The DDT Reports
This blog continues the story of our experience buying a house in France.
Out last blog explained how there had been delays obtaining the SPANC report. That was one of the technical reports required for review when preparing the sales agreement, the CdV.
The last week was a rush of information with all the inspection reports and a draft CdV coming through for review. Thats far too much to cover in one blog so I am going to focus on the DDT reports.
The DDT report
The DDT (Dossier de Diagnostic Technique) is actually a collection of mandatory technical reports that check a property in various key categories. I try to explain it below as I have experienced it but there are other sites that maybe do a better job such as here or here
We received the core DDT report first and all 65 pages needed reviewing and a response prepared.
Just a selection of the many parts of the DDT report collection.
Document Translation
To date we had not needed to translate much from french to English, but the Main DDT report was 65 pages and too big to translater in google translate so as advised by the agent we started to use deepl.com for document translation. It will only allow a small number of translations for free so we had to sign up for a subscription. Given that we received 3 large reports, about 10 other files and a 3 drafts of the CDV, it has proven a very good investment, atleast for the duration of this house buying process. We recommend it, quicker and cheaper than using or waiting on translation services.
Back to the DDT report.
The DDT inspections make checks in the following areas:
Asbestos.
Checks for the presence of asbestos are made everywhere with photos of each room and if any areas are of concern then additional photographic evidence is provided in support. If any signs are found then details are given of where, whether it is considered dangerous and if any action is recommended. If asbestos is found then the seller has to declare it to the buyer through the DDT report before the CdV sale agreement. The CdV then includes clauses to say that Buyer assumes responsibility for any future removal or containment. There is no legal obligation for the seller to remove asbestos before the sale.
When checking each room, as evidence to the contrary for asbestos, they make note of materials used for all parts of rooms like this:
An example of the room and material descriptions from the DDT report.
Lead.
As for asbestos the potential presence is reviewed in all rooms, though I think it is likely in slightly different places.
Termites.
In some areas of France I am told that termites can be a real problem. Checking for them is done in every area of the house and observations are listed for each room. Walls, floors, skirtings, windows, ceilings are all checked. In our report it was noted that in 2 areas the flooring could not be lifted to check underneath. They really do try to look everywhere. Basically the termites checks looked just like the asbestos report with the word asbestos replaced with termintes.
Electrical Safety
All the electrics are inspected quite carefully. Though without the room specific notes and phots of the asbestos or termite checks. I guess photos of wall sockets or wiring channels don’t hold much value unless that actually show damage or a risk.
They main part of the electrical report is the conclusions and recommendations.
Energy Efficiency
This the DPE report, Diagnostic de performance énergétique. Is very detailed checking the energy effiency of every room, wall, window, ceiling, door, floor, insulation and materials. It is performed by different people than the asbestos, termite and electrical checks.
Probably the most important part of the DPE report is the energy efficiency rating. The ratings are A-F as shown below and that rating is shown in most home listings.
The energy rating from the DPE report.
As well as the overall rating, estimated annual energy costs are also shown. That is extremely useful because you can estimate the costs of running the property. It should be noted that French regulations prevent houses with the lowest ratings, F or G from being rented. The lower ratings can also have a negative effect on the sale value. If you are hoping to rent out the property then this becomes even more important.
The report will give some recommendations of improvements that can be made and the likely level to be achived by making improvements.
Note the sample rating and estimation of expenditure above is from a old report. Energy costs in France seem to be quite high compared to what we are used to in the UK or Luxembourg. This observation being made in July 2025. The report we received estimated annual energy costs over 2200 euros per year!
The DPE report we had made very detailed measurements of all windows and walls to calculate insulation and energy loss details.
The Inspectors
Finally in each section, the credentials are given of inspectors generating the report. It is all taken very seriously.
All the checks for termites, asbestos, lead and electrical condition were done by the same inspection company. The company was qualified in all aspects of the DDT inspection except the SPANC report.
