Do remedial works interrupt the ten-year limitation period?
A care home (EPHAD) had a residential block built, which was accepted in 2008. Defects affecting the bay windows came to light after acceptance. In 2012, the building damage insurer funded remedial works, carried out by a contractor, with the approval of the project manager and the technical supervisor.
The care home applied to the judge for interim measures to obtain an interim payment on the basis of the ten-year warranty. Following a dismissal at first instance, the Administrative Court of Appeal held the builders and their insurers jointly and severally liable, ruling that the remedial works constituted a tacit acknowledgement of liability which interrupted the ten-year limitation period.
The builders appealed to the Court of Cassation.
The Council of State quashed the appeal order. It ruled that works carried out under the construction liability insurance policy, even if proposed by the contractor and approved by the parties involved in the construction process, do not constitute an admission of liability capable of interrupting the ten-year guarantee period. This work does not reflect an intention on the part of the builders to acknowledge their liability, but forms part of the implementation of an insurance procedure independent of any admission of fault.
By ruling otherwise, the judge for interim measures committed an error of law. The case is referred back to the Administrative Court of Appeal.
Conseil d'État, 7ème - 2ème chambres réunies, 13/04/2026, 508218
History
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