The surveyor is liable towards the purchaser for the contents of the building survey

Pursuant to article L271-4 of the French building and housing code, a seller of real property must append to the deed of sale a building survey report, including a survey of the property's sanitary condition. To that end, the seller enters into a contract with a surveyor to perform the required surveys.

In their article “L’auteur du diagnostic technique immobilier est responsable envers l’acquéreur” (Expression Acheter-Louer.Fr, n°48 Janvier/Février 2016), Jérôme Rousselle and Ornella Edon report on two two recent rulings of the Cour de cassation, France's highest civil court, according to which the surveyor may be liable towards the purchaser if their survey is erroneous or incomplete, despite them not being bound by contract.

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