Building damage insurance: what it covers, when it is required, what going without it costs
Building damage insurance (assurance dommages-ouvrage) is the obligation private renovators most often ignore: any owner having works done that fall under the ten-year guarantee must take it out before the site opens. It pays out quickly, without waiting for a court to name the party at fault, and it counts on resale. This dossier says when it is required, what its absence costs, and how to take it out from abroad.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home SelectUpdated · 6 min read
What it does, and why it exists
When a serious defect appears after works, the contractor is covered by their ten-year guarantee. But it must first be established that the defect really is their responsibility, and not that of the plasterer, the roofer, the architect or the material manufacturer. That demonstration takes place in court, with a judicial expert survey, and it takes between two and five years.
Damage-to-works insurance exists so you do not have to wait. It compensates you quickly, on simple observation of the defect, without identifying who is at fault. The insurer then turns against whoever is responsible and their colleagues. It is sometimes called pre-financing insurance, and that is exactly what it is: it buys time, not a new right.
When it is compulsory
The criterion is not the cost of the works but their nature: what is covered are works falling under the ten-year guarantee, meaning those compromising the soundness of the structure or making it unfit for purpose.
Works covered
Works generally outside the scope
Structural work, reinforcement, opening a load-bearing wall
Replacing a boiler or a radiator
Roof framing, roofing, terrace watertightness
Laying a floor covering or painting
External insulation, facade renovation with insulation
Replacing separable equipment
Conservatory, extension, adding a storey
Small repairs and handyman work
Services embedded in the structure
Kitchen or bathroom without structural work
For a standard flat renovation, without touching the structure, the obligation does not apply. It does apply as soon as you open a load-bearing wall, insulate externally or redo a roof, which is precisely the programme of a large-scale energy renovation.
What its absence really costs
A private individual having works done on a home they, or their family, occupy incurs no criminal penalty: the obligation is criminally enforced only against other owners commissioning works. That explains why it is so widely ignored, and it is short-sighted reasoning.
The first cost is delay. Without damage-to-works insurance, water ingress appearing four years after roofing works is settled by court proceedings: expert survey, joining the companies and their insurers, judgment. Meanwhile the defect worsens and the repairs remain at your expense.
Antibes, Côte d’Azur
On resale and from afar, two further costs
The second cost appears at resale. The notarial deed mentions works carried out within the past ten years and the existence, or not, of the corresponding insurance. An informed buyer draws two conclusions: they inherit an uncovered risk, and they can put a figure on it. Negotiation opens on that point, and it rarely closes in your favour.
For a non-resident owner, a third cost is added, invisible in the texts: distance. Following a judicial expert survey in France from Singapore or New York requires an agent, travel, and an availability nobody has.
How to take it out, and when
The rule has no exception: before the site opens. Once works have started, insurers decline the file, and the rare regularisation policies cost far more and require a survey of the works already carried out.
The file requested is always the same, and it is assembled alongside the quotes.
The description of the works and the signed quotes.
The ten-year insurance certificates of each company, in force and covering the activity performed.
The plans, and the technical study where there is one.
The name of the project manager or architect, if there is one.
The planned date for opening the site.
The premium is calculated as a percentage of the cost of the works and is paid in one go. It follows the property and not the owner: if you sell, it benefits the buyer for the remaining period, which makes it one of the few site costs recovered in the sale price.
What Home Select organises for insuring your works
Works are costed before the purchase offer, not after: your Home Select property finder brings a contractor or a project manager to the second viewing, so that the price offered accounts for what remains to be done.
After the signing, we introduce the project manager or architect who runs the project in your place, and the concierge service that opens the door and photographs progress. Running the works, the quotes and the handover are theirs, under their responsibility: our role is that there is a single point of entry.
Frequently asked questions
Which works require damage-to-works insurance?
Those covered by the ten-year guarantee, that is works affecting the soundness of the structure or elements that make it unfit for purpose: structural work, framing, watertightness, heavy insulation, embedded services, conservatory, adding a storey. Replacing a boiler or laying a floor covering are not in principle covered by the ten-year guarantee, so not by the obligation.
What is the risk of not taking it out?
A private individual having works done on a home they, or their family, occupy incurs no criminal penalty. The risk is purely economic, and twofold: in the event of a defect you must prove the company’s liability in court before being compensated, which takes years; and on resale within ten years, the buyer sees the absence of insurance in the deed and negotiates, when they do not walk away.
Can it be taken out after the works have started?
No, and that is why so many projects go without it: it must be taken out before the works begin, and insurers systematically decline a file submitted afterwards. So-called regularisation policies exist, but they are rare, expensive, and conditional on a prior survey of the works already carried out.
What is building damage insurance for?
To be compensated quickly, without waiting for a court to name the party at fault. On a simple claim for a defect falling under the ten-year guarantee, the insurer must rule on cover within sixty days and make a compensation offer within ninety days; it then turns against the company at fault and its insurer itself. Without it, the same proof goes through a court-appointed expert assessment that often takes several years.
