Unlike many countries the price of a property in France can be looked up on the internet simply by knowing it’s real estate foot print in square meters using a formula known as Carrez Law.
Is The French Carrez Law Accurate?
Would it be possible to generate an equation to calculate the price of a house based on it’s square meter foot print and surrounding land? Certainly not. However, in France it is used a defining factor that most estate agents and buyers seem very reluctant to stray far from. The surveyor, estate agent and the notaire are all responsible for calculating the property price and description. Any mistakes could see them end up in a court of law. The three parties responsible can be made to contribute up to 90% of the sum due as as a result of any errors, to either the buyer or seller.
What is Carrez Law?
The loi Carrez, or Carrez law was enacted on 18 December 1996 in France. It’s named after Gilles Carrez a member of the national assembly. A vendor is obliged to specifically mention the usu-able living area of a property, known as the “superficie Carrez“. All walls, partitions, staircases and stairwells, piping and electricity conduits and ducting, window and door embrasures are excluded. Parts of the enclosed area which are of less than 1.8 meters (5.9 ft) in height are also excluded. Rooms or fractions of rooms of surface areas of less than 8 square meters (86 square feet) are also excluded from the calculation of habitable living area. Typically, maids’ rooms (chambres de bonne) would fall into this category.
To develop a mathematical formula predicting the price of a house per square meter would have many pitfalls.
- The layout of a house could render several square meters useless
- The numbers of buyers in a given period may vary greatly
- Only the internal surface area is taken into account.
- The condition of land isn’t taken into account (agricultural, arable, forestry, garden, terrace, etc)
- The property may have balcony, swimming pool, stunning views etc
- The property may be close to local amenities or miles from everything
- The property may be single storey easy access or 4 storey with spiral stairs
- New build or 18th farmhouse century farmhouse
- Recently renovated and re-wired, with new plumbing or in very poor state of repair
- It could be next to a very busy motorway or be a private gated estate
What Other Factors Affect House Price?
Two adjoining houses that share exactly the neighborhood can have very different styles, build dates and states of repair.
- The immediate environment and surroundings of the property: a view of a poorly maintained property lowers the value of a property, while a magnificent chateau can increase it.
- Geographic location: the value of a property can increase due to the attractiveness of the neighborhood and the existence of adjacent businesses and amenities.
- Layout and Design: The layout of a home can affect its value. Buyers are now looking for large volumes , small rooms are no longer popular.
- The number of stories: In some cities, a single-storey home may be more desirable, and the number of stories will undoubtedly affect the price of a home.
- Adequate maintenance of the property: With labour costs rising, the condition of a property is very important. There are countless regulations to meet to bring a house to standard. The cost of renovating a house will seriously affect the price and attractiveness of a property.
- Condition and existence of amenities such as garden, garage and swimming pool.
What Is The Living Area?
Article R. 111-2 of the Construction and Housing Code:
The habitable surface and volume of a dwelling must be at least 14 square meters and 33 cubic meters per inhabitant planned when drawing up the construction program for the first four inhabitants and 10 square meters and 23 cubic meters in the less per additional inhabitant beyond the fourth.
The living area of a dwelling is the constructed floor area, after deduction of the areas occupied by the walls, partitions, steps and stairwells, shafts, door and window embrasures; the habitable volume corresponds to the total of the living areas thus defined multiplied by the ceiling heights.
The area of unfinished attics, cellars, basements, sheds, garages, terraces, loggias, balconies, dryers outside the accommodation, verandas, glazed volumes provided for in article R. 111-10 is not taken into account. , common premises and other outbuildings of the dwellings, or parts of premises with a height of less than 1.80 metres.
Which room counts in the living area?
In the table below, discover the list of rooms to be used in the calculation of the living area (remember height must be 1.8m). When the height drops below 1.8m the room foot-print stops.
| Room of the house | Included in the calculation of the living area |
|---|---|
| Living rooms (bedroom, living room, dining room) | Yes |
| food | Yes |
| Bathrooms and toilets | Yes |
| corridors | Yes |
| Laundry room and cupboards | Yes |
| Converted attic | Yes |
| Unfinished attic | No |
| Cellars, basements and sheds | No |
| Garages | No |
| Terraces, loggias, balconies | No |
| Dryers outside the accommodation | No |
| Verandas | No |
| Common premises | No |
I’ve Measured My House, What Now?
There are numerous websites that will tell you the price per square meter for a given postcode.
The price of a house will also be affected by the amount of land that comes with it. The quality and type of land also affects this price. Prices vary according to agricultural production. In arable areas, which increased in 2018, prices fell by 3.3% in 2019 and averaged €7,290/ha. On the other hand, they increased by +2.1% in the farming areas.
Does a Kitchen Extension Add Value?
It would be very easy to go to a bespoke kitchen designer a spend €80,000 installing a custom hand crafted designer set-up. However, given the popularity of Carrez’s Law it is very unlikely in many circumstances, come sale time, that this investment will be worth much more than a flat pack kitchen from a DIY store. Also, that flat pack kitchen may add very little above a self built kitchen, built from second hand salvaged items. Carrez Law states that a Kitchen extension is a far better investment.
A Kitchen extension in Paris makes a lot of sense at €10,640 per square meter. In rural Creuse at €750 per sq. meter there is still investment to be made on a percentage scale.
In France, you have to be very careful with your money. Kitchens are indeed very important and extremely attractive to many people. Getting them right is obviously important, however the purse strings must be held firmly tight.
If a property is in good condition it’s illogical to stray more than 10% from the Carrez Law. A Kitchen investment should therefore be limited to 90% of the average euros per square meter.
Value must be gained wherever possible. Kitchens and dining areas are very popular areas for people to gather. If you can gain useful floor space, with plenty of counter top, then you have gained potential buyers.
In conclusion, as long as the cupboards are of good quality and in good order, a larger kitchen is therefore worth far more than a bespoke custom crafted one of a kind ‘cuisine’.
Our Kitchen is approximately 16m², in our region, land is €860 per sq. meter. Theoretically that gave us a maximum budget of 90% x 860 x 16 = €12,384. So there was no way we could have gone for bespoke and we couldn’t have paid to have a flat pack kitchen professionally fitted. If we had lived in the centre of Paris we’d have more options.
Watch Us Extend Our Kitchen – Before and After
Watch our Our Cheap Kitchen Extension on YouTube at @ourfrenchrenovation.
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