Which sales are covered?
Handing over the carnet d'information du logement is required when the home being sold is subject to the obligation, that is:
- a new home whose building permit or prior declaration was filed from 1 January 2023 (new-build details);
- an existing home that has undergone, since 1 January 2023, works with a significant energy impact.
The rule applies to any transfer, not just a standard sale: a gift or another transfer of ownership also triggers the hand-over of the logbook.
When and how to hand over the CIL?
| Stage of the sale | What happens for the CIL |
|---|---|
| Listing | Nothing mandatory, but a complete logbook attached to the viewing file makes the price credible and cuts down back-and-forth questions. |
| Preliminary contract | Nothing imposed by the law on the CIL at this stage (unlike the technical survey file). Sharing it early is a choice, and often a winning one. |
| Deed of sale | Legal deadline. The logbook is handed to the buyer at the latest at signing, and the buyer acknowledges receipt in the deed. |
That acknowledgment in the deed makes the subject very concrete: the notaire will ask the question. Arriving at the signing without a logbook means exposing yourself to last-minute friction on a file that could have been ready months earlier.
What does the seller risk without a CIL?
No fine: the law provides no specific sanction. The risks are indirect but real: a delayed signing, a negotiation lever for the buyer, and civil liability in case of a failure to disclose known elements. We detail them in no CIL: what are the real risks?
Turning the obligation into a selling point
A buyer hesitates between two comparable homes. One is sold with a binder of loose invoices; the other with a current logbook: insulation installed in 2024 with documented R-values, a boiler serviced every year with certificates to show, a DPE consistent with the works. Which one inspires trust, and which one justifies its price?
- The price is easier to defend: every euro of documented works is a euro visible in the negotiation.
- The sale moves faster: fewer questions at viewings, fewer comfort clauses, a notaire who has everything.
- The legal risk drops: what is documented and handed over will be very hard to hold against you as concealed.
Checklist: prepare the CIL before listing
- Gather what exists: DPE, works invoices, instructions, servicing certificates, plans if you have them.
- Structure them along the mandatory sections, or use our free CIL generator.
- Fill the easy gaps: a boiler servicing certificate takes two minutes to request again from your heating engineer.
- Prepare a clean export for the notaire and the buyer, and keep a copy.
The Relai Confiance logbook gathers works, documents and servicing, computes a health score for the property and exports as a PDF for the notaire or the buyer. Read-only sharing included.