Maître d'œuvre,
maître d'ouvrage.

The client (maître d'ouvrage) is the person on whose behalf the building is built or renovated. They decide to have the works done, set the brief and the budget, pay for them and will own the result. A private individual having their house built or their flat renovated is the client, just as a town council building a school is.

The French Civil Code speaks of the « maître de l'ouvrage ». The client signs the contracts with those who design and those who build, and it is the client who pronounces acceptance of the works (réception): the act by which they accept the building, with or without reservations (article 1792-6). That date starts the guarantees owed by the builders.

In a co-owned building, for works on the common parts, the client is the owners' association, represented by the managing agent (syndic). For works inside your own unit, it is you.

The project manager (maître d'œuvre) is the professional the client appoints to design the project and run its execution. They turn a need into plans, prepare the planning applications, cost the works, draw up the schedule, then run the site and assist their client at handover.

The title is not regulated: an architect, an engineering firm or a building professional may carry out this role. What frames it is the contract and the insurance. Bound to the client by a contract for works (contrat de louage d'ouvrage), the project manager counts in law as a builder (article 1792-1 of the Civil Code) and must hold 10-year structural liability insurance.

One limit is set by law: a private individual building for themselves must have the building permit application drawn up by an architect as soon as the floor area exceeds 150 m². Below that, the choice is free; we compare the options in architect, project manager or builder.

To stop mixing them up: the ouvrage is the finished house or flat, and its « maître » is the person who will own it. The œuvre is the work of design and supervision, and its « maître » is the person who leads it.

1. The brief. The client sets out their needs and budget. The project manager surveys the existing building, checks the planning rules and proposes a sketch, then plans.

2. Planning consent. The project manager prepares the prior declaration (déclaration préalable) or the building permit application; the client signs it and lodges it at the town hall, since they will be its holder. Once consent is granted, they display it on the site and declare the start of works.

3. Insurance. Before the first spade goes in, the client takes out building damage insurance (dommages-ouvrage), which is compulsory (article L242-1 of the Insurance Code): it pays for repairs covered by the 10-year guarantee without waiting for liability to be established.

4. The site. The project manager keeps the schedule, chairs the site meetings, writes the reports and checks the quality of the work. The building firms carry out the works.

5. Handover. Assisted by the project manager, the client inspects the building and pronounces acceptance, with or without reservations. Then come the one-year completion guarantee, the two-year guarantee on equipment and the 10-year structural guarantee (garantie décennale).

6. Completion. For works that required consent, the client lodges at the town hall the declaration certifying completion and compliance of the works.

The client's adviser (assistant à maîtrise d'ouvrage) advises the client: defining the brief, choosing the parties, monitoring. They neither design nor build. They are mostly found in public contracts, governed by the 1985 « MOP » law, incorporated since 2019 into the Public Procurement Code.

The building firm carries out the works of its own trade, based on the project manager's plans. The main contractor (contractant général), for its part, commits to the client for everything: design and construction, for a price and a deadline; this is the subject of our main contractor page.

When you entrust us with a project, it is your house, your budget and your decisions, and you are the one who pronounces acceptance of the works. We take care of the rest under a single contract: the design by our architect, Baptiste Guiliani; the permit, the costing and the schedule; site management by Lucas Sicot, works director; and the works themselves.

This is where we differ from an independent project manager. They have the site carried out by firms you sign with separately. With us, the general contractor covers every trade with its salaried craftspeople, each in their own trade: when a detail is not right, there is no liability to share out between several signatories.