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7. French Building Contracts

Once you have agreed the builders estimate then you will need to enter into a formal written contract.

There are two main types of building contract:

Contrat de construction de maison individuelle (CCMI)
Contrat d'entreprise/Contrat louage-ouvrage

7.1. Contrat de construction de maison individuelle (CCMI)

This is the main standard form of building contract for a new house, which can have one of two forms.

I. Where you ask the builder to undertake both the preparation of the plans and the construction work then the CCMI is called a contrat de construction avec fourniture de plan. II. Where you engage an architect to prepare the plans and then engage a builder to construct the dwelling the contract is called a contrat de construction sans fourniture de plan.

The level of protection offered to you is greater with those contracts offered with a plan, but you will have less choice in the design of the property, as you are likely to be offered a standard design.

These focus of these pages is primarily on the second of these contracts - where you engage your own architect and then ask a builder to construct the dwelling.

The CCMI contract comes in various standard or non-standard forms, which may be more or less to the advantage of one of the parties.

The more common ones are from building industry organsiations, such as CAPEB and UNCMI, and one from the consumers organisation Que Choisir.