Ajaccio mandates building inspections

Certain collective buildings in Ajaccio’s city center will now require regular professional inspections. Starting October 1, the municipal council passed a measure requiring property owners and co-ownerships within a defined perimeter to have structural diagnostics performed on their buildings.

Purpose of the inspections

The new requirement aims to identify potential building weaknesses before they become significant enough to endanger occupants. Alexandre Farina, the first deputy in charge of urban planning for the City of Ajaccio, cited the city's experience in identifying severely deteriorated buildings in the city center as the reason for the initiative.

Scope and timing of inspections

The initiative applies to collective buildings in the areas defined by the municipality. These buildings will need a structural diagnostic fifteen years after construction and then at least once every ten years. A multi-year work plan prepared by a professional can serve as an alternative to a diagnostic.

Submission deadlines and benefits

Documents related to the diagnostics must be submitted to the City within eighteen months of the deliberation notification. Pascale Pancrazi, director of housing and urban renewal, emphasized that this approach allows for early detection of problems, reducing long-term costs by enabling preventive actions.

Defined inspection perimeter

The defined perimeter includes areas such as the Genoese city, Cardinal-Fesch street, Roi-Jérôme and Sampiero boulevards, Napoleon Square, and several perpendicular streets. It extends between Napoleon Square, Cardinal-Fesch street, and the seafront, closing to the north at Louis-Frediani street.

Examples of past issues

Municipal services have faced several situations in these neighborhoods, including floor subsidence on Fesch street, facade element falls on Frediani street, fires on Emmanuel-Arène street, and aging buildings on Roi-de-Rome street. According to municipal figures, 14 cases were handled in 2025 and 17 by October 9, 2026.

Nature of the inspections

The diagnostic must identify disorders that could affect the building's solidity and expose occupants or third parties to risk. The report submitted to the municipal council plans for appropriate and proportional investigations, mainly visual and targeted.

Support for co-ownerships

The City wants to prioritize information and support, especially for struggling co-ownerships. Alexandre Farina emphasized the city's desire to work with syndics to prevent rather than cure, describing an approach where the commune informs syndics of observed disorders and asks them to initiate necessary checks.

Consequences of non-compliance

The regulation provides for a response in case of inaction. If the diagnostic or the document that replaces it is not submitted despite a formal request from the mayor, the mayor can have it conducted at the expense of the property owner or the co-ownership syndicate.

Overall goal of the initiative

Alexandre Farina reminded that the initiative should allow for anticipating potential problems in the areas where municipal services have already detected the most significant weaknesses. It establishes a periodic monitoring of the affected collective buildings and gives co-ownerships a framework to detect problems before they lead to emergency measures.