Bill No. 1128 on health regulations for buildings, decent housing, and the enforcement of safety and sanitation standards for real property and facilities

Bill No. 1128 on health regulations for buildings, decent housing, and the enforcement of safety and sanitation standards for real property and facilities (2026-07, 11 May 2026) was received by the Parliament on 3 July 2026.

SUMMARY

Government Bill No. 1128 (59 articles) aims to "ensure decent housing conditions consistent with Monaco's image and standards" through specific legislation, since "the current mechanisms sometimes remain limited in addressing persistent situations of substandard housing" (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1128):

• Obligation to design, construct and maintain buildings in such a way as not to endanger the health and safety of persons;
• Obligation of the landlord of a dwelling constituting the tenant's principal residence to provide the tenant with decent accommodation meeting the prescribed requirements intended to guarantee the safety and health of the occupants and a minimum level of facilities and comfort;
• Strengthening of the policing powers relating to the safety and sanitary condition of immovable property, with regard to the ordering of works or any other appropriate measure in order to protect the safety or health of persons;
• Deterrent criminal penalties (fines and imprisonment).

Le projet de loi n° 1128 relative aux règles sanitaires pour les bâtiments, au logement décent et à la police de la sécurité et de la salubrité des biens immeubles et des installations (2026-07, 11 mai 2026) a été reçu le 3 juillet par le Conseil National.

According to the provisions, entry into force would be immediate or deferred following publication of the Law in the Journal de Monaco.

The following would be repealed:

• Article 75 of the Sovereign Order of 11 July 1909 on the Municipal Police, as amended;
• Order No. 669 of 17 September 1959 amending and codifying the legislation relating to the conditions for the letting of premises for residential use, as amended.

Provisions of Bill No. 1128 (before consideration by the Parliamentary Committee)

Title I - Sanitary rules aApplicable to buildings

• Entry into force of the provisions of Title I: within a period of one year from the publication of this Law in the Journal de Monaco, with the exception of the provisions of Article 14, which shall enter into force on the day following such publication.

Chapter I - Sanitary quality of buildings

• Definitions (Article 1).

Section I - General objectives

• Buildings must be designed, constructed and maintained in such a way as not to endanger the health of persons present under normal conditions of occupation and use (Article 2).

Section II - Indoor air quality

Buildings designed, constructed, equipped and fitted out or renovated must:

• preserve air quality (Article 3);
• allow sufficient ventilation (Article 4);
• benefit from additional works ensuring sufficient but controlled air renewal where works affecting the opaque or glazed external walls of buildings, as well as ventilation and heating installations, are envisaged (Article 5);
• prevent carbon monoxide poisoning (Article 6).

Section III - Acoustics

• Buildings must be designed, constructed, equipped and renovated so as to limit noise levels within premises and provide acoustic quality appropriate to their use, in the context of the normal use of buildings and premises (Article 7).

Section IV - Openings

• The design of buildings constituting workplaces must allow them to be lit by natural light, except where the technical nature of the activities does not permit this. Residential buildings must be designed and constructed in such a way that the principal rooms of dwellings enable occupants to benefit from natural light, a view of the outside, contact with the outside and occasional air renewal making it possible to deal with occasional indoor air pollution and to contribute to addressing occasional thermal discomfort (Article 8).

Section V - Provisions Specific to Residential Buildings

Sub-section I - Water systems

• The water system of a residential building must not impair the quality of the water it distributes. Every dwelling must be provided with a supply of drinking water and a continuous domestic wastewater disposal system (Article 9).

Sub-section II - Dimensions

• The dwelling must comply with minimum requirements as to ceiling height, habitable floor area and habitable volume (Article 10).

Sub-section III - Waste storage

• The residential building must include facilities for the storage of household waste prior to its removal (Article 11).

Chapter II - Hygiene and sanitary condition of buildings

• The materials used in the construction, roofing, pipework and finishes of a building must not present risks to the health or physical safety of persons present and must be maintained in good condition (Article 12).
• A dwelling may not be used for a professional activity liable to give rise to risks to the health or safety of the occupants (Article 13).
• The occupant of a dwelling is under an obligation to maintain it, including taking all measures necessary to prevent the presence of pests. The provisions relating to the control of animals considered to be pests shall be laid down by Sovereign Ordinance (Article 14).
• The hygiene and sanitary rules applicable to buildings shall be laid down by Ministerial Order (Article 15).

Title II - Letting of a dwelling

• Entry into force of the provisions of Title II: within a period of six months from the publication of this Law in the Journal de Monaco. They shall apply to every tenancy agreement in force on the date of such entry into force or concluded after that date.

Chapter I - Decent dwelling

Section I - General provisions

• General measures applicable to every letting of a dwelling constituting the tenant's principal residence or that of the person occupying the dwelling in accordance with the tenancy agreement (Article 16).
• The dwelling provided to a tenant must be decent in accordance with the requirements laid down by law, supplemented by Ministerial Order specifying the characteristics corresponding to those requirements: rules relating to the safety and health of the occupants, the absence of pests and parasites, energy performance, and the fixtures, fittings and comfort of the dwelling (Article 17).
• Where a dwelling is the subject of a building safety order or measures for the treatment of unfitness for habitation, it may not be regarded as decent until that decision has been lifted (Article 18).

