditions on which the report may be circulated.

As to evidence, the Cour de cassation has held since a Mixed Chamber decision of 28 September 2012 (appeal no. 11-18.710) that a judge may not rely exclusively on a valuation carried out at the request of one party alone. A joint valuation, in which both parties took part, escapes that limit under the conditions set out in decisions of 2025 and 2026 discussed on this site.

In a valuation report

The report names all the instructing parties, the date and the attendees of the inspection, the documents provided by each and the observations received. I apply the same method as in any valuation: definition of the value, verifiable comparables, reasoned calculation. I do not look for a median figure between the parties’ expectations, but for the value. The contract states who receives the report and whether the parties undertake to accept its conclusion, in which case I also act as third-party valuer.

Example

Three brothers and sisters inherit a house and two plots of land in PONT-L’ABBÉ. One wants to keep the house, the others want a fair equalising payment. They commission a valuation together; I inspect in the presence of all three, receive the surveys and the boundary plan, and conclude at €265,000 for the house and €48,000 for the land. The notaire (French civil-law notary) draws up the partition on that basis. The cost, shared three ways, represents a few hours’ work at the hourly rate, against several months and a court deposit for a court-ordered appraisal.

Not to be confused with

The court-ordered appraisal, the only one to enjoy the powers conferred by the judge, and the so-called “adversarial” single-party valuation, in which one party invites the other to the inspection without the latter having chosen the valuer or signed the contract.