Ten-year warranty: Not applicable to heat pumps installed on existing structures
Published on :
19/08/2025
19
August
Aug
08
2025
Source: www.courdecassation.fr
Private individuals commissioned a company to supply and install a heat pump in their home. The installation, covered by a ten-year liability insurance policy with an insurance company, presented numerous malfunctions. After an expert assessment, the project owners sued the installer for reimbursement of the price and damages. The company called on the pump manufacturer to honour its warranty, while the heirs of one of the owners, who had died in the meantime, sought to hold the insurer liable under the ten-year warranty.
The Court of Appeal rejected their claims, ruling that the disputed equipment, installed on an existing structure without significant work on the building, did not constitute a structure within the meaning of Article 1792 of the French Civil Code. It concluded that the reported defects were not covered by the ten-year warranty.
The Court of Cassation approved this decision. It pointed out that equipment installed by addition or replacement on an existing structure does not give rise to a right to the ten-year warranty, even in the event of serious defects. In this case, the heat pump did not constitute a structure within the meaning of the law, and the defects were therefore solely covered by common law contractual liability.
History
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