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Case law and methods
What I write here, I apply in my reports. Each article points to the corresponding valuation service.
Latest article · Case law · Market value, inheritance and divorce
Sale below value in France: rescission for lesion in two rulings
Sale for under five twelfths of value: the French seller may rescind for lesion. Two Cassation rulings (2022, 2023) on buyer's option and proof of lesion.
12 September 2026 · 5 min read
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Market value, inheritance and divorce
Sale below value in France: rescission for lesion in two rulings
Sale for under five twelfths of value: the French seller may rescind for lesion. Two Cassation rulings (2022, 2023) on buyer's option and proof of lesion.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 5 min
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Divorce in France: compensation for works on one spouse's house
Cass. 1re civ., 23 May 2024: compensation to the community for works on a spouse's own property is (A − B) × C/D: two values, with and without the works.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 4 min
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Divorce in France: home valued at partition, even if run down
Cour de cassation, 1 October 2025: a jointly owned home is valued as it stands at the date closest to partition; occupation indemnity tracks market rent.
Case law · 4 September 2026 · 4 min
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Inheritance in France: gifted land is valued as bare land
Cass. 1re civ., 12 June 2025: for abatement of gifts in a French estate, land given bare is valued bare at the death, not at the sale price of the house.
Case law · 1 September 2026 · 4 min
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Divorce in France: when to value the house, who pays the expert
Partition date, divorce petition date, compensation and equalising payment: the dates that matter when valuing the home in a French divorce, and who pays.
Method · 27 August 2026 · 4 min
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Lifetime mortgage in France: why the valuation is decisive
Prêt viager hypothécaire, the French lifetime mortgage: the ruling of 19 June 2024 makes the valuation decisive for consent. Consequences for heirs.
Method · 4 August 2026 · 5 min
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Reserve price in a French property foreclosure: how it is set
Reserve price in a French property foreclosure: who sets it, why it is often half the market value and what a valuation report changes, from a 2020 ruling.
Case law · 15 July 2026 · 5 min
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Valuing common parts of a French building, including a stairwell
Valuing common parts in a French co-owned building: the added value to the lot, the weighting in the Charte 2025 and a Paris ruling on a stairwell.
Case law · 10 July 2026 · 5 min
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Avoiding property foreclosure in France: what the judge expects
Avoiding property foreclosure in France: sell early at market value, prove the value with an expert report and show the judge a sale is imminent.
Method · 9 July 2026 · 5 min
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Commercial leases and eviction
Rental value in France: advance rent and turnover rent rulings
Cass. 3e civ., 7 May 2025: advance rent beyond two terms is offset by the interest of article L. 145-40. 18 June 2026: a turnover rent stays contractual.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 4 min
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Eviction compensation in France: the tenant has two years to act
Cass. 3e civ., 12 February 2026: the two-year limit runs from the notice's effective date. The landlord's appraisal suspends it for the landlord alone.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 4 min
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Occupation indemnity after a French commercial lease: two rulings
Cour de cassation, 2025 and 2026: after the landlord's option, the indemnity at rental value runs from lease expiry, less property tax borne by the tenant.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 5 min
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Rent uncapping and material change: two French rulings of 2025
Local commercial factors 'likely to' favour the business, a new statutory insurance duty on the landlord: two Cour de cassation rulings on rent uncapping.
Case law · 31 August 2026 · 4 min
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French commercial lease beyond twelve years: no rent smoothing
Cour de cassation, 16 October 2025: the 10 % a year rent smoothing does not apply to a nine-year commercial lease tacitly extended past twelve years.
Case law · 28 August 2026 · 4 min
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Commercial rent uncapping in France: four ways out of the cap
Commercial rent uncapping in France: the four cases where the renewal rent is set at market rent, how it is calculated and the 10 % a year smoothing.
Method · 25 August 2026 · 5 min
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French commercial lease: can rent rise automatically each year?
Flat-rate annual rent rise in a French commercial lease: the Cour de cassation ruling of 22 June 2022, the difference from indexation, effect on value.
Case law · 12 August 2026 · 5 min
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French commercial rent uncapping: tramway and changing customers
Commercial rent uncapping in France: how a tramway line and a changing customer base justified a rent of €49,324 (Orléans Court of Appeal, 4 April 2019).
Case law · 5 August 2026 · 4 min
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Eviction compensation: a photo shop in a French shopping centre
Eviction compensation in a French shopping centre: why the court awarded replacement compensation of €456,384.60 rather than a simple relocation.
Case law · 29 July 2026 · 4 min
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Decontamination costs and eviction compensation: the 2022 ruling
Decontamination costs and eviction compensation in France: what the Cour de cassation held on 22 June 2022 and what it changes when quantifying the loss.