The same photos were shown for each room, the same list of materials for each room. That’s quite efficient. Like looking under a stone for the presence of money and sweets at the same time and issuing 2 certificates instead of one for the same look.
Interestingly, part of the report is the certificates of qualification of the inspectors and the insurance certificates endemnifying them against any unreported problems that come to light later. So if the report says yup, no termites here, then after moving in you find that your attic is actually a holiday camp for woodmites then they are covered and you will be supported by their insurance company in dealing with the previously unobserved problem. Or atleast that’s the theory.
Reviewing the DDT.
What most people would hope for is a DDT report that says, absolutely this property is perfect, there are no areas of concern, go and spend your money with all confidence. I get the impression that is an unlikely outcome for a DDT report on any pre owned home. Any non perfect aspects are reported and recommendations made for improvements that are possible or reasonable. I think the inspectors cover their own liability by highlighting anything they can that could be improved, whether it is strictly necessary or not.
After the first read of our DDT report we were alarmed by several areas of improvement recommended in the electrical installation. However after calming down and considering carefully with multiple re-reads, they were cautionary recommendations and not anything deemed dangerous and in need of immediate rectification. Even if they were critical, the house can still be sold, the purpose of the reports are to to reveal anything that needs repair so that the buyer is fully aware of the situation. The Seller has no obligation to make corrections to anything. The reports ensure that there should be any shock discoveries post sale.
Responding to DDT Recommendations
Electrics, several improvements were recommended. We will get an estimate so that we are aware of the potential cost, No promises made.
Energy efficiency, recommendations were made for more insulation, better windows and solar installations. We certainly want to investigate solar installations but again nothing is compulsory
Asbestos, .
SPANC ME
The one area that always requires action is in regards to Septic tank issues raised by SPANC reports, the buyer, now made aware of issues of non compliance must carry out repairs or replacement within 1 year of sale! This will be explicitly listed in the CdV sales agreement.
It is rumoured that some buyers delay or ignore doing repairs, and that possibly enforcement of fines is rare. Given how hard it seemed to get a SPANC inspection I can easily believe that some SPANC offices may not be following up on compliance checks following sales. This is of course speculation and I would not advise planning non compliance.
We our selves are faced with a SPANC report highlighting non compliance and will have to consider work. But the SPANC report has done it’s job in making us aware of the situation. Our agent says that non compliance is quite common because regulations change quite frequently.
Responding to DDT Recommendations
What action followed issues raised from the recommendations in the different report sections? We had to consider the following:
Asbestos.
This was some found in old corrugated asbestos roofing on the back garage. It was reported intact so not an immediate danger as it is dust from broken asbestos that is the main risk. It was recommended to make regular checks which we will do. Plus we will probably want to improve the area where it is, at that time we would look into getting the panels removed. I had similar asbestos issues to deal with in the past in the UK.
Electrical Installations
Several areas for improvement were observed. We have been promised a quote for remedial work that we can consider post sale. But no immediate action is required.
Termites - nothing noted, no action, thank goodness.
SPANC
In the SPANC report on septic tank and drainage, non conformity was observed. Also suspected cracks in the tank were reported.
It is usual for sellers to have to drain septic tanks, so they have agreed to do that and to cover repairs of cracks if they are confirmed after the tank is drained and more thorough checks can be made. This was negotiated as part of preparing the CdV. Our seller seems very reasonable and was surprised to discover the problem after telling us that the system was fine, they were willing to cover the repair. This would not always be the case.
Also we have asked for a change to the CdV to reflect that we may chose to replace the septic tank once we know the costs instead of getting it repaired. We asked for the money that the seller would commit to repairing cracks to be allowed to be spent as part of us replacing the septic tank if we so choose.
What’s Next?
Responding to the different aspects of the reports meant several email chains, whatsapp messages and phone calls, several evenings of translating and reading all the documents. But we ended up with an agreement on what was important, the septic tank issues, and what wasn’t, most other things. This now advises the admin team in their preparation of the CdV sales contract.
Next is the CdV which will be discussed next time.
