Immothème #December2021 Sanitation – New requirements and key dates to note

In order to combat pollution of aquatic environments caused by unauthorised connections to public sewerage networks, and in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Article 63 of Law No. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate change and strengthening resilience to its effects introduced two new notification requirements relating to on-site sewage treatment systems and the monitoring of connections to the public wastewater collection network.

Accordingly, the revised version of Article L.2224-8 of the General Code for Local Authorities provides for a mandatory inspection of all new connections to the public sewerage network and of any modified connections. This will result in the preparation and issue to the property owner of a document, valid for ten years, describing the inspection carried out and assessing the connection’s compliance with regulatory requirements. This inspection may be carried out at the local authority’s initiative. In this case, a decree setting the response time within which the local authority must send the document drawn up following the inspection of the connection to the public sewerage network to the property owner or the co-owners’ association is subject to public consultation until 31 December.

The inspection may also be requested by the property owner, or by the co-owners’ association, where this document must be included as part of the technical survey dossier for any property sale pursuant to Articles L. 271-4 and L. 271-5 of the Building and Housing Code (scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2023 for collective sewerage systems).

Furthermore, the legislator has introduced new obligations for notaries and the owners of the properties concerned. The initial measures mainly affect ‘areas where the discharge of waste water and rainwater has an impact on water quality for the Olympic freestyle swimming and triathlon events on the Seine (known as the “Olympic areas”)’. The exact list of municipalities concerned is set out in a decree open for public consultation until 31 December 2021 and includes, in particular, Paris and the municipalities situated on its eastern and south-eastern outskirts.

14 Pyramides Notaires provides an overview of these new requirements and their dates of entry into force.