The filing deskSelling a home · technical diagnostic file
Property diagnostics for a sale in France: which ones for your home, and how long they stay valid
The seller supplies diagnostics suited to the property: DPE, audit according to class, territory and date, lead, asbestos, older installations and area reports (CCH L271-4). Missing valid lead, asbestos, termite, gas, electricity or sanitation reports prevent exclusion of the corresponding warranty. An asbestos report before April 2013 needs renewal. Safety orders, local inspections and other documents still require checking; a preparatory list does not certify a complete file.
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Describe the home you are selling: year of construction, installations, DPE class.
Example questions
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Which diagnostics should you gather for the home you are selling?
Preparatory list for a house or condominium unit where a DPE applies: enter territory and sale date. Local inspections, orders and other documents need checking with the notary; this list does not certify a complete file.
Fictional example · diagnostic file desk
7 diagnostics identified in this preparatory list.
Diagnostics to attach to the preliminary sale contract
- Energy performance certificate (DPE) · validity: 10 yearsDPE applicability confirmed; have any exemption checked
- Energy audit · validity: 5 yearsHouse rated F for the selected territory and sale date: given from the first visit
- Lead exposure report (CREP) · validity: Unlimited without lead, 1 year with leadHome built before 1 January 1949
- Asbestos report · validity: Renew if before 1 April 2013; otherwise unlimitedBuilding permit issued before 1 July 1997
- Indoor gas installation report · validity: 3 yearsInstallation over 15 years old
- Indoor electricity installation report · validity: 3 yearsInstallation over 15 years old
- Risk report · validity: Less than 6 months at the first visitNatural, mining, technological, seismic or radon risk area
Mentions to include in the deed
- Non-exhaustive preparatory list: also check safety and health orders, regulated wood heating, local collective-sanitation inspections and the housing information record where required.
- Risk of dry rot, in areas set by order: mention in the preliminary contract or the deed
The energy audit is given to the buyer from the first visit, by any means, including electronically.
A missing or expired lead, asbestos, termite, gas, electricity or sanitation report at signing prevents the seller from excluding the warranty against hidden defects.
How long is each diagnostic valid for a sale?
The period counts at the date of the preliminary contract or the deed of sale.
| Diagnostic | Required if | Validity for a sale |
|---|---|---|
| DPE | DPE applicable unless a regulatory exemption applies; check with the diagnostician | 10 years; those from 2018 to June 2021 are no longer valid |
| Energy audit | House or building outside condominium ownership: check class, territory and date | 5 years |
| Lead (CREP) | Built before 1 January 1949 | Unlimited without lead, 1 year if lead is found |
| Asbestos | Building permit before 1 July 1997 | Renew before sale if before 1 April 2013; otherwise unlimited |
| Gas and electricity | Installation over 15 years old | 3 years each |
| Termites | Area set by prefectoral order | 6 months |
| Risk report | Risk or seismic area, radon | Less than 6 months at the first visit |
| Individual sanitation | Self-contained system | 3 years |
For a rental, the periods differ: 6 years for gas and electricity at the signing of the lease, according to service-public.
Sources: Service-public F10798 · Service-public F1142 · Service-public F17337 · Service-public F12239
What does article L271-4 of the Construction and Housing Code say?
The text that imposes the technical diagnostic file and its consequences.
I.-En cas de vente de tout ou partie d’un immeuble bâti, un dossier de diagnostic technique, fourni par le vendeur, est annexé à la promesse de vente ou, à défaut de promesse, à l’acte authentique de vente. (…)
II.-En l’absence, lors de la signature de l’acte authentique de vente, d’un des documents mentionnés aux 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 7° et 8° du I en cours de validité, le vendeur ne peut pas s’exonérer de la garantie des vices cachés correspondante.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): When all or part of a built property is sold, a technical diagnostic file supplied by the seller is attached to the preliminary sale contract or, failing that, to the deed of sale. If, when the deed is signed, one of the documents in points 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 7° and 8° is missing or no longer valid, the seller cannot exclude the corresponding warranty against hidden defects. Points 1° to 8° cover lead, asbestos, termites, gas, the risk report, the DPE and the audit, electricity and sanitation.
