So you’re about to build a house in France, and someone just slid a CCMI contract across the table. Twenty-something pages, a payment schedule, a “notice descriptive,” and a price that looks final. Final, really ? That’s exactly where people get caught. The CCMI (Contrat de Construction de Maison Individuelle) is actually one of the most protective construction contracts in Europe, created by a French law from December 1990. But protective only works if you know which lines to read. Most people skim it, sign, and discover three months later that the driveway, the connection to the water mains, and the kitchen weren’t included. Ouch.
Here’s the short version before we dig in : a CCMI avec fourniture de plan (with plans) locks the builder into a fixed total price, a delivery deadline, and a set of mandatory guarantees. That’s the one you want. If you’re building in Brittany and want to see how a serious local builder structures these contracts, take a look at maisons-finistere.com – it’s a good reference point for what a clean, regulated offer actually looks like on the ground. Now let’s go line by line.
First : which CCMI are you even holding ?
There are two versions, and they’re not the same animal. The “avec plan” version (article L231-1) is the gold standard. The builder designs and builds, and the law forces a long list of protections on them. The “sans plan” version (L232-1) is lighter and, frankly, I’d be more careful with it. If your contract doesn’t clearly say “Contrat de construction de maison individuelle avec fourniture de plan” at the top, ask why. Sometimes builders use other contract types – a simple marché de travaux or an architect’s contract – which can be perfectly legitimate but give you far fewer automatic guarantees.
Quick question for you : do you actually know which type you’ve been handed ? A lot of people don’t, and that single distinction changes everything that follows.
The price line : “forfaitaire et définitif” – and the trap behind it
The contract will say the price is forfaitaire et définitif – fixed and final. Good. That means the builder can’t come back later and say “oh, the foundations cost more than expected, you owe us 8,000 more.” On paper, that’s locked.
But here’s the thing that bites people. There’s almost always a price revision clause (clause de révision de prix). It lets the builder adjust the price between signature and the start of the works, based on a construction cost index (the BT01). Perfectly legal. The catch is whether the clause is capped or not. A revision tied to the official index with a clear method ? Fine. A vague clause that lets them revise “according to market conditions”? No. Run. Read that paragraph twice, I mean it.
The line that catches everyone : “travaux non compris”
If you read only one section, read this one. Somewhere in the contract or the notice descriptive there’s a list of travaux à la charge du client or travaux non compris – works NOT included in the price. This is where the magic “150,000 € for your house” quietly becomes 180,000.
Things that often sit outside the headline price :
- Earthworks beyond the basic (terrassement) – if your land slopes or has bad soil, this can explode.
- Utility connections – water, electricity, sewage, telecom (the viabilisation and raccordements). Easily several thousand euros.
- The driveway, terraces, fencing, landscaping – almost never included.
- Kitchen, sometimes interior paint, sometimes floor coverings – depends entirely on the builder.
- Insurance you pay yourself, like the dommages-ouvrage.
My honest advice ? Take a highlighter to the “non compris” list and add up every single line yourself. The real cost of your project is the contract price PLUS that list. I’ve seen people forget this and blow their budget before the first wall went up.
The “notice descriptive”: boring name, huge importance
The notice descriptive is the technical spec sheet – it describes exactly what you’re getting. Brand of windows or just “PVC double glazing”? Tile flooring or “floor covering to be defined”? This document is where vague language costs you money. Anything written as “standard quality” or “selon disponibilité” (subject to availability) is a soft spot. Push for specifics. A good builder will happily name brands and references. A nervous one won’t, and that tells you something.
The payment schedule : it’s regulated, so check the percentages
This surprised me the first time I learned it – the CCMI payment schedule isn’t free-for-all. French law (article R231-7) sets maximum percentages you can be asked to pay at each stage. The builder cannot legally ask for more than :
- 15% at the opening of the construction site
- 25% when the foundations are done
- 40% when the walls are up
- 60% at mise hors d’eau (roof watertight)
- 75% at mise hors d’air (partitions and openings closed)
- 95% when equipment, plumbing, carpentry and heating are finished
- the remaining 5% at handover (and you can hold this back if there are defects)
So if your contract asks for 30% upfront before anyone has touched the ground ? That’s not normal, and arguably not legal. Compare the schedule in your contract against these ceilings. If a builder is pushing for more money earlier, ask yourself : why do they need cash so fast ?
The guarantees – this is the part that actually protects you
Here’s where the CCMI earns its reputation. A proper avec plan contract must include :
La garantie de livraison à prix et délais convenus. This is the big one. A bank or insurer guarantees that your house gets finished at the agreed price and time, even if the builder goes bankrupt. No house in France should be built under CCMI without this. Find the line, find the name of the guarantor, and if it’s not there – stop everything.
The delivery deadline and late penalties. The contract states a delivery date. If the builder is late, they owe you penalties of at least 1/3000 of the price per day of delay. On a 200,000 € house, that’s around 66 € a day. Small, but it keeps them honest. Check that this clause exists and isn’t watered down.
Then the legal warranties that kick in after handover : the garantie de parfait achèvement (1 year, fixes everything noted at delivery), the garantie biennale (2 years on equipment), and the famous garantie décennale (10 years on anything affecting the structure). These are automatic by law, but the contract should reference them and name the builder’s insurer.
A quick checklist before you sign
Run through this. If any answer is “no” or “not sure,” don’t sign yet :
- Does it clearly say CCMI avec fourniture de plan?
- Is the price forfaitaire et définitif, and is the revision clause capped and tied to a real index ?
- Have you read and totalled the “travaux non compris” list ?
- Is the notice descriptive specific, with named brands and materials ?
- Does the payment schedule respect the legal maximum percentages?
- Is the garantie de livraison present, with a named guarantor ?
- Are the delivery date and late penalties written in ?
- Are the conditions suspensives there (loan obtained, building permit granted)? You shouldn’t be locked in if your mortgage falls through.
One last thing
You get a 10-day cooling-off period (délai de rétractation) after receiving the signed contract by registered mail. Use it. Don’t sign on the spot in the showroom because the salesperson is friendly and the coffee was good. Take the contract home, read the boring parts, and if French legal language makes your head spin – and it will, that’s normal – get a notaire or a specialized lawyer to glance at it. A couple hundred euros of advice is nothing next to a 200,000 € commitment.
The CCMI is genuinely a strong protection for buyers. It’s one of the reasons building in France feels safer than in many countries. But it only protects the people who actually read it. So before you sign anything : which line are you going to check first ?