Case law · 28 July 2026 · 4 min
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Businesses and company shares
Article 1843-4 Civil Code: the expert may give two valuations
Cass. com., 7 May 2025: the expert valuing company shares under article 1843-4 may give one figure per reading of the articles; the judge then chooses.
Case law · 9 September 2026 · 4 min
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SCI shares and French wealth tax: two 10 % discounts, not three
Cass. com., 9 July 2025: 10 % for illiquid assets, 10 % for illiquid shares. An SCI shareholder is not a joint owner and cannot claim a third discount.
Case law · 7 September 2026 · 4 min
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SCI shares in a French inheritance: which discounts are accepted?
SCI shares in a French estate: restated net asset value, shareholder loans, illiquidity and minority discounts justified so the return withstands audit.
Method · 26 August 2026 · 3 min
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Valuing SCI shares in France: methods and a worked example
Valuing SCI shares: restated net asset value, capitalisation, DCF, goodwill and discounts, with a worked example to value your shares in a French SCI.
Worked example · 10 August 2026 · 5 min
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Valuing old shop stock in France: six methods, a worked example
Valuing an old shop stock for an eviction claim or a business sale in France: six methods compared and a worked example to choose the right approach.
Worked example · 27 July 2026 · 6 min
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Loss of value and damages
Missing floor area in France: who can claim, and from whom
Cass. 3e civ., 7 November 2024: the architect answers for a flat 6.70 m² short of the plans. 5 March 2026: the Carrez surveyor is liable to the buyer.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 5 min
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Incorrect energy certificate: lost chance to negotiate the price
Cass. 3e civ., 17 October 2024: a French DPE is informative only. A false insulation figure costs the buyer a chance to negotiate the price, set at 50 %.
Case law · 10 September 2026 · 4 min
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Loss of view in a dense urban area: French court demands context
Cass. 3e civ., 27 March 2025: awards of €16,100 to €19,480 per flat quashed because the court did not ask whether urban density ruled out the nuisance.
Case law · 3 September 2026 · 4 min
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New building next door: valuing the loss on your French house
A block of flats planned next door: the before and after value method French courts accept, the two legal remedies and their time limits.
Method · 24 August 2026 · 4 min
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Non-compliant drainage in France: hidden defect and price refund
Non-compliant drainage discovered after buying a French property: what the hidden defect warranty allows, with the Paris Court of Appeal ruling of 2017.
Case law · 19 August 2026 · 7 min
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Builders' liability in France: legal grounds and awards
Builders' liability in France: intermediate defects, proven fault, insurer's cover and how the judge must value the loss, per a Cour de cassation ruling.
Case law · 3 August 2026 · 5 min
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Loss of view in France: not automatically a neighbour nuisance
Loss of view and abnormal neighbourhood disturbance in France: why the Cour de cassation refused compensation, and how to prove a real loss of value.
Case law · 31 July 2026 · 5 min
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Prefer a quote to a flat-rate deduction: French pre-emption case
Flat-rate deduction or quote for works or decontamination: what a 2022 PARIS Court of Appeal pre-emption ruling shows about proving costs in French courts.
Case law · 23 July 2026 · 5 min
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Claiming loss of enjoyment and devaluation of a French home
Loss of enjoyment and devaluation of a cracked house: what the judge requires before awarding compensation, from a Reims Court of Appeal ruling of 2020.
Case law · 17 July 2026 · 5 min
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Leaseback in France: can a Pierre & Vacances sale be cancelled?
Can a French tourist-residence leaseback be cancelled for fraud when the rent falls at lease renewal? What the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in 2020.
Case law · 16 July 2026 · 5 min
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Cancelling a French off-plan purchase for an overvalued price?
Cancelling a French off-plan purchase for an overvalued price: the proof the Paris Court of Appeal requires and the role of an expert valuation report.
Case law · 13 July 2026 · 6 min
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Tax incentive property in France: check the real value first
Tax incentive property in France: why an error on the price does not void the sale, the checks before buying, and a 2017 Paris Court of Appeal case.
Case law · 8 July 2026 · 5 min
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Damp wall after buying in France: does the price reflect it?
Damp wall found after buying in France: when it is a hidden defect, how the court compares price paid with market value, and why the expert report matters.
Case law · 7 July 2026 · 4 min
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Selling below value in France: the seller is deemed to know
Selling a French commercial building below its value: lesion, derisory price, fraud and their time limits, with a Paris café-hotel case decided in 2018.
Case law · 6 July 2026 · 6 min
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Cancelling a property sale in France for a price far too low?
