The tacit acceptance of a building project cannot be established when the project owner disputes the quality of the work carried out.
3rd Civ, 09/16/21, n°20-12.372
The Court of Cassation reaffirms that tacit acceptance of a building project cannot be established when the project owner disputes the quality of the work carried out.
Tacit acceptance requires proof of the client's clear and unequivocal intention to accept the delivered work. This occurs when the client takes possession of the work and/or pays the remaining balance of the contract price.
However, the client, who criticizes the quality of the work, who refuses to pay the balance of the work due to the defects and/or who issues a summons for an expert assessment, demonstrates his intention not to accept the work.
The ruling of September 16, 2021, reiterates that:
The dispute over the work makes it impossible to recognize a tacit acceptance, even if the client has paid part of the contract amount.
The significance of this recognition lies particularly in the area of the builder's responsibility.
In the absence of acceptance, only the common law liability of the builder can be sought and not the ten-year guarantee provided for by article 1792 of the Civil Code with the limitation periods attached to each liability regime.