What does the seller risk if a diagnostic is missing?
Without a valid lead, asbestos, termite, gas, electricity or sanitation report when the deed is signed, the seller cannot exclude the corresponding warranty against hidden defects (Construction and Housing Code, article L271-4).
Without a risk report, or without the safety and health orders affecting the building, the buyer can ask for the sale to be cancelled or for the price to be reduced. The DPE’s recommendations, on the other hand, are only indicative.
Source: CCH L271-4
Is the energy audit compulsory to sell a flat?
The audit does not cover an individual condominium unit. For a house or residential building outside condominium ownership, mainland France covers F and G since April 2023, E since January 2025 and D from January 2034. Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte cover F and G since July 2024 and E from January 2028 (L126-28-1; article 158 of the law of 22 August 2021).
It proposes a works plan whose first step reaches at least class E, and must be given to the buyer from the first visit. It is valid for 5 years.
Sources: CCH L126-28-1 · Service-public F37110
When should the risk report be given to the buyer?
From the first visit of the property, if there is one. According to service-public, the report given must be less than 6 months old and updated if its information is no longer accurate when the preliminary contract or the deed is signed.
Source: Service-public F12239
What do sellers ask before the preliminary contract?
Who pays for the property diagnostics?
The seller: they supply the technical diagnostic file attached to the preliminary contract or the deed (Construction and Housing Code, article L271-4), drawn up by a certified diagnostician.
The home is in a dry-rot area: what should you do?
Inform the buyer: in areas set by order, the preliminary contract or the deed mentions the risk of dry rot (mérule), a fungus that attacks wood (article L271-4, 9°). The prefecture says whether an order exists for the commune.
Must a house sale mention the Carrez floor area?
No, the private floor area known as the loi Carrez area concerns the sale of a unit in a co-owned building; it must appear in the preliminary contract or the deed, according to service-public.
Is a 2024 DPE enough to sell in 2026?
Yes, a DPE made since 1 July 2021 remains valid for 10 years. If the home is heated by electricity, its label may improve with the new calculation of 1 January 2026: a free certificate updates it, according to service-public.
What has changed for sale diagnostics in France since 2023?
The energy audit, the unfitness orders and the DPE calculation.
The energy audit becomes compulsory to sell a house or a single-owner building among the worst performers on the DPE, according to service-public.
Source: Service-public F37110
The file also includes the safety and health police orders affecting the building; without them, the buyer can ask for cancellation or a price reduction (law no. 2024-322 of 9 April 2024, article L271-4).
Source: CCH L271-4
The DPE counts electricity with a factor of 1.9 instead of 2.3, which can change the class of a home heated by electricity, and so the audit requirement.
Source: Service-public F16096
Which texts is this list of diagnostics based on?
- Energy audit: territorial timetableLégifrance, in French
- Asbestos: repeat a report made before April 2013Service-public.fr, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article L271-4 (technical diagnostic file)Légifrance, in French
- Construction and Housing Code, article L126-28-1 (energy audit)Légifrance, in French
- Which property diagnostics must be provided when selling a home? (fiche F10798)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 7 March 2025
- Lead exposure report (fiche F1142) and asbestos report (fiche F742)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 17 August 2026
- Reports on the indoor gas installation (fiche F17337) and electricity installation (fiche F18692)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 17 September 2026
- Risk and pollution report (fiche F12239)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 1 January 2025
- Energy audit when selling a poorly insulated property (fiche F37110)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 14 September 2026
- Energy performance certificate (fiche F16096)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 1 January 2026
- Termite report (fiche F3150)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 26 February 2026
Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026