Checking a French property pro: carte T, ORIAS, Ordre

Estate agent: the “T” licence issued by the CCI

What the law says. To practise, an estate agent must hold a professional licence (carte professionnelle) stating their activity, issued by the territorial chambre de commerce et d’industrie (CCI, chamber of commerce and industry) or the departmental CCI in Île-de-France (decree no. 72-678, art. 5). Only the holder of the “Transactions sur immeubles et fonds de commerce” (property and business transactions) licence, known as the carte T, can sign a mandat de vente (sale mandate) (service-public.gouv.fr). The licence is numbered and valid for 3 years, renewable on proof of financial guarantee, insurance and continuing training (art. 80). Practising without a licence is punishable by 6 months’ imprisonment and a €7,500 fine (service-public.gouv.fr).

Where to check. Decree no. 2015-703 of 19 June 2015 requires CCI France to keep the register of licence holders and make it available to the public, freely and free of charge, on a dedicated website (art. 1 and 5).

What they must display (decree no. 72-678, art. 92 to 94, according to entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr):

• in the agency: the licence number, the amount of the financial guarantee, and the name and address of the guarantor;
• on all their documents, contracts and correspondence: the number and place of issue of the licence, the name and address of the business, its activity, and the name and address of the guarantor;
• their fees including VAT at the entrance and in the window, and online if they have a website, with the split between seller and buyer (arrêté (order) of 10 January 2017).

The financial guarantee is at least €30,000 for the first 2 years of business, then €110,000, unless the agent declares on their honour that they hold no client funds (service-public.gouv.fr).

Negotiator. The person showing you round does not necessarily hold the licence themselves: the holder must give their employees an attestation de collaborateur (employee authorisation) allowing them to act on the holder’s behalf (service-public.gouv.fr). Ask for it and check the agency’s licence. The authorisation also applies to a self-employed agent commercial (commercial agent), provided they are registered on the registre spécial des agents commerciaux (RSAC, special register of commercial agents) as a natural person: a company cannot obtain an authorisation (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr).

Mortgage broker: ORIAS registration

What the law says. Intermédiaires en opérations de banque et en services de paiement (IOBSP, banking and payment services intermediaries), including mortgage brokers, must be registered on the single register provided for by the Code des assurances (Insurance Code); registration is renewable every year (art. L546-1 of the Code monétaire et financier (Monetary and Financial Code)). Since the reform of brokerage, brokers must also join an approved professional association responsible for monitoring their activity and offering mediation (art. L519-11).

Where to check. The register is kept by ORIAS and can be consulted online at orias.fr, a link provided by service-public.gouv.fr.

What they must give you as soon as the relationship begins, on a durable medium (art. R519-20): their name, their address, their category of intermediary, their registration number and the means of checking that registration; the complaints procedures; the contact details of the ACPR (prudential supervision and resolution authority); and, where applicable, the names of the banks with which they generate more than a third of their turnover.

The warning sign. Every advertisement by a credit intermediary must carry the statement: “No payment of any kind may be required from a private individual before one or more loans of money have been obtained” (art. L322-2 of the Code de la consommation (Consumer Code)). A “broker” who asks for fees before the loan is released should set alarm bells ringing.

Notaire: a public officer, a national directory

The notaire (notary) is a public officer (officier public), subject to ethical rules supervised by the profession’s regional council (service-public.gouv.fr). You are free to choose your notaire: each one has jurisdiction throughout the whole of France (except New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna), and you can change before signing.

Where to check. The contact details of every notaire appear in the directory of French notaries (notaires.fr), to which service-public.gouv.fr refers; the departmental chambers are listed in the government directory (lannuaire.service-public.gouv.fr).

What they must provide. When the file is closed, a statement of account and a detailed statement of costs distinguishing taxes, disbursements, émoluments (regulated fees, with the reference to the regulated scale) and freely set fees, even if you have not asked for it. In a dispute: the médiateur du notariat (notaries’ ombudsman).

Diagnostiqueur: the Ministry’s directory of certified surveyors

The diagnostiqueur (property surveyor) must be certified for each area (DPE energy rating, asbestos, lead, electricity, gas, termites), insured and impartial (service-public.gouv.fr). The official directory, kept by the ministry responsible for housing, lets you search for a professional and check their certificates: diagnostiqueurs.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr. Also ask for their current insurance certificate. A DPE must also carry the Ademe (French environment and energy agency) identification number, without which it is not valid.

Géomètre-expert: the roll of the Ordre

Only géomètres-experts registered with the Ordre can carry out the topographical work that fixes the boundaries of land (Act of 7 May 1946, art. 1 and 2): this is the case for a bornage (official boundary survey). No one may use the title without being on the roll kept by the regional council of the Ordre (art. 3). The Ordre publishes the Géofoncier search tool (geofoncier.fr), which also shows, for a given plot, the géomètre-expert who has worked on it (service-public.gouv.fr).

Mandatory disclosures on their website

Any professional operating online must display (LCEN (Act on confidence in the digital economy), art. 19): their name or company name, address, email address and telephone number, their RCS (trade and companies register) number if registered, their intra-EU VAT number, and:

• if their activity requires authorisation (T licence, ORIAS registration): the name and address of the authority that issued it;
• if they practise a regulated profession (notaire, géomètre-expert): the applicable professional rules, their professional title, the State that granted it and the professional body or organisation with which they are registered.

Which professional to consult

All five professions are concerned, each with its own register: agent immobilier (estate agent), courtier en crédit (mortgage broker), notaire (notary), diagnostiqueur (property surveyor) and géomètre-expert (chartered land surveyor). Whatever directory led you to a professional, Payotte included, the rule remains the same: note their licence or registration number and check it yourself in the official register.