Insurance during works and the LOE building guarantees
By Ross Alinari · Last checked · Editorial policy · How we check facts
An assurance that a renovation is insured is too vague to explain what protection exists. Different documents answer different questions: who is responsible for defects, whether a statutory guarantee is required, what an actual policy covers and how an owner reports a problem. The LOE provides the framework for building responsibilities and specified guarantees. It does not justify claiming that every renovation automatically carries every form of cover. This guide describes the framework without asserting that our company holds a policy whose details have not been supplied.
Separate liability from a policy
Article 17 concerns the civil responsibility of building agents for defined material damage within the periods it specifies. Article 19 concerns guarantees, whose compulsory application is linked to the second additional provision. A liability period and an insurance contract are not interchangeable. The existence of legal responsibility does not, on its own, identify an insurer, a policy scope or the practical procedure for a claim.
When reviewing a proposal, ask which statement is being made. Is the document explaining a statutory responsibility, identifying a required guarantee or describing a particular policy? Request the actual wording relevant to the work instead of relying on a badge or an informal assurance. Keep the contract, technical appointments and policy documents separately identifiable. This helps an owner understand whether an issue concerns the construction obligation, a technical function or an insured event, without assuming that one document resolves all three.
Understand the different defect categories
For works within its scope, article 17 identifies structural damage compromising mechanical resistance and stability within ten years, defects affecting habitability requirements within three years, and the constructor’s responsibility for defects in finishes within one year. The statutory periods run from reception without reservations or from correction of those reservations as specified by the provision. These categories should not be advertised as a single blanket warranty for everything in a home.
Record the nature of any reported problem, when it appeared and which element it affects. Preserve the relevant reception documents and any recorded reservations. A damaged finish, an installation problem and a structural defect may require different technical investigations. Avoid assigning a legal category solely from a photograph or the cost of repair. The starting point is evidence of what has happened and the applicable documents, followed by an assessment of responsibility and any available guarantee. Keep product guarantees and ordinary maintenance records alongside, but distinct from, the statutory building file.
Check when decennial protection is compulsory
The second additional provision makes the structural guarantee described in article 19.1(c) compulsory for buildings whose principal use is residential, subject to the exceptions and conditions stated there. It includes an exception for an individual self-promoter of a single family home for personal use. It also addresses subsequent transfer within the relevant ten-year period and a specific exception concerning rehabilitation of residential buildings whose original new-construction licence was requested before the law entered into force.
These provisions require careful application to the actual project. They do not support a universal statement that every kitchen, apartment refurbishment or extension needs the same decennial arrangement. Establish whether the intervention falls within the LOE scope, whether the compulsory guarantee applies and whether any exception is relevant. Keep the reasoning in the project file. If a future sale is contemplated, address that intention when assessing the position rather than assuming that an exception available during construction will have no later consequences.
Source: LOE art. 19 and additional provision 2.
Read the actual guarantee documents
Article 19 sets conditions for the guarantees it describes, including relevant policyholder and insured roles and provisions relating to payment of the premium. Those statutory conditions are not a substitute for identifying the documents actually issued for a particular building. A summary email cannot establish that the relevant guarantee has been arranged and applies to the work under discussion.
Request a legible copy of the applicable documentation and check the property, work description, dates and parties against the project record. If a document uses a broad description, ask for clarification of its relationship to the agreed intervention. Retain evidence of the guarantee alongside the reception and technical records. Do not infer coverage for a new variation merely because earlier work was described in a policy. This guide names no insurers, coverage amounts or company policy details; those facts must come from the actual documents and cannot be supplied by a general explanation of the law.
Keep reception and outstanding items clear
The LOE’s reception provisions and responsibility periods make the completion record significant. Article 6 addresses reception with or without reservations and the record of those reservations. An owner’s practical close-out process should therefore distinguish acceptance, outstanding defects and later maintenance rather than treating the last payment as the only record of completion.
Prepare a list of items to inspect and record the outcome in the appropriate project documents. Where a reservation is made, describe it clearly enough to identify the work requiring correction and keep the later evidence of resolution. For an owner abroad, arrange how that inspection and record will be handled before the planned handover. Dated photographs can support the description, but should be connected to the item and location they show. Keep communications factual: what was observed, which document governs the work and what response has been requested. This creates a usable record if further investigation becomes necessary.
Make protection part of the planning discussion
The scope of the intervention, the promoter’s role and the applicable guarantee framework should be considered before construction commitments are finalised. They should not be left until a sale or a defect prompts a search for missing paperwork. A remote owner benefits from knowing which documents are expected and which party is responsible for supplying them.
Include the question of applicable guarantees in the initial technical and contractual review. Record the answer without adding unsupported marketing claims to the quotation. If the project changes substantially, revisit the assessment with the relevant professionals. Keep a single final document index so the owner can find the construction contract, technical appointments, reception record and any guarantee documents later. This is a method for checking evidence, not a statement that every renovation requires the same package. The appropriate result follows from the actual work and current law, with unresolved details settled before the owner relies on them.
Source: LOE arts. 2, 9 and 19.
Worked example
An owner hears that a proposed villa alteration comes with ten-year cover. Instead of accepting the phrase, the owner asks whether the statement refers to LOE responsibility or an issued guarantee, whether the intervention falls within the relevant scope and what document identifies the protected work. Any applicable exception is recorded with its conditions. The example illustrates document checks and makes no claim about a policy, insurer or completed renovation.