New legislation

European Directives 2014/17

Real estate valuers await the application of the European Directive 17/2014 which reforms mortgage lending to consumers.

This directive on mortgage lending covers credit agreements for residential property. It was adopted on February 4, 2014 and was intended to create a European market for mortgage lending with a high level of consumer protection ; It applies to real estate loans secured by a mortgage or not. Member States should have transposed these directives to their national law by March 2016.

Decree No. 2013-803, 3rd September 2013 relative to notarial databases covering transfer of property in exchange of payment

Two ministerial orders dated 30th September 2016, following the decree dated September 3rd 2013, outline the operating conditions of notarial databases concerning sale of property. They specify the various information which notaries must transmit to the supreme council (“Conseil Supérieur du Notariat”) and the way in which this information must be made available to the public.

Supplementing law No. 2011-331 dated 28th March 2011 concerning the transformation of judicial and legal professions and certain regulated professions in France, Decree No. 2013-803 of the 3rd September 2013 has delegated notaries with a new public service : to make data base information on property sales in France available to the general public. The intention was to distribute relevant information concerning the evolution of the real estate market with the intention to stimulate the market and to help potential buyers. The parameters of these two ministerial orders define the method of collection and transmission of the information.

I. Outline of the scheme
Long before the law of March 28th, 2011, the notaries had developed two regularly fed databases intended to improve understanding of real estate markets. Alongside the base “PERVAL”, created by the “Supreme Council of Notaries”, coexists the ’BIEN’ base, created by the association “Paris-Notaries-Services” for the “Chambre des Notaires de Paris”. The decree of March 26, 2011 has simply given a legal foundation to these notarial databases, based on the obligation for notaries to diffuse information on property sales. The Decree of September 3, 2013 had stipulated some important precisions. Notaries must now update two different databases : the first concerns deeds of sale related to transfer of property. Information must be forwarded within a period of 60 days from the signing of contracts.

The second relates to the preliminary contract of which details must be communicated within a period of 30 days of signature, or the receipt, of documents at the notary office.

These notarial real estate bases are designed to allow free distribution of information of the property market on the Internet and to ensure communication, on payment, of precise information to any applicant.

II. procedures for collection and transmission of information
The first order defines the content of information gathered while the second mainly describes the content of the information transmitted. In accordance with article 7 of Decree No. 2013-803, the implementation of these provisions will take effect 90 days after the publication of the two orders.

The content of information collected -The nature of information varies according to the type of property in question (apartment, house, land, parking space, vineyard...).

This decree also defines the statistics available on the Internet, free of charge to the general public.

Different selection criteria will be offered depending on whether the search is related to apartments, houses or land. They will include geographical location of the property, the type of property, the sales period, age, number of rooms, the living area, the presence of private parking spots. This decree states finally that the “Conseil Supérieur du Notariat”, or its representative, will forward upon payment, to anyone who asks, one or more tables of statistical results, obtained by comparing information on a number of sales over a time period of several consecutive calendar quarters and within a defined area (region, department, town etc.).

The content of information transmitted -The second decree describes the nature of information that can be transmitted and the conditions in which the disclosure of information is permitted. The question of privacy in the broad sense is at the heart of this text. It is expressly stated that the communication of information must not be detrimental to the protection of private life or to industrial or commercial confidentiality.

Loi ELAN

The Loi ELAN law has been developed to facilitate the construction of new housing and protect the most vulnerable. It was definitively adopted by the Senate on 16 October 2018.

Main characteristics are :

Simplification of building standards to build more and faster, speed up procedures and fight against abusive claims that counter building permits.

Simplify the transformation of empty offices into housing.

Reorganise the social housing sector to increase available housing.

Assessment of the tenant’s personal situation made easier.

More transparency in the allocation of social housing.

Allocation of at least 50% of social housing to eligible applicants with higher incomes in order to bring social diversity.

Creation of a flexible lease to facilitate professional mobility.

Creation of "VISALE", a caution for all students, free of charge.

Simplify the appropriation of vacant premises to house the homeless.

Local authorities, wishing to do so, will be able to experiment with rent control.

Owners will finally have the possibility to rent their vacant property for short periods.

Reinforcement of criminal and financial sanctions for abusive tourist rentals.

Fight against unscrupulous landlords and the dilapidation of shared properties

5 billion euros for the renovation of degraded city centres in medium-sized cities

The Loi ELAN provides an overall answer to distinct problems.

It has two objectives :

Free up and offer new opportunities
Protect, and give, to the less wealthy.


Publication of real estate data :
With the publication of real estate data, the experts’ work will become more complicated. Indeed, the profusion of information will force the expert to sort data and improve his analysis.

Decree No. 2018-1350 of 28 December 2018 allows the tax authorities to publish and make available, free of charge, to the general public :

The date and type of transaction.
Selling price. Address.
Cadastral references.
Description of property.