Cancelling a sale at a low price in France: serious price, lesion and fraud, time limits and the weight of a valuation report, from a 2017 ruling.
Method · 3 July 2026 · 5 min
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Compulsory purchase and pre-emption
Compulsory purchase compensation in France: three key rulings
Three Cassation rulings (2024-2025): no compensation for an unlawful building, a distinct trading loss on partial eviction, and what a silent owner gets.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 5 min
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Pre-emption price in France: valued as it stands at judgment
Cass. 3e civ., 3 April 2025: a pre-empted flat is priced as it stands, neglected common parts included. Plus a price quashed for inconsistent figures.
Case law · 12 September 2026 · 4 min
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Compulsory purchase in France: three recent Cassation rulings
Compulsory purchase in France: partial taking assessed on the whole plot, decontamination deduction with no works done, lost rent admissible on appeal.
Case law · 8 September 2026 · 4 min
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Court and private expert reports
Private valuation reports: what a French judge can do with them
Private expert reports in French courts: a judge cannot rely on one alone. Two 2025 and 2026 rulings carve out undisputed facts and jointly chosen experts.
Case law · 2 September 2026 · 4 min
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Independence of a French court expert: assessed case by case
Independence of a French court expert: managing co-owned buildings is not in itself incompatible (Cass. 15 June 2023). Listing criteria and safeguards.
Case law · 30 July 2026 · 4 min
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What a French property valuation report must contain
Property valuation report in France: the elements to look for under the Charte de l'expertise 2025, the EVS 2025 and the Code of Civil Procedure.
Method · 24 July 2026 · 6 min
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How to become a (credible) property valuation expert in France
Becoming a property valuation expert in France: protected titles, TEGOVA REV certification, continuing training and useful reading for a credible practice.
Method · 22 July 2026 · 5 min
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Tax and value
French wealth tax: building land with environmental constraints
Cass. com., 6 May 2026: without proof of the land's particular situation at the taxable date, the tax office may value it as building land under the PLU.
Case law · 11 September 2026 · 4 min
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Buying property in Luxembourg: is it still worth it? The figures
Buying in Luxembourg in 2025: a side-by-side calculation for a main home and a buy-to-let, tax reliefs, and the real cash flow over fifteen years.
Worked example · 20 August 2026 · 6 min
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French property tax incentives in 2025, mainland and overseas
French property tax incentives in 2025: CIOP, Girardin IS, LMNP, Malraux and historic monuments, with tax code articles, worked figures and limits.
Method · 13 August 2026 · 6 min
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Disguised gift: French tax reassessment of a family sale
Disguised gift in France: how the tax authority reassesses a sale to a child at an undervalue, and why a documented valuation protects the family.
Case law · 21 July 2026 · 5 min
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Hotels
How to value a hotel in France: 7 methods and a worked example
Valuing a hotel in France: income capitalisation, comparison, DCF, replacement cost, multipliers, income split, the hotel method and a full worked example.
Worked example · 11 August 2026 · 5 min
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Top 10 hotel brands in France in 2026: chains and networks
Hotel brands in France in 2026: INSEE hotel stock, integrated chains versus voluntary networks, figures per group, and what it means for valuing a hotel.
News · 7 August 2026 · 8 min
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Six hotel management models in France and their effect on value
Hotel management models in France: direct operation, management contract, franchise, lease, asset management, location-gérance, and their effect on value.
Method · 6 August 2026 · 6 min
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Methods and standards
French energy certificate reform 2026: impact on market value
French DPE reform 2026: what the new electricity coefficient changes for the market value of a home, and how the valuation expert takes it into account.
News · 21 August 2026 · 7 min
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EVS 2025: how the new valuation standards affect French property
EVS 2025: what the European valuation standards change for a French home with a poor energy rating, for your mortgage and for the valuation report.
News · 18 August 2026 · 6 min
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Energy renovation in France: why savings fall short of forecasts
Energy renovation in France: real savings measured after works, the effect on lending and property value, and what the valuation expert takes from it.
Method · 17 August 2026 · 5 min
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Energy rating and property prices: correlation is not causation
Energy rating and property prices in France: why price gaps between DPE classes do not measure the energy label alone, and how the valuer isolates it.
Method · 14 August 2026 · 5 min
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How to estimate average property prices in your French town
Estimating average property prices in a French town: DVF sales data, the notaires' price map, online estimators, and where a square-metre average stops.
Method · 20 July 2026 · 5 min
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French mortgage rates: how they move and what they do to values
Mortgage rates in France: what moves them, how to prepare a loan application and how they affect property values, with the 2009-2019 fall in perspective.
News · 14 July 2026 · 5 min
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