Completing a residential development involves more than handing over the keys. The condominium must become operational: shared services have to start, contracts and insurance must be secured, a realistic budget must be established, warranties must be tracked and the first collective decisions must be prepared.
This phase brings together the developer, provisional property manager, contractors and first co-owners. A clear allocation of responsibilities prevents important matters from being left without an identified owner.
Understand the provisional property manager’s role
A new French condominium must have a provisional property manager from the time it is created. The manager is generally appointed by the developer and named in the condominium regulations for a maximum term of one year.
During that period, the provisional manager starts the management arrangements and convenes the first general meeting. Following a competitive process, the co-owners then decide whether to retain that manager or appoint another one.
Prepare before the first completions
The condominium regulations, division schedule, plans, technical notices, works-acceptance records, as-built files, contracts and insurance certificates should be assembled early enough.
The manager can then identify the shared areas and facilities to be managed, record the relevant deadlines and arrange the start of electricity, water, shared heating, lifts, gates, fire-safety systems and maintenance of common areas.
Build a coherent budget
The initial budget must reflect the residence’s actual characteristics and use clearly stated assumptions. Shared heating, lifts, green spaces, gates, ventilation, safety equipment and the number of buildings all directly affect service charges.
Start-up costs, consumption in the common areas and the possible gap between the first completions and full occupation of the development must also be anticipated.
Distinguish acceptance, completion and defects
Acceptance of the works between the developer and contractors, completion of each home for its purchaser and transfer of responsibility for the common areas are separate events.
The property manager follows matters affecting the owners’ association and common areas. Each purchaser remains responsible for following up defects inside their private unit. A shared register of common-area defects, recording photographs, dates, responsible parties and deadlines, makes coordination with the developer and contractors much clearer.
The French perfect-completion warranty runs for one year from acceptance of the works. It must be coordinated with the other statutory warranties and the structural-damage insurance where applicable.
Start contracts at the right time
Building insurance, energy, servicing and maintenance contracts must begin without leaving an uninsured period or generating unnecessary charges. For every contract, confirm the scope, start date, duration, renewal terms and operational contact.
Prepare the first general meeting
The provisional manager must convene the first general meeting during its term. Among other decisions, the co-owners appoint the property manager under the absolute-majority rule in Article 25 and elect the owners’ council.
The meeting notice should make the proposed budget, existing contracts, facilities under management and decisions to be taken easy to understand. Clear presentation reduces confusion when co-owners receive their first service-charge demands.
Use a start-up tracker
A shared tracker can record, for each matter, the expected document, responsible party, deadline and progress: contracts, insurance, bank account, registration, common-area defects, warranties, access passes, technical keys and first maintenance visits.
This practical monitoring, rather than the simple delivery of a file, is what turns a completed residence into a functioning condominium.
Are you a developer or owners’ council involved in a new residence in North Toulouse? Let’s discuss its setup.
General information about the French condominium framework, to be adapted to the development and contracts concerned. Official sources consulted on 14 August 2026: Service-Public — property manager for a new condominium and ANIL — warranties following an off-plan purchase.