Which file is needed to take out building damage insurance?
The description of the works and the signed quotes, each company’s ten-year insurance certificate, valid and covering the activity carried out, the plans and the technical study if there is one, the name of the project manager or architect, and the planned site opening date. The file is put together alongside the quotes, since everything is decided before day one.
Does building damage insurance benefit the buyer on resale?
Yes. It follows the property, not the owner: sold within ten years, the property passes the cover to the buyer for the remaining period, and the deed of sale mentions the works done and the insurance taken out. It is one of the few site costs that shows up in the price; its absence, conversely, opens a negotiation.
Preparing a purchase in France from abroad, or already an owner there? Describe your situation: a Home Select property finder answers within one working day, and the file starts with the right partners, in the right order.
Your request is already sent, simply pick what suits you.
A property finder calls you back within one working day.
🇫🇷+33
An error occurred. Please try again.
Then answer 3 quick questions to be matched with the right hunter.
Home Select processes your data (name, email, phone, project) to handle your request and contact you. It is recorded in our follow-up tool and read by the hunter in charge of your project. Our technical providers access it for hosting, email and checking that your email and number are real, some of them from the United States under the safeguards set by the GDPR. We keep it for three years after our last exchange, or five years after the end of our assignment if you entrust it to us, as French anti-money-laundering law requires. To access, correct or erase it, or to object to its use: contact@home-select.fr. Details in our privacy policy.
Your hunter calls you back within one working day.
Resume your request?
You started a request recently. Pick up where you left off, or start over.
Your answers are kept for 24 hours.
What is your project?
Takes 1 minute, no commitment.
Where are you looking?
Select one or more cities or areas
Your budget?
€
You pay only when Home Select finds it.
Anything to add?
Optional. Add any useful details: specifics about your search, constraints or your availability.
This helps your hunter prepare for your call.
An expert will contact you shortly
Your brief
Confidential search: your file goes to a senior hunter.
60 rue François 1er, 75008 Paris · FCI member
FeesOne month’s rent excluding charges, plus VAT, with a minimum of €2,000 including VAT. Payable only when the lease is signed. No application fee.
Step 1 of 2 · Your search
What are you looking for?
Furnished, unfurnished or both?
In which city?
One or more cities or areas.
€ / month
Charges included, as in the listings.
You would like to move in
Two minutes, no documents needed at this stage.
FeesOne month’s rent excluding charges, plus VAT, with a minimum of €2,000 including VAT. Payable only when the lease is signed. No application fee.
Step 2 of 2 · Your situation
Your situation
These answers let Home Select tell you quickly, and frankly, whether your search can succeed on the market in your city.
You are applying
€ / month
Before tax, regular bonuses included, for everyone applying.
Main applicant’s employment
Your company is based in France
Number of annual accounts filed
To strengthen your file
Optional for your profile. A guarantee reassures landlords.
Guarantor’s situation
€ / month
Who it is for, why you are moving, what matters to you. Do not include sensitive information (health, origin, religion, family situation).
Your contact details
🇫🇷+33
Reply within 24 business hours.
Home Select processes your data (name, email, phone, project, employment, income, guarantee) to review your rental request and contact you. Your answers are compared with the criteria landlords apply, then read by Home Select’s rental hunter. A request that cannot succeed receives a written reply within 24 business hours, and you can ask for it to be reviewed again at contact@home-select.fr. Our technical providers access it for hosting, email and checking that your email and number are real, some of them from the United States under the safeguards set by the GDPR. A request that does not lead to an assignment is erased after three months; otherwise, we keep your data for three years after our last exchange, or five years after the end of our assignment if you entrust it to us, as French anti-money-laundering law requires. To access, correct or erase it, or to object to its use: contact@home-select.fr. Details in our privacy policy.
FeesOne month’s rent excluding charges, plus VAT, with a minimum of €2,000 including VAT. Payable only when the lease is signed. No application fee.
Your file
Your file matches what landlords expect
Book your meeting with Stéphane Martins, rental hunter. He confirms it after reading your file, within 24 business hours.
Choose your time slot
Times shown in Paris time.
Confirmation arrives by email and text message.
FeesOne month’s rent excluding charges, plus VAT, with a minimum of €2,000 including VAT. Payable only when the lease is signed. No application fee.
Your request
Your request is in good hands
Stéphane Martins, rental hunter, is reviewing your file and will reply within 24 business hours.
You will receive a confirmation email.
You arrived through one of Home Select’s ads or campaigns.Ad measurement.Do you agree to Home Select measuring how well it works? Home Select will know which campaign brought you here and, if you get in touch, the ad platform will only learn that its ad worked, without receiving your contact details.Do you agree to Home Select measuring how well its ads work? If you arrive through one of them, Home Select will know which one and, if you get in touch, the ad platform will only learn that its ad worked, without receiving your contact details.Learn moreYour current choice: .
