Ten-year insurance is an obligation imposed on construction professionals by the legislator. In doing so, the latter intends above all to protect the project owners, in the event of anomalies in the property they receive, at the end of the construction site. What happens if the builder you hire does not have such insurance?
An owner of a property under construction who hires a professional without ten-year insurance will especially see his protection limited. If the basic scenario in the implementation of this insurance seems simple, it is necessary to consider things according to the true circumstances of their occurrence, as recalled by La Décennale, a site specializing in the question. The default scheme is for the injured client to declare the defects or poor workmanship observed. As soon as the ten-year nature of the latter is established, they will be subject to repairs, at the expense of the contractor or his insurer. Things may turn out a little more complicated if the manufacturer cannot refer to any insurer.
On the one hand, he may not be able to pay for the repairs to which the client is entitled, under the ten-year guarantee. It is also interesting to consider what is likely to happen, in the event that the builder leaves the site in limbo, after having possibly received substantial advances. The absence of delivery of the goods itself cancels the relevance of the ten-year insurance and even this irregularity cannot be used as an argument to try to recover the deposit paid. Finally, any intention to sell your property may also cause some complications. It is true that the notary can always take delivery of the deed of sale. He will nevertheless be forced to report, by a specific clause, the discharge of liability due to the absence of compulsory insurance. This can have an impact on the interest shown in the property offered for sale.
Since the legislator has provided a clear framework to formalize the obligation of ten-year insurance for professionals - and this, in article 1792 of the Civil Code -, any breach incurs a certain number of sanctions. A prison sentence of 6 months is provided for the offender. This can apply even in the absence of any declaration of loss and is accompanied by a fine of 75,000 euros. Compensation for damages suffered by the project owner is at the heart of the ten-year insurance. In the event of a declared claim, the law will therefore force the defaulting professional to repair the damage himself. In case of inability to carry out this penalty, he will be imposed the payment of the harmful consequences.
The latter consist of damages plus the cost of repairs. It cannot be ruled out that the courts may grant the project owner the exemption from payment of the last installments due to the defaulting builder. This occurs in particular in the case where the ten-year defect is noted before the end of the construction site and the acceptance of the property. It is, however, useful to specify that certain categories of construction professionals are themselves exempt from the ten-year requirement. This is the case, for example, if the constructed structure is an uncovered sports complex.
