Week of 4 to 10 August 2026
I. Legislation and regulation
Planning law: two coordination decrees published in the Official Journal of 4 August 2026
Decree No. 2026-733 of 1 August 2026, on various coordination measures relating to the preparation and evolution of planning documents, continues the implementation of the Act of 26 November 2025 simplifying planning law (following an initial decree of 27 July 2026). Two changes deserve attention:
- environmental assessment becomes mandatory for any preparation or revision of a local urban plan (PLU) (new Article R. 104-11 of the Planning Code)
- electronic public participation (PPVE) is extended to a large number of additional procedures
On the same day, Decree No. 2026-734 of 1 August 2026 amends the list of municipalities exempted, for the 2026-2028 three-year period, from the social housing quota obligation set out in Articles L. 302-5 et seq. of the Construction and Housing Code (SRU Act).
Real estate cold-calling: shift to opt-in from 11 August 2026
Issued to implement Act No. 2025-594 of 30 June 2025 against fraud affecting public subsidies, Decree No. 2026-662 of 23 July 2026 sets out the arrangements for the entry into force, from 11 August 2026, of the general prohibition on commercial telephone cold-calling. Real estate agencies will no longer be able to contact a property owner based on a listing without their prior, explicit, specific and revocable consent (valid for a maximum of one year, with no tacit renewal). The only remaining exception concerns cold-calling linked to the performance of an ongoing contract. Breaches are punishable by an administrative fine.
II. Case law
Conseil d’État — Unauthorised construction: the Thalamy case law confirmed and clarified
CE, 30 July 2026, No. 497783 — The Conseil d’État reaffirms the principle established by the Thalamy ruling (CE, 9 July 1986, No. 51172): anyone wishing to carry out works on a building erected without authorisation must submit an application covering the entire construction in order to regularise it. Two new clarifications:
- the authorities must invite the applicant to complete an incomplete application, but this invitation is not a condition for the legality of a refusal issued in response to an application covering only new works
- the burden of proving the irregularity of the original construction cannot be placed on the applicant to the point of requiring them to establish a negative fact (the absence of prior works): the court forms its view based on the case file, using its investigative powers if necessary
Practical impact: caution is warranted for the purchaser of a property built without proper authorisation, as the municipality may require the regularisation of the entire building in connection with subsequent works.
Court of Cassation (3rd civil chamber) — Co-ownership: the powers of the secondary syndicate strictly limited
Civ. 3e, 9 July 2026, No. 24-21.792 (FS-B, panel ruling) and three companion rulings (No. 24-21.793, 24-21.794, 24-21.796) — Ruling on four secondary syndicates within the same residential complex, the Court of Cassation holds that the purpose of a secondary syndicate, limited by Article 27 of the Act of 10 July 1965 to the internal management of the building, does not empower it to collect general co-ownership charges on behalf of the main syndicate. Only an express decision of the general meeting of the main syndicate (majority under Article 24) can confer such a mandate; neither the co-ownership regulations nor a prolonged collection practice are sufficient to establish an implied mandate. The same solution applies to the provisional administrator responsible for winding up a secondary syndicate, whose powers — even where extended by the court — cannot exceed the legal purpose of the syndicate it administers: the recovery action is inadmissible for lack of standing.
Civ. 3e, 2 July 2026, No. 24-22.686 — Building on this, the Court draws a clear distinction between an action challenging a general meeting resolution (two-month time-bar under Article 42(2) of the 1965 Act) and a liability action against the co-owners’ association for a fault committed when a resolution was passed, which is subject to the ordinary five-year limitation period (Article 2224 of the Civil Code).
Practical impact: managing agents of secondary syndicates must verify the existence of an express mandate before bringing any action to recover general charges; managing agents of main syndicates should, where appropriate, place this delegation on the agenda of the general meeting.
III. Other points of attention
Rent control has been extended until 31 July 2027, tax guidance (BOFiP) clarifies the 10% VAT rate applicable to intermediate rental housing (social mix, transfer, VEFA transfer), and anti-fraud information exchanges relating to energy-renovation subsidies have been organised. On the economic front, the latest figures from the Ministry of Housing confirm a still-fragile recovery in new construction, with the target of 400,000 annual housing starts not being met in 2026.
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