The Carrez law measurement is part of the mandatory real estate diagnoses in the event of a real estate sale, as soon as the property (apartment, house, commercial premises, etc.) is co-owned. This provision, in force since 1996, is intended to protect the interests of the buyer. The seller must therefore be able to provide him with a document indicating the private area of the lot concerned. And this, in order to mention the area of the property in the preliminary contract (compromise or promise of sale), then in the authentic deed of sale. But what if the calculation is ultimately wrong?
Measure again
Before contesting the area of your property, you must be able to prove that there is an error. You can remeasure the accommodation yourself or hire a professional, for example a real estate diagnostician.
The error is less than 5%
In terms of calculating the private area of a dwelling, the law allows a margin of error of 5%. This means that if the measurement error is less than 5% of the total area of the accommodation, as expressed in the deed of sale, the buyer cannot claim compensation.
For example, if an apartment finally measures 96 m², instead of 100 m², the buyer cannot request reimbursement for the missing 4 m². If the buyer bought it for €3,000 per m², he loses €12,000…
The error is more than 5%
If the difference between the area sold and the actual area is greater than 5%, then the buyer can request a reduction in the selling price. The seller will thus have to reimburse him for the square meters unfairly counted, in proportion to the price per m² signed at the time of the sale.
For example, the 100 m² apartment sold is only 90 m², so the buyer can ask the seller to be reimbursed for the equivalent of 10 m². He is entitled to claim €30,000.
He can also demand reimbursement of the part of the transfer duties related to this number of square meters accounted for in excess. Note that the buyer has a period of one year to complete this process.
How to claim the refund?
To do this, the buyer first has every interest in getting back in touch with his notary, who can help him to carry out an amicable procedure as a first step. It does not turn against the real estate agent or the professional who carried out the measurement, but against the seller of the accommodation. It is therefore advisable to send him an amicable letter of formal notice in order to ask him for a reimbursement in proportion to the square meters counted in excess.
In case of refusal on the part of the seller, the buyer can then take legal action. It will be a question of initiating legal proceedings against the seller by seizing the court. It is therefore advisable to enlist the services of a lawyer specialized in real estate law.
What recourse for the seller?
The seller, who has the obligation to reimburse the aggrieved buyer, can turn against the company that carried out the Carrez footage prior to the sale. For a long time, the law did not consider that the incorrect measurement carried out by a diagnostician constituted a compensable damage. But since 2015, the Court of Cassation has admitted that a seller can “claim, against the measurer who carried out an erroneous measurement, of a loss of chance to sell his property at the same price for a smaller surface. »