Section II - Special provisions applicable to furnished dwellings

• A furnished dwelling is decent where it satisfies the above-mentioned requirements and is equipped with furniture of sufficient quantity and quality to enable the occupant to sleep, eat and live properly having regard to the requirements of everyday life. The list of items comprising such furniture shall be specified by Ministerial Order. However, these provisions shall not apply to the letting of furnished premises situated in an establishment open to the public for accommodation purposes and constituting the principal residence of the tenant or of the person occupying those premises in accordance with the tenancy agreement (Article 19).

Chapter II - Risk of exposure to lead and asbesto

• The letting of a dwelling shall be subject to the owner producing a document certifying the absence of any risk of exposure to lead and asbestos, the arrangements for which shall be specified by Ministerial Order (Article 20).

Titre III - Police powers relating to the safety and sanitary condition of immovable property and installations

• Entry into force of the provisions of Title IV: from the day following the publication of this Law in the Journal de Monaco.
• These police powers shall be exercised by the Minister of State (Article 21).

Chapter I - Scope of application

The police powers relating to the safety and sanitary condition of immovable property and installations are intended to protect the safety and health of persons by remedying the following situations:

• Risks presented, in particular, by walls, buildings, structures of any kind or installations which do not provide the structural integrity necessary to ensure the safety of occupants and third parties, including funeral buildings or monuments (Articles 22 and 23).
• Defective operation or lack of maintenance of the common equipment of a residential building where it is liable to create serious risks to the safety of occupants or third parties or seriously compromise their living or conditions of use (Article 22).
• Storage, in premises adjoining or forming part of a residential building, of explosive or flammable materials where such storage does not comply with the applicable safety rules or is liable to create serious risks to the safety of occupants or third parties (Article 22).
• Unfitness for habitation, as defined (Articles 22 and 24).

Chapter II - Reporting

Any person having knowledge of one of the above-mentioned situations must report it to the Minister of State (Article 25).

Chapter III - Police powers

Section I - Assessment of the situation

• At the request of the Minister of State, authorised and sworn officers may carry out any inspection and any on-site verification and investigation in order to assess the situation (Article 26).
• The inspection and on-site operations may take place only between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. They may, however, take place outside those hours where public access is authorised or where an activity is in progress (Article 27). Circumstances in which the inspection and on-site operations may take place without judicial authorisation. Circumstances in which they may take place only with judicial authorisation granted by the President of the Court of First Instance (Article 27).
• Rules relating to the drawing up of the record of the inspection and on-site operations (Article 28) and of the report (Article 29).
• The Minister of State may request the President of the Court of First Instance to appoint an expert to examine the situation, record the findings and propose measures to eliminate the risk (Article 30).

Section II - Decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions

• Where a situation is liable to endanger the safety and health of persons, the Minister of State may prescribe any appropriate measures to remedy it and order the owner concerned to carry them out within the period specified. Such decision may be taken only after hearing the owner's representations, except in cases of imminent danger where the owner shall be heard or invited to submit representations only within the following five calendar days after that decision (Article 31).
• Non-exhaustive list of appropriate measures which may be prescribed by the Minister of State where a situation is liable to endanger the safety and health of persons, including, in particular, repair or any other measure capable of remedying the situation, the demolition of all or part of the immovable property, or the prohibition on occupying, using or accessing the premises. In cases of imminent danger and in the absence of any measure capable of eliminating the danger, the Minister of State may have the immovable property demolished after being authorised to do so by the President of the Court of First Instance (Article 32).
• The decision must state that, upon expiry of the period specified therein, if the prescribed measures have not been carried out, the person required to carry them out shall be liable to pay a daily penalty for each day of delay and that the works may be carried out ex officio at that person's expense. The measures must be carried out before any further occupation or making available of the premises, failing which sanctions shall apply (Article 33).
• Notification of the decision to the persons required to carry out the prescribed measures (Article 34).

Section III - "Mainlevée" decision

• Issued by the Minister of State where compliance with the measures prescribed by the decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation has been established (Article 35).

Section IV - Penalty payment decision

• Issued by the Minister of State where the measures prescribed by the safety order or the order for the treatment of unfitness for habitation have not been carried out within the prescribed period. The decision shall determine the amount of the daily penalty payment, taking into account the extent of the prescribed measures and the consequences of their non-execution (Articles 36 and 37).

Section V - Decision for the ex officio execution of the prescribed measures

• Where the measures prescribed by the safety order or the order for the treatment of unfitness for habitation have not been carried out by the expiry of the prescribed period, the Minister of State may, by reasoned decision, arrange for those measures to be carried out ex officio at the expense of the person required to execute them (Article 38).
• For every measure carried out ex officio by the Minister of State, the State shall be deemed to act in place of the defaulting person, on that person's behalf and at that person's expense (Article 39).

