There's a new buzz in the french property market

WITH every house sale in France comes an obligatory set of reports on the state of a property.

They currently include the results of tests carried out by qualified technicians to detect the presense of lead,asbestos, termites, capricorn beatle and energy efficiency ratings.

The latter measures the efficacy of insulation, levels of emmisions and gas installations.

From the 1st January 2009 a report on the domestic electrical installation will be added to the list.

The objective is to measure the safety of the installation from the meter to the electrical outlets in the home.

How safely fixtures are connected to these outlets and whether they conform to standards will also be evaluated.

At a minimum, tests will cover all fuses and circuit breakers, proper insulation and earthing and use of electrical equipment in bathrooms.

The idea is to inform the prospective purchaser of the property of its condition with the greatest possible transparency. It is also intended to give french property buyers more leverage in negotiating the purchase.

The cost of all these diagnostics is paid by the vendor.

The new electrical tests will incur additional costs to them. And so, the hope is that vendors will be encouraged to ensure their property is in a good and safe state of repair in order to avoid additional costs for repeat tests and risking the sale.

source: capital.fr