What happens once the house has been delivered?
Despite all the efforts made to ensure that the construction of a new home is of the highest quality, it can happen that one or more claims are made after delivery. Polimmo La Maison offers you additional guarantees that are more demanding than the legal guarantees, and remains available even after the work has been handed over. This means that your project is protected from the time the work is handed over to any reservations you may have, right up to the time you make a claim under the ten-year guarantee.
The works acceptance visit
Once the building work is complete, your builder will work with you to organise the handover of the keys, and above all the acceptance visit, which is a legally binding stage. From that point onwards, you are responsible for the building work and must take out comprehensive home insurance.
This acceptance visit is also the starting point for the following legal guarantees: the guarantee of perfect completion (1 year), the guarantee of correct operation (2 years), and the ten-year guarantee (10 years).
There are three possible scenarios for this visit:
- You accept acceptance of the work without reservation. You consider that the house fully meets your expectations, with no damage or work to be redone.
- You accept acceptance of the work with reservations. You have noted some anomalies that the builder must address. You must stipulate these in due form in the acceptance minutes. It is essential to indicate the date on which the reservations will be lifted, which is the date on which the builder will have carried out the work requested. A subsequent inspection visit will be scheduled, and a new statement of reserve removal will be drawn up.
- You refuse acceptance. You find too many defects. You are entitled to refuse acceptance if these reservations make the property uninhabitable or if one or more works are incomplete. The reasons for refusal must be clearly stated on the acceptance report.
CCMI: a solid guarantee
Please note that you have 8 days in which to report any apparent problem that you missed on delivery, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. The Polimmo La Maison teams will then respond promptly.
Let's take an example: you discover that a window is broken after you've handed over the keys. You can then send a registered letter to your builder within 8 days so that he can take the necessary action.
Points to check during the acceptance visit
You'll need to bring a number of tools to your reception visit in order to justify any fines. Remember to bring, for example, a spirit level and a measuring tape, a camera, a torch, a light bulb and a device for testing power sockets.
This visit is vital: you need to check that the work has been completed and that it has been carried out in accordance with the contract you signed. You must therefore be extremely vigilant and precise, patiently checking each room and its fittings (windows, finishes, etc.), as well as the electrical, plumbing and heating systems. You should also check the roof and attic space.
A claim occurs several years after delivery
Defects such as faulty installation or cracks can appear years after you take delivery of your home. In this case, you need to follow the procedure for making a claim under the damage to building insurance. This depends on when the damage occurred:
- completion guarantee: to be activated within one year of taking delivery of the house
- biennial or good working order guarantee: to be activated within two years of acceptance of the work
- ten-year guarantee: valid for construction defects for 10 years.
With Polimmo La Maison, you benefit from the legal guarantees, and much more, because we offer unique guarantees that apply even after the keys have been handed over. You'll be supported throughout the building process, and beyond, in complete confidence.
