Mandatory Real Estate Inspection: Complete List 2026

The technical diagnostic file is not an administrative formality to be assembled the day before signing. It is a contractual document whose absence or expiration deprives the seller or landlord of the hidden defects exemption clause, and opens the door to a price reduction or cancellation of the sale. The difficulty lies less in the list of diagnostics than in two things: knowing which ones apply to your property, and monitoring validity periods that range from six months to unlimited.

What triggers the obligation

No property requires the entirety of the diagnostics. Three parameters determine the applicable list:

• The nature of the transaction. A sale and a rental do not call for the same file. Some diagnostics are common to both, others are specific to one or the other.
• The age of the property and its systems. The year of construction determines the asbestos and lead diagnostics; the age of the gas and electrical systems determines theirs.
• The location. Termites, dry rot, and natural and technological risks depend on prefectural orders and municipal zoning.

This gives rise to a practical rule: the list is built property by property, never by copying the file of a neighboring property.

Diagnostics required for a sale

The energy performance diagnostic. Valid for ten years. This has become the document with the heaviest consequences, because it no longer merely informs: it now determines whether a property can be rented out, and its rating has been legally binding since the reform that gave it enforceable value.

The energy audit. This is added to the performance diagnostic for sales of single-family homes and buildings under single ownership rated in the lowest categories. The scope is expanding in successive stages: this is a point to check for the current year, since the timeline has been adjusted several times.

Asbestos. Required for properties whose building permit predates July 1997. A negative report does not need to be redone; a positive report requires periodic follow-up.

The lead exposure risk report. For homes built before 1949. Its validity depends on the result: unlimited if the report is negative, only one year if it reveals lead levels above the threshold.

Gas and electrical systems. Mandatory as soon as the system is more than fifteen years old. Valid for three years in the case of a sale.

The risk disclosure statement. Natural, mining, technological, seismic, radon risks. Its validity is short—six months—and it is the diagnostic that most often expires between the preliminary sale agreement and the final deed.

Termites. Only in zones designated by prefectural order, also with a six-month validity period.

Non-collective sanitation (septic systems). When the property is not connected to the public sewage network, with a validity of three years.

The measurement survey. Private floor area in a condominium falls under the Carrez law. Its validity is unlimited as long as no work alters the surface area, but an error of more than one-twentieth entitles the buyer to a price reduction.

Diagnostics required for a rental

The file is shorter, and the validity periods differ—this is the most common source of error among landlords who reuse a sale file.

• The energy performance diagnostic, valid for ten years.
• The lead report, whose validity for rentals is six years if positive, unlimited if negative.
• The gas and electrical system reports, valid for six years for rentals versus three for sales.
• The risk disclosure statement, always six months.
• The livable floor area, within the meaning of the Boutin law, distinct from the Carrez surface area.

The full set is appended to the lease. This attachment is not merely symbolic: it is what makes the file legally enforceable, and its absence can be argued in court. The electronic signature of a residential lease offers a concrete advantage here, by sealing the contract and its attachments into a single dated whole that can be shown not to have been altered after the fact.

The tipping point: energy decency standards

The energy performance diagnostic has changed in nature. It no longer simply informs the buyer or tenant: an insufficient rating now purely and simply bars the property from being rented out.

The ban is being phased in progressively, starting with the most energy-intensive homes, and tightens over the years to cover subsequent rating classes. Since the timeline has been changed several times, the only reliable approach is to check the rule in force for the year in question rather than relying on a remembered deadline.

Two practical consequences for a landlord. First, a diagnostic close to the boundary of a rating class deserves a second check before any commitment is made, since a tipping point changes the property's status. Second, a diagnostic carried out under a previous calculation method may give a different rating than one redone today: the date it was performed matters as much as the result. This topic is covered in more detail in our article on the standards applicable to the energy performance diagnostic.

What is at risk with an incomplete file

The absence of a mandatory diagnostic is not simply punished with a fine. It deprives the seller of the benefit of the exemption clause for hidden defects related to the issue in question. In practical terms, a buyer who later discovers a defect that a missing diagnostic should have covered can request a price reduction, or even the cancellation of the sale.

An expired diagnostic has the same effect as a missing one. This is why documents with short validity periods—risk disclosure statement and termites, six months—must be monitored between the signing of the preliminary sale agreement and that of the final deed, a period that frequently exceeds this threshold.

Finally, the diagnostic must be carried out by a certified and insured professional. A file compiled by an uncertified provider is not legally enforceable, regardless of the quality of its content.

Usage scenarios

Sale of a condominium unit built before 1949. The file combines the Carrez measurement survey, the lead report, the asbestos report, the risk disclosure statement, and, depending on the age of the systems, gas and electrical reports. This is the most comprehensive configuration.

Renting out a house built in the 1980s. Asbestos and lead are out of scope. Attention focuses on the energy rating, which determines the right to rent out the property, and on the systems if they are more than fifteen years old.

Managing a rental property portfolio. Monitoring becomes more a scheduling issue than a one-time compliance check: each property carries its own deadlines. Guidance for organizing this monitoring can be found in our rental property management guide, and the traceability of document handovers ties in with that of the move-in/move-out inspection report.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a diagnostic remain valid? This ranges from six months—risk disclosure statement, termites—to ten years for the energy performance diagnostic, with unlimited validity for a negative asbestos or lead report. The same service can have two different validity periods depending on whether it is used for a sale or a rental.

Can a sale diagnostic be used for a rental? Not automatically. The validity periods differ, and the measurement is not the same—Carrez surface area for a condominium sale, livable floor area under the Boutin law for a rental.

What happens if a diagnostic is missing from the deed? The seller loses the benefit of the hidden defects exemption clause for the issue in question. The buyer can request a price reduction or the cancellation of the sale.

Who can carry out these diagnostics? A diagnostician certified by an accredited body, holding professional liability insurance. A file prepared by an uncertified provider is not legally enforceable.

Can the energy rating prevent a property from being rented out? Yes. The most energy-intensive homes are progressively being excluded from the rental market, in phases covering successive rating classes. Since the timeline has changed several times, it must be checked for the current year.

Do diagnostics need to be redone after renovation work? Work affecting the surface area invalidates the measurement survey. Work involving insulation or heating warrants a new energy performance diagnostic, which may change the property's rating—in either direction.

Key takeaways

The list of mandatory diagnostics is built property by property, based on three parameters: the nature of the transaction, the age of the building and its systems, and the location. No standard checklist exempts you from this verification.

The real operational risk is not forgetting a diagnostic, which is easy to notice, but the expiration of a short-validity document between the preliminary agreement and the final deed. And the real strategic risk lies in the energy rating, which has become a condition for operating the property rather than a mere piece of information. Both of these points deserve to be tracked by deadline, not just at signing time.