Make the comparison possible before requesting prices
Send each company the same room list, measurements, drawings and expected finish. Identify retained equipment and owner-supplied products. Arrange a site visit so access and visible substrate condition are considered. Keep a dated version of this brief: otherwise one company may price a different project from the others.
Ask for a base offer and separately priced options. Moving the shower or choosing a different floor is an option until you approve it. Keep it outside the base comparison. A vague allowance for “necessary works” leaves the amount and responsibility unresolved.
Check the document as well as the total
The official guide describes the required quotation information for covered work, including quantities, unit prices, HT/TTC totals and VAT. A signed devis can become the contract. Read its attachments and general conditions before accepting, rather than relying on the heading “estimate”.
| Check | Useful answer |
|---|---|
| Identity | Legal business name, address, registration details and the entity receiving payment |
| Scope | Measured quantities, units, preparation, product references and disposal |
| Price | HT, each applicable VAT rate, TTC and any revision mechanism |
| Timing | Start and completion commitments, dependencies and access conditions |
| Payment | Nature of advance, due dates and observable stage milestones |
| Exclusions | Exact work or supply left to the owner or another company |
The DGCCRF comparison guidance highlights the value of detailed precontractual information. A small unit rate is not meaningful until you know whether the unit is a square metre of wall, floor or complete dwelling.
Normalise two offers without inventing the missing prices
| Item | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Headline offer | 18 000 | 20 400 |
| Protection and waste omitted from A | 900 | Included |
| Substrate repairs omitted from A | 1 300 | Included |
| Final cleaning omitted from A | 300 | Included |
| Same-scope comparison total | 20 500 | 20 400 |
A first appeared €2,400 cheaper. After the three confirmed omissions, A is €100 more expensive. This does not establish that B is better: references, execution method, coordination and timing still matter. If A has not priced an omission, write “unpriced” rather than making up an allowance and calling the comparison final.
Do not treat an unclear operation as included because another contractor included it. Ask both companies to confirm the same baseline. Keep optional products, your own purchases and unresolved technical work in separate rows.
Resolve VAT and insurance without assumptions
Ask why each VAT rate applies. The tax authority sets conditions and exclusions; the word “renovation” does not automatically justify a reduced rate. Compare TTC amounts for your funding decision and check that owner-supplied equipment has not also been included in the company’s supply line.
For work within the relevant insurance regime, obtain the contractor’s current insurance certificate before opening the site. Check the insured entity, activities, period and geographical cover against the actual project; contact the insurer if uncertain. The decennial-insurance guide does not mean that every decorative finish or separately replaced appliance has ten-year cover.
Read the terms that change the price later
- Substrates: what has been inspected, and how will a concealed defect be documented and priced?
- Products: are brands and references fixed, or is only a purchasing allowance included?
- Quantities: are they firm or subject to remeasurement, and on what basis?
- Changes: who may approve a variation, with what effect on price and completion?
- Coordination: who returns to finish a connection after another trade or the kitchen installer has intervened?
Replace “balance halfway through” with a described milestone and a record of work checked. Do not prescribe a universal deposit percentage: discuss the contractor’s real procurement needs, your risk and the contract type.
Know when signing and paying create commitments
The ordinary right to withdraw differs by signing circumstances. For an in-scope consumer contract concluded remotely or away from business premises, a 14-day withdrawal right generally applies, subject to exceptions and rules for early performance. Signing at the company’s premises does not create that general cooling-off right.
A separate rule in article L221-10 normally prohibits receiving payment during the first seven days of an in-scope off-premises contract, with statutory exceptions such as strictly necessary, expressly requested emergency repairs. Do not confuse seven days without payment with the withdrawal period. For a major commitment, clarify your particular contract before paying.
Choose on the clarified offer
- Return the same list of missing information to the shortlisted companies.
- Receive revised written offers and record their validity dates.
- Compare the same scope, remaining unknowns, insurance and achievable schedule.
- Agree the payment and change process, then keep the signed version with its attachments.
Record why you chose the company and which assumptions remain. That short decision note will be more useful during the works than an unexplained “cheapest quote” label.
Sources and method
- Service Public — Devis et contrat de travaux
- DGCCRF — Travaux à domicile : documents précontractuels
- DGFiP — TVA des travaux dans les logements
- Service Public — Garantie décennale des constructeurs
- Légifrance — Code de la consommation, article L221-10
Sources consulted on 18 October 2026. Worked cost tables are editorial examples, not average market prices or contractors’ offers. Tax explanations concern metropolitan France.