Property loss (préjudice immobilier)

Préjudice immobilier (property loss) is the harm done to the value or the use of a building by an event that should not have happened: a building erected on the boundary that removes the view and the sunlight, a construction defect, a defect discovered after purchase, an undisclosed easement, a lasting nuisance. The owner does not ask for the property to be restored, which is sometimes impossible, but for a sum of money that compensates what the property has lost.

Quantifying that loss means answering a question that is simple to state and delicate to handle: how much would the property be worth without the harmful event, and how much is it worth with it? The difference is the loss of value; to which may be added the loss of enjoyment suffered while the disturbance lasted.

Where the rule comes from

The legal basis varies with the source of the damage: liability in tort under article 1240 of the French Civil Code, abnormal neighbourhood disturbance now codified in article 1253, the hidden defects warranty of articles 1641 et seq., builders’ liability, or breach of contract. In every case, the principle of full compensation requires that the victim be put back in the position they would have been in without the damage, with neither loss nor gain.

The nomenclature of court experts distinguishes, within heading C.18 “property valuation”, the sub-heading C.18.4 “property loss”, a sign that the quantification of these losses is recognised as a speciality of valuation.

In a valuation report

I describe the property, the harmful event and its date. I assess the market value of the property on the assumption that the damage did not exist, from comparable references, then the market value of the property as it actually stands, relying where possible on sales of properties affected by a similar drawback. I explain the reasoning that leads from one to the other: fewer prospective buyers, longer selling period, cost of partial remedies. If there is a loss of enjoyment, I quantify it separately, on the basis of a fraction of the rental value for the duration of the disturbance. I distinguish what is certain from what is probable.

Example

A 120 m² house with a south-facing garden in LORIENT was worth €360,000 before a three-storey building went up 6 metres from its rear façade, removing the sunlight from the living room and creating direct overlooking. Three sales of comparable houses in situations of marked overlooking show a difference of 8 % to 12 %. I adopt a loss of value of 10 %, that is €36,000, and a loss of enjoyment of €4,800 for the eighteen months of building works.

Not to be confused with

The cost of repair works, which is another form of compensation, and depreciation of the remainder (dépréciation du surplus), which describes the same mechanism in the particular context of a partial compulsory purchase.