Does the builder have to bear the cost of the works that make up the building permit for a house?

To have this house built by a builder, Fabrice signed a contract for the construction of a detached house (CCMI) with provision of a plan. As the contract does not mention closure, the manufacturer refuses to take it over.

Can Fabrice obtain from the builder the sum corresponding to the installation of his green fence, condition of his building permit? If the building permit is conditional on the completion of certain works, must the builder bear the cost?

Service-Public.fr replies:

Pursuant to Article L 231-2 b of the Building and Housing Code, a CCMI with a plan must include an affirmation that the project complies with the building regulations of the city planning Code. Article R 231-4 of the same code states that the CCMI must be annexed with a plan, descriptive notice showing the total cost of the works provided for in the contract but also the cost of the works reserved for the execution by the contracting authority.

For that reason, the Court of Appeal before which Fabrice brought the case ordered the builder to reimburse him for the cost of the green fence. The Court of Appeal deduces from Article L231-2 of the Construction and Housing Code the principle that the cost of the works for which the construction authorization is conditional must be included in the flat-rate price requested by the manufacturer or, if left to Fabrice, be the subject of an estimate by the manufacturer.

That interpretation is approved by the Cour de cassation in its decision of 13 July 2023, which considers it to be consistent with the objectives pursued by that text, the purpose of which is to inform Fabrice of the exact total cost of the construction, in order to prevent him from engaging in an operation that he could not carry out.