Illegal doorbells, heat pump accident: five french property updates

WARNING THAT VIDEO DOORBELLS COULD BREAK THE LAW Doorbells that take video recordings could land homeowners in hot water. France’s interior minister has stated that only devices taking

photos – not moving footage – are allowed if they point beyond a person’s property. Doorbell cameras are becoming increasingly popular and let residents identify who is there before opening

the door. Some devices let you not only see and speak to the person outside but also allow photos and videos to be taken and recorded. In order to use video surveillance, cameras should be

placed in such a way that they only film inside the grounds of your property. The issue with doorbell cameras is that they are typically installed on the property perimeter, for example on

gates and fences, and as such often capture footage of the street. In France, only public authorities are permitted to film on public roads from a fixed camera. However, these doorbells can

still be used – if you can find one that takes still pictures rather than recording video. READ MORE: IS IT PRACTICAL TO INSTALL SECURITY CAMERAS IN MY FRENCH SECOND HOME? In a ministerial

reply published in the Senate’s Official Journal on January 26, Gérald Darmanin said: "The prohibition… for a private individual to make visual recordings from a videophone associated

with a doorbell does not apply to a device that only takes photographs." Mr Darmanin stressed that photo doorbells must still be "deployed in compliance with the right to an image,

which constitutes respect for private life, enshrined in Article 9 of the Civil Code”. READ MORE: TOURIST REPORTS HIDDEN CAMERAS NEAR SHOWER IN HER AIRBNB IN FRANCE Photographs taken in

this way may not be reproduced or distributed publicly without the consent of the persons photographed. PARIS MAIRIE LAYS DOWN THE LAW ON LANDLORDS WHO FLOUT RENT CAPS Landlords in Paris in

breach of the city’s rent control (cap) system have started receiving formal notices to adjust their prices downwards to comply with market prices, and to reimburse tenants for overpayments.

READ MORE: MAP: SEE WHERE APARTMENT PRICES HAVE RISEN THE MOST IN FRANCE The first notices were sent on Monday (February 6), according to a tweet by Ian Brossat, the deputy mayor in charge

of housing. > Ras-le-bol des loyers exorbitants. >  > La loi n'est pas en option, elle est faite pour être appliquée ! >  > Dès demain, je signerai les premières mises en

 demeure aux > propriétaires qui enfreignent l'encadrement des loyers. > https://t.co/by6RLTBqf2 > — Ian Brossat (@IanBrossat) February 5, 2023 Landlords who do not comply

within three months will be fined up to €5,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a legal entity. READ MORE: PROPERTY PRICE NEGOTIATION IN FRANCE: WHAT IS AVERAGE NEAR YOU? Rent control was

established in Paris in 2019 under the Elan law. The caps ban landlords from setting rent prices more than 20% higher (or 30% lower) than the reference price for the neighbourhood and

housing category. This reference price is determined by a local rent monitoring centre and based on median rent levels, taking into account factors such as whether the property is empty or

furnished, its date of construction, the number of rooms and its location. Landlords are only allowed to charge more for properties with location or convenience characteristics that justify

it, in comparison with housing of the same category in the same area. This additional amount (and the reasons for charging it) must be mentioned in the lease agreement. On January 1, 2023

the mairie took over the monitoring of the Paris rental market from the regional prefecture and gave tenants a new online platform to report landlords for violations. Tenants can first check

whether their lease complies with the rent control framework and then report any excess, which is confirmed by the mairie. Some 142 complaints were received in one month alone, revealed _Le

Journal du Dimanche_, with 86% concerning studio or one-bedroom flats. The 11th arrondissement was found to be the worst for flouting the rules (13.4% of cases), and all cases concerned

rent excesses above €100 a month. In one instance, a 32.5m² flat was subject to a cumulative overrun of €227 a month over 29 months. READ MORE: AIRBNB FOUND LIABLE FOR ILLEGAL SUBLET OF

PARIS HOME OWNER LIABLE IF HEAT PUMP RUN-OFF CAUSES ACCIDENT The owner of a heat pump has been ordered to pay compensation to a woman who was seriously injured when she slipped on a patch of

ice formed from its run-off The victim, who has not been named, was a resident in the same building. She fell in the courtyard and injured her ankle, leading to a permanent partial

disability. READ MORE: LANDLORD HELD RESPONSIBLE BY FRENCH COURT FOR SQUATTER’S FALL IN FLAT Liability lay with the owner of the heat pump, ruled France’s highest court last month (January

