Renovation risk
Buying a renovation property in France checklist
A French renovation can be wonderful, but it needs clear thinking before the offer. This checklist helps you decide whether the work is cosmetic, serious, or a full project that should be priced by professionals before you commit.
Separate cosmetic work from structural work
- Cosmetic: decoration, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and garden tidy-up.
- Services: electrics, plumbing, heating, hot water, drainage, insulation and ventilation.
- Building fabric: roof, chimneys, walls, damp, floors, windows, beams and outbuildings.
- Legal and planning: permissions, declarations, change of use, boundaries, access and protected-area limits.
High-cost areas to check first
- Roof and timber: leaks, sagging, beetle damage, missing insulation, chimney flashings and gutter failure.
- Damp and ventilation: cellar moisture, earth floors, blocked vents, high ground levels and sealed-up stone walls.
- Electrics: old fuse board, limited circuits, exposed wiring, low socket count and electric heating load.
- Drainage: mains drainage status, fosse septique report, access to inspection points and likely compliance work.
- Energy: DPE rating, heating type, insulation, window quality and how realistic winter living will be.
Questions to ask before offering
- Which works were done by trades, and are there invoices, guarantees or consuel-style paperwork where relevant?
- Has any work been done without permission or declaration?
- Can local trades reach the property easily with materials, scaffolding and skips?
- Could you live there while work is happening, or would you need rent, storage and extra travel?
- Which three quotes would change the offer price most?
Before you sign anything
- Put likely repairs into urgent, soon and optional lists.
- Ask whether any conditions should be included in the compromis de vente while you verify key risks.
- Check whether the property is in a protected area or near a monument if exterior changes matter.
- Do not let a low asking price hide a renovation bill that is bigger than the house is worth to you.
Related renovation checks
- Damp checks when viewing a house in France
- Roof checks for a French property viewing
- Electrics checks for a French house viewing
- DPE rating when buying a house in France
- Fosse septique questions for French property viewings
Official references to keep handy
- Service-Public.fr: diagnostics for a property sale
- Service-Public.fr: sanitation diagnostic
- Notaires de France: compromis de vente
This checklist helps you prepare questions and quotes. It is not a building survey, legal opinion or renovation budget.