Glossary
Réception des travaux: the handover that starts every guarantee
What is the réception des travaux?
The réception des travaux is the moment you formally accept the work a contractor has done on your home. You accept it either as it stands or with a list of defects, called réserves, that the contractor must put right. It's usually recorded in a signed document, the procès-verbal de réception (PV). Every French building guarantee counts from that date, so it's the most important signature after the devis.
Why insist on a written PV de réception?
French law lets réception happen without any paperwork. If you move back in and pay the final invoice without complaint, a court can treat that as acceptance, known as réception tacite. The date then becomes something to argue about, and so does the list of what was wrong.
A written PV settles both. It names the job, the date and each réserve, and both you and the contractor sign it. Réception is meant to happen with both sides present or invited. If a contractor won't sign a PV at all, a court can still pronounce réception, but that's a slow route you want to avoid. Ask at the devis stage for a PV at the end, and ask that the payment schedule ties the final payment to it.
Réserves: the defects you list at handover, and what happens to them
A réserve is any defect you can see on the day: a chipped tile, a door that catches, a radiator that stays cold, a missing socket cover. Write each one on the PV in plain terms, with where it is. Agree a date for the repairs with the contractor and put that on the PV too.
Take your time here. A visible defect you don't list is treated as accepted, and you lose the right to have it fixed under the guarantees. If the repairs don't happen by the agreed date, you send a formal notice (mise en demeure). If that's ignored, you can have another firm do the work at the first contractor's cost.
You can also refuse réception. That's for work that's unfinished or not fit for use, such as a bathroom with no working drain or a heating system that won't start. A list of snags calls for réserves on a signed PV.
Which clocks start the day after réception?
- Parfait achèvement, 1 year: the contractor must fix every réserve on the PV and any new defect you report in writing during the year, however small.
- Biennale, 2 years: removable equipment installed as part of new building work.
- Décennale, 10 years: damage that threatens the structure or makes the building unfit for use.
- Dommages-ouvrage: if you took out this policy, it pays from the end of the first year. It can pay earlier if the contractor ignores a formal notice to repair.
One exception catches many owners. Since a Cour de cassation ruling in March 2024, equipment added to a house that's already standing gets neither the biennale nor the décennale (ten-year building insurance). That covers a heat pump, an air conditioner, a water heater or a tap. You're left with the installer's contractual liability and the maker's warranty, so collect both in writing at réception. The décennale can still apply where the fitting involved real building work.
The retenue de garantie and your final payment
If your contract says so, you can hold back up to 5% of each payment for one year as a retenue de garantie. It covers the réserves on the PV. The money can't sit in your own account: it goes to a third party agreed with the contractor, or the contractor gives you a bank guarantee instead. After a year from réception it's released automatically, unless you've written to object, giving the reason, because repairs are still outstanding. Only a clause in the contract gives you this right, so ask for it before you sign the devis.
How can you handle réception from abroad?
Be there if you can. If you can't, send someone who can sign on your behalf. That can be a maître d'oeuvre already running the project, or a trusted person with a written procuration (power of attorney) naming the job. On the day, they should:
- Walk every room and take dated photos.
- Test everything: heating and cooling in both modes, every tap and drain, every switch and socket, the hot water.
- Collect the paperwork: manuals, warranty cards, the installer's written warranty on fitted equipment, and the CONSUEL (the electrical safety inspectorate) attestation where the electrical work needs one.
- Refuse to sign a PV that says "sans réserves" if anything on the list above failed.
After that, keep a diary for the first year. Report any new defect to the contractor by lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception before the anniversary of the PV. A text message or a phone call won't stop the clock.
More on French renovation guarantees and handover
Sources
Official sources for réception, réserves and the retention rules
- Légifrance: Code civil, article 1792-6 Réception with or without réserves, by agreement or through a court, and the one-year guarantee covering réserves and defects reported in writing later.
- Service-Public.fr: guarantees after réception of the works A visible defect left off the procès-verbal counts as accepted; the 1-year, 2-year and 10-year guarantees that follow.
- Service-Public.fr: the garantie décennale The ten years start the day after the procès-verbal is signed.
- Service-Public.fr: dommages-ouvrage insurance The owner's policy pays from one year after réception, or sooner if the contractor ignores a formal notice to repair.
- Légifrance: loi no. 71-584 of 16 July 1971 on retentions A retention of up to 5% if the contract provides for it, held by a third party or replaced by a bank guarantee, and released one year after réception unless you object.
- Légifrance: Cour de cassation, 3rd civil chamber, 21 March 2024, no. 22-18.694 Equipment added to an existing building falls under neither the biennale nor the décennale.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.