Section VI - Criminal penalties

Criminal penalties in the event of failure to comply with the rules and administrative orders intended to ensure the safety and sanitary condition of immovable property:

• Deliberate refusal, without legitimate reason, to carry out the measures prescribed by the decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation: imprisonment from 3 months to 1 year and the fine provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 26 of the Criminal Code (from EUR 18,000 to EUR 90,000); where the occupant is a vulnerable person, imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years and twice the fine provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 26 of the Criminal Code (Article 40);
• Damaging, deteriorating, destroying all or part of a dwelling, or rendering it unfit for habitation by any means whatsoever, with the intention of causing the occupants to leave: imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years and twice the fine provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 26 of the Criminal Code; where the occupant is a vulnerable person, imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years and three times the fine provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 26 (Article 41);
• Attempting to obstruct, or obstructing, the inspection or the on-site operations: imprisonment from 1 to 6 months and the fine provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 26 of the Criminal Code (from EUR 2,250 to EUR 9,000) (Article 42).

Chapter IV - Protection of occupants

• Definition of a protected occupant: the holder of a real right conferring a right of use, the tenant, the sub-tenant or the occupier in good faith of either a dwelling or furnished premises situated in an establishment open to the public for accommodation purposes, where that dwelling or those premises constitute his or her principal residence (Article 43).

Section I - Accommodation or rehousing of occupants

• The person required to carry out the measures prescribed by a decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions
  for habitation shall be required, at that person's own expense, to provide accommodation for the occupants where a temporary prohibition on occupation has been ordered or where the prescribed works render the dwelling temporarily uninhabitable.
  Where a permanent prohibition on occupation or the cessation of the making available of all or part of the immovable property or installation for residential purposes has been ordered, the person required to comply with that order shall be under an obligation to rehouse the occupants. If the occupant refuses a suitable offer of rehousing, proceedings for termination of the tenancy agreement and eviction may be commenced (Article 44).

Section II - Rent

• Rent shall cease to be payable in respect of any immovable property, part thereof or installation which is the subject of a decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation, except where the police measure is taken against the person using the immovable property, the relevant part thereof or the installation. In that case, rent shall cease to be payable: - from the first day of the month following notification of that decision or from the date of its posting; -until the first day of the month following notification or posting of the decision lifting the decsion to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions.
  Any rent or other sum paid in consideration for the occupation of the immovable property, part thereof or installation and received in breach of the above provisions shall be repaid to the occupant or deducted from the rent which again becomes payable by the occupant.
  These provisions shall not apply where the decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation has imposed a temporary prohibition on occupation or where the prescribed works necessary to remedy the situation render the premises temporarily uninhabitable. In such a case, the occupant shall deposit the rent with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations until the expiry of a period of eight calendar days following notification of the decision lifting the decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions. Upon expiry of that period, the landlord may request reimbursement of the rent so deposited from the Caisse (Article 45).

Section III - Continuation of the tenancy

• A decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation may not result in the automatic termination of the tenancy agreement. Judicial termination shall nevertheless remain possible (Article 46).

Section IV - Criminal penalties

Imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years and twice the fine provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 26 of the Criminal Code shall be imposed for (Article 47):

• compelling an occupant to waive the rights enjoyed under the above-mentioned obligation to provide accommodation or obligation to rehouse, threatening the occupant or committing any act of intimidation against the occupant;
• receiving rent or any other sum in consideration for the occupation of the dwelling, including retrospectively, in breach of the above-mentioned rules;
• refusing to provide accommodation or to rehouse the occupant despite being in a position to do so.

Chapter V - Provisions relating to the enforcement of police measures

Section I - Objection to the enforceable instrument

• Non-suspensive nature of an objection brought before the competent court against the enforceable instrument issued by the State for payment of a debt arising from a decision imposing a penalty payment or from the ex officio execution of prescribed measures or from the rehousing or accommodation of occupants (Article 48).

Section II - Joint and several liability

• Persons jointly and severally liable, together with the owner of the immovable property subject to a decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditionsfor habitation, for the payment of debts arising from ex officio execution and from the rehousing or accommodation of occupants (Articles 49 to 52).
• Where immovable property subject to a decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation, or the business operated therein for accommodation purposes, is transferred, the notary drawing up the deed shall immediately inform the Minister of State thereof (Article 53).

Section III - Movable property of the occupant

• Rules applicable to such property where the occupant has been evacuated as a result of a decision to ensure safety or address unsanitary conditions for habitation imposing a permanent prohibition on occupation or the cessation of the making available of all or part of the immovable property or installation for residential purposes (Articles 54 to 56).

Title IV - Final provisions

• The arrangements for the application of this Law shall be laid down, where necessary, by Ministerial Order, unless otherwise provided (Article 57).
• Repeal of: Article 75 of the Sovereign Order of 11 July 1909 on the Municipal Police, as amended; Order No. 669 of 17 September 1959 amending and codifying the legislation relating to the conditions for the letting of premises for residential use, as amended (Article 58).
• Entry into force of the provisions of the Law, either immediate or deferred (Article 59).