The statement of risks and pollution (état des risques et pollutions, ERP) is the document that informs the buyer or tenant of a property of the risks to which its address is exposed. This guide explains where it comes from, what it contains section by section and how to read it. For the practical rules (who provides it, when, how long it is valid), see the ERP report: definition, obligations and validity.
Where does the risk statement come from?
The obligation to inform buyers and tenants about risks was created by the law of 30 July 2003 on the prevention of technological and natural risks, passed after the explosion at the AZF plant in Toulouse in 2001 and several major floods. It has applied since 2006 and is set out in article L125-5 of the French Environment Code.
The document has changed its name several times as its content has grown: état des risques naturels et technologiques (ERNT), then état des risques naturels, miniers et technologiques (ERNMT) when mining risks were added, then état des servitudes risques et d’information sur les sols (ESRIS) with polluted soils, and finally état des risques et pollutions (ERP) since 2018, with radon. Since 1 January 2023, it must be handed over at the first viewing and may mention coastal erosion; since 1 January 2025, it also includes information on legal brush-clearing obligations.
What the ERP contains, section by section
1. The property concerned
The date the document was prepared, and the property’s address and cadastral plot(s). All the other sections are completed on the basis of this precise location.
2. Risk prevention plans
The ERP states whether the property lies within the boundary of a natural risk prevention plan (flooding, ground movements, coastal, forest fire…), a mining or a technological risk prevention plan, and whether the plan is prescribed, applied in advance or approved. It also states whether the plan requires works on the property and whether they have been carried out. A prevention plan can prohibit building in the most exposed zones and impose rules elsewhere.
3. The seismic zone
France is divided into five seismic zones, from 1 (very low) to 5 (high), under the zoning in force since 1 May 2011. From zone 2 upwards, seismicity must appear in the ERP, wherever the property is located in the municipality.
4. Radon potential
Radon is a natural radioactive gas released by certain rocks. Each municipality is classified in category 1, 2 or 3. In category 3 (significant potential), radon information has been mandatory in the ERP since 1 July 2018.
5. Soil information sectors
Soil information sectors (secteurs d’information sur les sols, SIS) are sites where known pollution calls for precautions in the event of a change of use or works. If the land is part of one, the ERP says so and the seller or landlord must inform the buyer or tenant in writing. For the history of industrial activities, see also CASIAS, the inventory of former industrial sites (in French).
6. Coastal erosion and brush clearing
In the coastal municipalities concerned, the ERP states whether the property is exposed to coastal erosion. In areas exposed to forest fires, it includes information on legal brush-clearing obligations.
7. Compensated losses
The seller or landlord declares any losses that gave rise to compensation under a natural or technological disaster declaration, which occurred while they owned the property or that they were informed of. This section cannot be completed from databases: it relies on the owner’s own knowledge.
How to read an ERP
- Start with the prevention plans: a property in a regulated zone may be subject to building rules or required works.
- Check the seismic zone and the radon potential: they apply to the whole municipality.
- Look at the compensated losses: they tell you about the history of the property itself.
- Check the date: the ERP must be less than 6 months old when the contract is signed.
A risk recorded in the municipality does not mean that every home is exposed: only the situation of the address counts. That is why the ERP is prepared property by property. Our ERP report by city pages detail the known risks in 54 cities.
The ERP and the ENSA
Aircraft noise is not included in the ERP: it is covered by a separate document, the aircraft noise statement (ENSA), required for properties within an airfield’s noise exposure plan. Our online ERP report provides both documents in a single order.