Building in France - Home Extensions

If you want to modify or extend your French home, don’t rush ahead without obtaining relevant permissions. As in the UK, most development requires the permission of the local authority. There are forms to complete and plans to prepare. You should allow at least two months from submission of your application to getting the go-ahead, longer if your proposal affects historic buildings (either yours or buildings nearby).

The permission process ensures that all development conforms to national, regional and local planning policies. Applications are submitted to the maire, and the decision is issued by him on behalf of the commune, but the maire himself is not an independent decision- maker. The application is considered by various bodies depending on the circumstances, the most important one usually being the DDE (Direction Départementale d’Equipement).

There are two types of permission: the permis de construire which covers most projects, and the déclaration de travaux for minor works. You will need planning permission if you want to extend your property, raise the roof to convert the attic into accommodation, convert a barn into living accommodation or build a garage. The déclaration de travaux is for simple projects which don’t increase the floorspace, such as adding windows, removing render from exterior walls to expose stonework, building a canopy (auvent) over an outside terrace and constructing an open-air swimming pool or tennis court. You do not need permission to knock down and rebuild internal walls to change the internal layout of your house, unless it is an historic building (in which case you also need permission to breathe).

You can download the forms from the internet (go to http://vosdroits.servicepublic.fr/particuliers and follow the links), or get them from your mairie. I’d recommend a stroll into the mairie, to be sociable and to find out if your proposals are likely to be accepted. The mairie can be a font of local knowledge, well worth cultivating.

If you can draw simple plans to scale, and can understand enough French to complete the forms, you might prepare the application yourself. You will also need to get copies of the plan cadastre (from your mairie), and a local area map showing the roads around your property. Photographs of the site and a description of the project (in French) are usually required too, as the DDE and other consultees won’t usually actually visit your site, but will rely on your papers and comments made by the maire.

While anyone is allowed to draw the plans for small projects, the law insists on a Frenchregistered architect when the floor area exceeds 170 square metres (measured as net floorspace, the SHON, surface hors d’oeuvre nette). If your existing house is 120m2 and the floorspace of your extension would add 60m2, making a total of 180m2, you will need an architect.

Many people might be able to prepare an application to put in a swimming pool, but fewer would be capable of plans for an extension, especially if these are to form the basis for builders’ estimates. Before taking the plunge be realistic about your capabilities. If you get the floor-to-ceiling heights wrong, underestimate the space for the staircase, muddle up imperial and metric measurements or forget to allow for drains, the project will be a nightmare.

An architect can help you define your priorities and visualise your project, then draw up formal plans for submission to the mairie and working drawings for tradesmen. Many surveyors, interior designers and technical drawers also offer a plan-drawing service. Always meet them on site to check they understand your ideas, and to ensure you are going to be comfortable working with them. You may wish to obtain several quotes. Agree the fees in writing, and make sure you are clear about what is included/excluded from the contract.

Once your application has been submitted you will receive an acknowledgement, and an indication of how long the decision-making process will take. You may be asked for supplementary information or additional plans.

The permission when granted is valid for two years. You can extend it by writing (by recorded delivery) to the mairie at least two months before it is due to expire. So long as the planning policy framework or other material considerations haven’t changed your permission will be extended by one year.

The Hotel des Impôts (tax office) will know you have applied for permission. They will write under the heading ‘Mise à Jour des Informations Cadastrales’, requesting completion of the form Déclaration Modele H1 once the development is usable, even if it’s not finished (e.g. if the walls are not rendered). They require details of existing and improved facilities for their records, and you can then look forward to bigger taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation bills. (Honest completion of these forms isn’t optional, and it’s not wise to cheat). There’s also a separate Déclaration d’Achevement des Travaux form to be submitted to the mairie when work requiring planning permission has been 100% completed.

And finally... the garden shed (abri de jardin). You will need a permis de construire for a shed if the SHOB (surface hors oeuvre brute) exceeds 20m2, or a déclaration de travaux for something between 2-20m2. A small shed under 2m2 and less than 1.5m high does not need permission.

•Mary Hall is a chartered surveyor. Tel: 0033 (0)5 65 24 66 46 Email: maisonminders@aol.com

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