A property dealer renovates a building, divides it and sells the units, annexing to the deeds a report on the condition of the roof. The roof turns out to be defective. The co-owners’ association (syndicat des copropriétaires), rather than seeking a reduction of the sale prices, sues for damages to recover the cost of re-roofing. The Court of Appeal holds this free-standing claim subject to the ordinary five-year limitation. The Cour de cassation (the French supreme court for civil matters) quashed on 19 February 2026: free-standing, yes; but within the two-year limit of article 1648. For anyone discovering a defect in a building sold in units, the timetable for quantification follows.
The facts
A company bought a building in 2003, renovated it, divided it and sold it in co-ownership units. The deeds of sale annexed a report by an inspection body on the condition of the roof. After a site report filed on 12 September 2005 and a court expert’s report filed on 15 March 2008, the co-owners’ association sued the seller, its insurer and the inspection body on 27 June 2008 for the cost of re-roofing.
After a first cassation in 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal, on 13 September 2023, rejected the plea that the two-year limit had expired: the association holds from statute its standing to bring the damages claim under article 1645 of the French Civil Code, distinct from the rescission claim governed by article 1648, and that damages claim falls under the five-year limit of article 2224. It ordered the seller, with its insurer and the surveyor as guarantors, to pay damages.
The decision
The Cour de cassation quashed (Cass. 3e civ., 19 February 2026, appeal no. 23-22.295), under articles 1641, 1645 and 1648, first paragraph, of the Civil Code.
It first confirmed the free-standing nature of the claim: “the admissibility of the claim for compensation for the loss suffered as a result of a hidden defect is not conditional on the bringing of a rescission or price-reduction claim, so that this claim may be brought independently” (translated from the French), as the Commercial Chamber had held in 2012. It then fixed its time limit: “it must be brought within the period provided by the third” of those texts. The Court of Appeal, by subjecting the damages claim to the five-year limit, breached the texts: “while the damages claim based on the existence of a hidden defect may be brought independently of the rescission or price-reduction claim, it nonetheless remains subject to the provisions of article 1648 of the Civil Code”.
What this changes for the valuation
Three claims, one time limit. The hidden defects warranty gives the buyer the choice between returning the property (rescission), keeping it and recovering part of the price (price reduction, the action estimatoire) and, against a seller who knew of the defect, damages (article 1645). A professional seller, property dealer or developer, is presumed to know the defects of what it sells. All three claims are time-barred two years from discovery of the defect, with the twenty-year limit of article 2232 from the sale as the ceiling. For the valuer, that means the report must be ready within two years, whatever basis the lawyer chooses.
What each claim requires to be quantified. The price-reduction claim seeks the fraction of the price corresponding to the defect, established by comparing the value of the sound property with its value with the defect, or by the cost of works where that represents the difference. The damages claim seeks the loss: the cost of repair, but also loss of enjoyment, rehousing or security costs, and any residual loss of value if the works do not restore the property to the expected condition. In a co-owned building, the association acts for the common parts, here the roof, and each co-owner for their unit; the two quantifications complement each other without overlapping.
The starting point. Discovery of the defect means knowledge of its cause and extent, and the Cour de cassation held in January 2026 that it may result from the filing of the court expert’s report. Here a site report of 2005 preceded the expert’s report of 2008; the court to which the case is sent back will have to say which one revealed the defect to the association. A private expert’s note, commissioned at the first signs of trouble, dates the discovery and serves as the basis for the summary application for an appraisal, which interrupts the limit.
The report annexed to the sale. The inspection body’s report on the roof, attached to the deeds, did not protect the seller from the claim, but it allowed the surveyor to be joined as guarantor. For a buyer, a technical document annexed to the deed is one to read before signing and, in the event of a defect, to compare with the actual condition found by an expert.
What the expert takes from it
- The damages claim for a hidden defect is free-standing, but it is time-barred two years from discovery of the defect, like the rescission and price-reduction claims.
- A co-owners’ association acting for the common parts is subject to the same limit.
- The valuation report, cost of works and loss of value, must be available within two years, whatever basis is chosen.
- Discovery of the defect is dated: private note, site report, expert’s report; the first document revealing the cause starts the limit.
- A technical report annexed to the deed of sale binds its author, but does not exonerate the professional seller.
Further reading
The Property loss of value page describes the assignment, its timescale and its fee. The glossary entries vice caché and moins-value and the guide I paid too much: can I challenge the price? complement this article. On the same theme: Hidden insulation defect: time runs from the expert’s report and Hidden defect repaired by a third party: the price-reduction action remains open. The decision is available on Légifrance.
What next
A hidden defect discovered in a building bought in units?
I quantify the cost of works and the loss of value of the units, with quotes and sale references, in a report the co-owners' association or each co-owner can use within the two-year limit.
Free quote, by email or by phone. No commitment before the quote is accepted. Fees are never linked to the value of the property (Charte de l’expertise, Title I, §2.1).
