Termites in habitat
Verified 04 June 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Areas contaminated by termites are defined by a prefectural decree. In these areas, the mayor may require condominium owners or trustees to have a termites diagnosis made. Outside these areas, any occupant who notices the presence of termites in his dwelling must make the declaration in the town hall.
Contaminated area
You can consult a map of contaminated departments:
Departments covered by a decree delimiting the termite zones
These departments are fixed by prefectural decree.
The Prefectural Decree can be consulted in the City Hall or Prefecture.
Who shall I contact
In termite-contaminated areas, the mayor may issue a by-law requiring the owner or condominium trustee to have a termite diagnosis of the dwelling or building.
This Order is notified to the owner or trustee of the condominium.
The owner or trustee of the condominium must send a copy of the diagnosis to the City Hall. This copy must be sent by registered letter with notice of receipt or deposited with the City Hall.
If the diagnosis confirms the presence of termites, the owner or trustee of condominium must have eradication work carried out within a time limit set by the city council. This work must be carried out by the professional of his choice.
Warning
the professional who carries out the eradication work must be different from the one who carries out the diagnosis.
Once the work is completed, the owner or trustee of the condominium must send a certificate to the town hall certifying that the work has been completed. This certificate shall be given by the trader who carried out the work. It must be sent by registered letter with notice of receipt or deposited with the City Hall.
FYI
it is not clear whether treatments eradicate termites permanently, so treatments may need to be repeated if they recur. Their presence does not prevent the sale of a house, but the future buyer must be aware of them before buying.
In the case of total or partial demolition of a building, wood and materials contaminated by termites must be incinerated (burned) on site by the building owner or by the professional of his choice.
If destruction by incineration on site is not possible, the wood and materials must be treated by a professional of his choice before being transported.
The trader who has carried out on-site incineration or treatment of wood and materials must make the declaration on a form. This declaration shall provide evidence that the incineration or treatment operations have been carried out in order to avoid the dispersal of termites.
Reporting of incineration or treatment of termite contaminated wood and materials
The declaration must be sent within the month following the incineration or treatment operations, by registered letter with notice of receipt or deposited with the town hall of the place of the building.
Obligation to carry out a termites diagnosis
Failure by the owner or trustee of the joint ownership to have the termites diagnosis carried out may be punishable by a contravention of €1,500.
The City Hall can arrange for the diagnosis of termites and the necessary eradication work in case of presence of termites at the expense of the owner or the trustee of condominium.
Obligation to incinerate or treat contaminated wood and materials
Failure by the owner or trustee of the condominium to cause the incineration or treatment of contaminated wood and materials to be carried out may be punishable by a contravention of €1,500.
The City Hall may arrange for these operations to be carried out at the expense of the owner or the trustee of the condominium.
Uncontaminated
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Occupant (tenant, owner of the dwelling)
Any occupant (tenant, landlord) who notices the presence of termites in his accommodation (for example, presence of a tunnel-gallery in a wall) must make the declaration in the town hall.
This declaration must be made within one month of the finding of the presence of termites.
If the dwelling is rented, it is the tenant who must make the declaration in the town hall. Before that, he must inform the owner of the dwelling by all means.
To properly identify the presence of termites, it is recommended that the owner of the dwelling have a termite diagnosis.
Condominium trustee for the common areas of the building
Anyone who notices termites in common areas of a condominium must inform the condominium trustee.
The trustee must make the declaration in town hall. This declaration must be made within one month of the finding of the presence of termites.
To properly identify the presence of termites, it is recommended that the condominium trustee have a termite diagnosis.
The declaration of the presence of termites in the town hall must be made on a form.
Declaration of termites in a dwelling or building
This shall specify the following information:
- Identity of the person making the declaration
- Identification of the dwelling or common areas
- Indicators of termites and diagnosis of termites if done
The declaration must be sent by registered letter with notice of receipt or deposited with the City Hall.
The city council then decides whether the owner or trustee of the condominium should undertake eradication work.
The mayor shall fix the period during which the owner or trustee of the condominium must have this work carried out.
Failure to declare the presence of termites may be punishable by a €450.
Obligations of the owner and the trustee of the condominium
Termite eradication work
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