Dommage-ouvrage insurance explained for owners

What is dommage-ouvrage insurance?

Dommage-ouvrage (DO) is a policy the maître d'ouvrage, meaning whoever is having the work done, must take out before the building site opens. If structural damage shows up later, it pays for the repairs straight away. You don't wait years for a court to decide whose fault it was. The insurer pays first, then recovers the money from the contractor's own garantie décennale insurer. Without DO, that argument happens before you see a euro, and you're the one running it.

Is dommage-ouvrage insurance really mandatory for a private renovation?

Yes, legally. The obligation applies to anyone commissioning new construction, an extension, or renovation that touches the gros oeuvre. That's the structural fabric of a building: load-bearing walls, floors, roof structure. A repainted kitchen or a new tap doesn't trigger it. A knocked-through load-bearing wall or a raised roof does.

There's a carve-out, and it explains why many private owners skip the policy. An individual having work done on a home for themselves or their family can't be penalised for not taking it out. That exemption covers the penalty only. The insurance is still required, and the consequences below still apply.

What sets the dommage-ouvrage premium, and who sells it?

Specialist insurers and brokers sell it. Neither your contractor nor a standard French home insurance policy includes it. The premium is a one-off payment made before work starts. It follows the cost of the works and the risk, and renovation costs more to cover than new build, because an existing structure is harder to assess than a design on paper.

Ask two brokers for a written quote once you have a firm figure for the works. A friend's figure from a few years ago won't tell you much.

What happens at resale if you skipped dommage-ouvrage?

This is where the exemption stops helping you. If you sell within 10 years of the works, the deed must record whether the compulsory insurance exists. If it doesn't, that goes on paper in front of the notaire (notary) and the buyer's lawyer.

It won't block the sale, but it hands the buyer a documented reason to negotiate the price down. You also stay personally liable to that buyer for any décennale-type defect until the 10 years run out. Without dommage-ouvrage, a claim in year seven means paying for the repair yourself and chasing the original contractor's insurer on your own.

For a small job, most owners accept that risk. For anything that touches the gros oeuvre, get a quote before deciding to skip it, so you're weighing a real number.

Dommage-ouvrage versus garantie décennale: who holds which policy?

The two are opposite sides of the same 10-year cover, and people mix them up all the time. Garantie décennale is insurance the contractor holds, covering their liability for structural defects in their own work. Dommage-ouvrage is insurance you hold, as the person commissioning the work, and it's the one that pays out fast.

When a structural problem shows up, your DO insurer works to a legal timetable. It has 60 days to decide whether the policy applies, 90 days to present an offer, and 15 days to pay once you accept. It settles with you first and argues with the contractor's décennale insurer afterwards. That's the point of it: your roof gets fixed before that argument ends.

More on building insurance and renovation projects

Official sources for dommage-ouvrage rules

Service-Public.fr: dommages-ouvrage insurance Who must take out the policy, the penalty exemption for individuals, and the insurer's 60, 90 and 15-day deadlines.

Légifrance: Code des assurances, article L242-1 The obligation to take out dommage-ouvrage before work starts (the loi Spinetta of 4 January 1978).

Légifrance: Code des assurances, article L243-2 A sale within 10 years must record in the deed whether the compulsory insurance exists.

Service-Public.fr: the garantie décennale The contractor's 10-year liability, running from handover, that the DO insurer recovers from.

Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.