The seller who has done the work owes several guarantees

The ten-year guarantee covers defects which make the work "unfit for its intended purpose" while the simple poor performance of the work engages civil liability, which can be cumulative, according to the Court of Cassation.

The case opposed a seller, who had himself done the work, to the buyer of his house. The seller had redone the roof, but without respecting the standards, and had created a chimney, without respecting the standards either, which created a serious risk of fire.

Having carried out major works, he is reputed to be a builder, recalled the Court of Cassation, and he owes the ten-year guarantee. But he must also, as a simple seller, deliver a good without defects.

There may be faults in the roof, but they do not prevent the house from being used, they do not make it "unfit" for use, and therefore the ten-year warranty is inapplicable, said the seller.

The judges accepted this reasoning, but they added that if the roof was not to be redone under the ten-year guarantee since it did not prevent people from living in, it had to be under construction defects since it had major flaws. The good had therefore been delivered with defects.

(Cass. Civil 3, 1.4.2021, X 19-17.599).