Real Estate & Construction Law — Strasbourg
Building also means building a legal framework.
Real estate and construction law covers all operations involving immovable property: acquisition, leasing, development, building, co-ownership and disputes between owners, tenants, contractors and neighbours. It is a practical area of law where financial and personal stakes intersect.
Defects, structural disorders, unactivated warranties: in construction matters, disputes often come to light after works are accepted, when the deadlines for action are already running. The firm intervenes to establish contractor liability, activate statutory and ten-year warranties, and assist you in agreed or court-appointed expert proceedings. Whether you are a project owner or a construction professional, every stage of a project creates obligations that are better anticipated than discovered in litigation.
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Book a time slot onlineA poorly negotiated lease is paid for throughout its entire term.
The lease clauses signed today determine your rights and constraints for years to come. The firm secures the drafting of your leases, negotiates the tenancy terms and ensures a fair balance of obligations between landlord and tenant. In the event of rent arrears, breach of contract or a dispute over termination, the firm handles your defence and conducts the necessary proceedings to protect your interests.
Alsatian-Moselle local law
An Alsatian-Moselle peculiarity not to overlook.
In Alsace and in Moselle, a real estate transaction does not follow quite the same rules as in the rest of France. Inherited from local history and established by the Law of 1 June 1924, the land register (livre foncier) replaces the standard property-registration service used in the rest of France. It is maintained by a magistrate — the land register judge — which gives it particular reliability.
In practical terms, between you and the seller, the agreement binds you from the moment of signature. But against third parties — a bank, a creditor, another buyer — your right only becomes secure once it is registered in the land register. It is the registration, not the date of signature, that takes legal effect. This rule has direct consequences for the timeline of a sale, the effectiveness of a mortgage guarantee, and successions involving property in Alsace or Moselle.
The firm integrates this specificity from the outset of every transaction analysis, to secure the moment at which your right becomes unassailable and to avoid delays or unwelcome surprises at the worst possible time.
References: 117th Notarial Congress · Senate Report · F. Hubé, Comprendre le livre foncier d'Alsace-Moselle, Larcier 2023
Interventions
Construction and contractor liability
- Contractor liability
- Statutory and ten-year warranties
- Defects and poor workmanship
- Construction and site disputes
Expert proceedings and technical disputes
- Agreed and court-appointed expert assessments
- Loss assessment
- Support during expert proceedings
- Defence of interests in litigation
Leases and tenancy relations
- Lease drafting
- Negotiation of tenancy arrangements
- Securing contractual commitments
- Managing landlord and tenant obligations
Tenancy disputes and eviction
- Rent arrears and breach of contract
- Lease termination
- Eviction proceedings
- Defence of landlords
Real estate transactions
- Sale of property under future completion agreement (VEFA)
- Acquisition and sale of real estate
- Securing real estate transactions
- Seller warranties and obligations
Examples of real-estate-and-construction work
Defects, commercial leases, real-estate projects: construction and property involve multiple, long-lasting responsibilities. The following examples illustrate how these are framed and defended.
Construction defects after handover
- Situation
- An owner discovers structural defects several months after a project is handed over. Communication with the builder breaks down.
- Approach
- Formal notice, analysis of the applicable statutory warranties, activation of the structural-damage insurance (dommages-ouvrage), direct negotiation with the parties involved.
- What's at stake
- Enforcing the owner's warranties and seeking compensation, favoring an amicable resolution where possible.
Commercial landlord-tenant dispute
- Situation
- A landlord and commercial tenant disagree (rent, charges, condition report, renewal). The relationship grows tense.
- Approach
- Review of the lease and each party's obligations, identification of the levers, negotiation or action depending on the client's interest.
- What's at stake
- Clarifying the rights and obligations under the lease and defending the client's position.
Securing a real-estate project
- Situation
- A developer is starting a real-estate project. The contracts and responsibilities of the parties must be framed before launch.
- Approach
- Drafting and review of the contractual documents, allocation of responsibilities, advice on the applicable warranties.
- What's at stake
- Setting a clear framework upfront to limit the risk of disputes during and after the works.
The situations described are illustrative, anonymized examples based on commonly encountered issues. They do not describe any identifiable matter and constitute neither a guarantee nor a prediction of outcome. Every case is assessed on its own circumstances.