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It used to be the case that if you wanted to build, refurbish, renovate or extend a property in France, you had to jump through hoops, fill in forms and contribute to the flow of paperwork that France is famous for.
Until October 2007 there were eleven different types of authorisations and five sorts of ‘declaration’ in the French planning code - but happily, all this has changed.
The formalities for builders and private individuals are now much simpler. A change in the law has clarified the planning rules, spelling out when planning consent is necessary, when it is not, and clarifying whether in fact all that is needed is just a “déclaration” on the part of the applicant.
Familiarise yourself with just four formalities
What used to be umpteen “authorisations” are now reduced to just three planning permissions and one “déclaration”, namely:
- planning permission: permis de construire
- authorisation to develop: permis d’aménager
- authorisation to demolish: permis de démolir
- pre-condition statement: déclaration préalable
The new rules provide an exhaustive list of works which either require planning permission or simply need a statement/declaration. One principle is that any new construction will require planning permission (although there are exceptions to this principle, which are clearly listed).
Another principle is that work done on an existing building does not need any planning application (although the rules detail precisely what type of building work still need planning permission, or a pre-condition statement).
An authorisation to develop is required if there is a plan to divide a plot of land and build on it at a later stage, where there are to be several different constructions whose details are not specified when the application is made.
However, a simple pre-condition statement is all that is needed if the land is divided into just two plots, or if there is a lotissement with several plots but which needs no creation of a road or public spaces (unsurprisingly, planning permission will always be necessary in protected areas).
And now the really good news: a quicker, guaranteed response time
Hurrah! There is now a specified time limit within which you, the applicant, are guaranteed a response, which will be indicated to you when you lodge your application form.
For a declaration, allow one month; for planning permission and demolition consent, allow two; for other constructions and development authorisation, count three months (if more time is required by the administration to deal with the request, the applicant has to be notified within a month of the application being made).
If the planning authority requires consultation from other bodies, they are required to give their opinion within a fixed time limit, failing which, they are deemed to have given a positive answer. Once the consultation is over, the authority in charge of the file has another month to give their opinion.
Getting your documents together
The list of documents required by the administration is made clearer in the new rules, and even if some documents are missing, this does not affect the binding time limit put upon the administration.
An important change has occurred regarding the accuracy of the information supplied. Previously, after an application was lodged, it was down to the authorities to check whether or not the applicant had good title. In the case of joint ownership, it had to be verified that all owners agreed to the project, and that all technical requirements were met.
Under the new law, it is down to the applicant to disclose such information and be responsible for its accuracy (ownership, safety of the project, conformity of the plans and so on).
Once the construction is finished, the builder and architect are responsible for confirming that the work has been done according to the authorisation granted. If, one year after the work is completed, the conformity of the work is has not been challenged, then third parties will not be able to cancel the planning permission.
Want to know more?
To go into the nitty-gritty and read about the new French planning rules in detail, you’ll need to visit the website (sadly, it’s only in French, so bon courage) of the Direction Generale de l’Urbanisme de l’Habitat et de la Construction - www.urbanisme.equipement.gouv.fr
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