If a landlord wants to sell his apartment (article 15 of the law of 6 July 1989), must he state the surface area as provided for in the Carrez Law when giving notice to sell to his tenant?

The Carrez law of 18 December 1996 is a public order which states that:

"The property for sale must be subject to the obligation to indicate the surface area where the apartment block of which it is a part is subject to the regulations of co-ownership as governed by the law of 10 July 1965."

Initially, in its decision of 29 January 1999, the small claims court of the 14th arrondissement of Paris confirmed this.

It considered that the "spirit of the Carrez law is that the notice to sell must be included in the documents in which the surface area of the property is stated".

This decision involved a particularly broad interpretation of the law, and no decision was subsequently made on this matter by the Court of Cassation.

The entry into force of the law on urban solidarity and renewal, known as the "SRU law" ended this uncertainty. Article 190 states that the notice to sell issued by a landlord to his tenant is not required to indicate the surface area of the apartment.