19), and not with the supplier, installer or the victim herself. It was up to the owner, the Cour de Cassation explained, to oversee the pump’s maintenance and evaluate any risk created by

condensation from it falling to the ground. READ MORE: FRANCE UPS AID FOR GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS TO MINIMUM OF €5,000 FOR ALL The owner was ordered to compensate the victim for medical

expenses, loss of earnings, adapting their property and for inconvenience in everyday life, amounting to several hundred thousand euros, reports _Le Figaro_. Heat pumps often have a drain

pan, which collects normal condensation from the unit. When that becomes clogged with debris, it can overflow and result in a puddle around the pump. PROPERTY ADVERT AMENDED AFTER SOCIAL

MEDIA RIDICULE A Paris estate agent has been forced to re-word one of its property advertisements after social media users poked fun at efforts to make the studio flat sound larger than it

was. The property measures 11.53m² under the Carrez law, which quantifies the total enclosed floor space, not including walls, partitions, staircases and stairwells. Cellars, gardens or

terraces, and parking spaces are also excluded, as are enclosed areas less than 1.8m high and rooms less than 8m². READ MORE: FRANCE'S LOI CARREZ – WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? However,

H&B Immobilier assured potential buyers the flat actually “felt” more like 16m² in its advert on Le Bon Coin in December. The agency’s optimistic spin amused Twitter users, with one

suggesting she was ready to "pay €100 actual rent - €1,000 perceived rent” for the property. > Les agens immobiliers ne savent plus quoi inventer à Paris :  > Studio de 11,53m2 

loi Carrez - 16m2 ressentis > ... > RESSENTIS ? > 🤣🤣 > — Dr Elodie Chabrol (@EloScicomm) January 30, 2023 The advert has since been amended to remove all mention of the “_16m²

ressentis_". The agency’s co-founder, Donyphane Hadzic, admitted to BFMTV that the term had been used clumsily. "For us, it was a synonym, a nicer way of evoking the _surface

pondérée_ of the dwelling," he said. The _surface pondérée_ is a concept that takes into account the living area as well as part of the ancillary areas – such as balconies, mezzanines,

cellars, verandas, workshops and attics. It is a compromise between the total surface area of a property and the Carrez surface area, and allows useful space to be valued – in this case the

studio’s mezzanine which, with a height of less than 1.8m, could not be included in the Carrez measurement. The concept is not regulated but estate agents sometimes talk about the _surface

pondérée_ when using balconies, for example, to help determine the sale price of a property (they generally take a third of the floor area of the balcony to adjust the price). The studio

flat is currently on sale for €168,000. The price has already been dropped by €10,000 to take into account its low energy efficiency rating (‘G’). From 2025, people who own properties with

an energy efficiency rating (_diagnostic de performance énergétique_) of G will no longer be able to rent them out. READ MORE: HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY: KEY DATES FOR PROPERTY OWNERS IN FRANCE

WIND TURBINES ON ROOF COULD CUT SOCIAL HOUSING ENERGY COSTS Eight wind turbines have been installed on the roof of a social housing complex in Rouen as part of a year-long trial to gauge

how much they can reduce energy bills. The turbines, housed in special ‘windboxes’ to guide air flowing up and over the building, were installed in November. If successful, they will be

rolled out to four other local buildings already on a waiting list to produce their own renewable energy. The trial is centred atop a 10-storey building managed by the social housing office

Rouen Habitat. The idea is to produce 20 to 30% of the electricity consumed by the building’s communal two lifts, lighting and ventilation systems. The 84 families living in the building may

not see a huge saving on their energy costs – a few dozen euros each per year, according to estimates – but proponents of the scheme insist that every little helps. Any surplus electricity

will be sold. The windboxes are almost invisible from the street and are topped with solar panels to supplement energy production, especially when the wind is too weak. READ MORE: MPS IN

FRANCE SAY WIND TURBINES MUST NOT ADD TO ‘VISUAL SATURATION’ They have been installed where the building’s façade meets its flat roof “because that's where the acceleration of air flow

is greatest", Yanis Maacha, co-founder Wind My Roof, the company which makes the windboxes, told BFMTV. He said the windboxes can produce, on average, three times more electricity than

the same area occupied by solar panels alone. READ MORE: WHAT AID IS AVAILABLE TO INSTALL HOME SOLAR PANELS IN FRANCE IN 2023? Not all buildings are suitable, however. Wind My Roof specifies

one that is 8-10m high in the open, or 20-30m high in urban areas, with a flat roof to combine horizontal and upward winds, and no building of the same height within 100m. Good sound

insulation is also recommended. Paul Bernstein, operations project manager at Rouen Habitat, told BFMTV that the only risk of nuisance for residents was potential vibrations that could be

transmitted to the building. The trial is costing €53,000, which has been covered by Rouen Habitat. RELATED ARTICLES AIRBNB TRENDS, TAXE FONCIÈRE INCREASES: FIVE FRENCH PROPERTY UPDATES MAKE

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