The pre-dated state accompanies each sale of a condominium lot since the ALUR law. This document, whose name does not appear in any legislative text, refers to all the financial and legal information that the seller must provide to the buyer before signing the preliminary agreement. Its content is framed by Article L.721-2 of the Construction and Housing Code.
Downloading a blank template in Word format poses no technical difficulty. However, filling out this form in an acceptable manner for a notary requires mastering sections whose scope has expanded in recent years.
Global technical diagnosis and energy class: the sections that classic templates overlook
Most Word templates circulated online focus on the financial aspect of the pre-dated state (current charges, work funds, unpaid amounts). This approach covered most of the document a few years ago. It is no longer sufficient.
The global technical diagnosis (DTG), when voted and carried out by the condominium, is part of the elements to be communicated to the buyer. A blank template that does not include a section dedicated to the DTG exposes the seller to an incomplete file, without them realizing it until the notary’s return.
The energy class of the lot constitutes another blind spot. Rental restrictions related to energy performance thresholds (progressive ban on renting the most energy-consuming homes) make this information relevant for the buyer. A blank pre-dated state form in Word that integrates these recent fields reduces the risk of back-and-forth with the notarial office.
A template that limits itself to the three parts of the Council of Notaries’ form (financial information, condominium, sold lot) is not incorrect. It is simply insufficient in light of current notary expectations, who now check for the presence of additional documents before validating the file.
Supporting documents to attach to the pre-dated state: what the notary checks
The Word form, no matter how complete, is not sufficient on its own. The notary expects supporting documents that corroborate the data declared by the seller.
- The minutes of the general meetings from the last three years, which document the voted works, exceptional calls for funds, and any ongoing legal proceedings.
- The synthetic sheet of the condominium, a document distinct from the pre-dated state, that the property manager must keep updated and which summarizes the financial and technical data of the building.
- The maintenance log of the building, which outlines the completed works and the current maintenance contracts.
- The DTG or, failing that, the collective energy performance diagnosis when it exists.
The absence of any one of these documents can lead to a postponement of the signing of the preliminary agreement. A seller who fills out a Word template without gathering these documents in advance risks discovering a shortfall at the last moment.
Where to retrieve these documents without going through a professional property manager
The condominium register, accessible online, allows for verification of the condominium’s registration and obtaining certain public data. The minutes of the general meetings are normally sent to each co-owner after each meeting.
In the case of a volunteer property manager, the selling co-owner often holds the archives themselves. The difficulty then lies less in accessing the documents than in the ability to extract the correct figures (shares, distribution of charges, balance of the work fund) and to report them without calculation errors.
Pre-dated state in Word format: concrete limits of manual filling
The Word format offers appreciable editing flexibility. It allows for the addition of lines, modification of the layout, and customization of the document to the condominium. This flexibility is also its weakness.
No automatic control checks the consistency between the entered amounts. If the total current charges of the lot do not match the projected budget adjusted to the shares, the notary will request a correction. The seller will have to redo their calculations, find the source documents, and send back a corrected version.
The most frequent errors concern three points:
- The prorata of charges between seller and buyer, which depends on the date of sale and the due date of the calls for funds.
- The amount of the seller’s unpaid amounts, which sometimes includes provisions for voted works that have not yet been called, a distinction that blank templates do not always explain.
- The breakdown between general charges and special charges, which relies on the distribution keys defined in the condominium regulations.
A spreadsheet or dedicated tool can make these calculations reliable. Raw Word does not do this. The financial gain compared to a paid service must be weighed against the time spent and the risk of rejection.
Acceptability of the file by the notary: the criteria that make the difference
The notary is not obliged to validate an incomplete pre-dated state. In practice, each office applies its own level of requirement. Some accept a simplified form accompanied by supporting documents. Others require a document structured according to the model of the Council of Notaries, section by section.
No Word template guarantees acceptance by the notary on its own. What matters is the combination of a correctly filled form, complete supporting documents, and a verifiable consistency between the declared data and the documents provided.
Field feedback varies on this point: some sellers report files accepted with a simple Excel table accompanied by the minutes of general meetings, while others are asked for a document compliant with the format of the Council of Notaries. Checking the expectations of the notarial office in charge of the sale before finalizing the document remains the most effective precaution.
The choice of the Word template matters less than the rigor applied to the data entered. A recent blank template, which includes fields for the DTG, energy class, and individualized balance of the work fund, places the seller in better conditions than an old model limited to current charges alone. The real question, before filling anything out, remains to gather all supporting documents and verify each amount at the source.