Object of the decision
GOLDWIN, represented by Jonathan BELLAICHE, defended the interests of a property owner in a pre-emption procedure.
When a property put up for sale is located in a pre-emption zone, a public entity has the possibility of acquiring the property in preference to any other person, often for a derisory price.
In this case, on 22 November 2019, through a notary, the owner of a two-bedroom flat and a cellar submitted a Declaration of Intent to Alienate (DIA) for a price of €315,000. This price includes an agency commission of 15,300 euros.
In a decision dated 18 February 2020, a public land institution exercised its right of pre-emption and offered to buy the property for 182,000 euros, including agency commission. This was 58% more than the desired price. The owner refused the proposed price by registered letter dated 23 March 2020. As a result, the Établissement Public Foncier referred the matter to the Nanterre Court on 6 May 2020, asking the expropriation judge to set the price of the pre-empted property.
The expropriation judge had to assess the surface area of the property and determine which criteria would be applied to set the price.
According to the Établissement Public Foncier, the property was worth 188,108 euros, or 6,200 euros per m2, based on a surface area of 30.34 m2.
The EPF based this price on two factors:
– The condition of the property: there were elements of loss of value that would reduce the price (difficult access to the cellar and common areas, electrical installations not up to standard, damage to the facades).
– Elements of comparison: the EPIF has concluded that the property is not in line with property market trends over the period 2009-2020, and has been valued at a much higher price than similar flats.
Finally, the Établissement Public Foncier took 30.34m as the only surface area, invoking the Carrez law to exclude the surface area of the attic from its calculation.
In response to these complaints, the owner denied any element of loss of value. In addition, she estimated a surface area of 62.04 m2, including the floor area of the attic. All the more so since she had carried out work to increase the living area. The Government Commissioner followed her reasoning.
Her calculation was as follows: €6,500/m2 based on a surface area of 30.34m2 + €3,000 based on a surface area of 31.70m2 (corresponding to the floor area of the attic with exclusive use), giving a total of €292,000.
After considering all the pleas and arguments put forward by the parties, the judge dismissed the Etablissement Public Foncier’s claims.
The expropriation judge determined that the surface area of the property was 40.12m2, taking into account only the 10.16 m2 of habitable space in the attic. To value the property, the judge compared it to similar properties in a geographically close area.
Accordingly, in a judgement dated 09 February 2021, the Nanterre Court of First Instance :
- Set the purchase price of the property by Etablissement Public Foncier at 263,250 euros.
- Ordered the Etablissement Public Foncier to pay Mrs L the sum of 15,300 euros (inclusive of tax) by way of agency commission.
- Ordered Etablissement Public Foncier to pay the sum of 5,000 euros pursuant to Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure.
