1. Bill Burtonwood asks a question about mobile homes in France (added 18/10/06)...
I would be grateful if you would give me some advice regarding the use of some land bought in France. On at least one plot of land in your directory it is stated that it would be suitable for a mobile home. What is the general law in France with regard to putting a mobile home on a plot of land that you own? Also what are the problems regarding the connection of sanitation, electric and telephone to a mobile home sited on the land you own? Is it generally a problem or are mobile homes accepted in France?

Our answer...
Joanna Simm, who lives in the south of France, says that if you are planning to live in it full-time... and if there is no house on the land, things may be different, but usually the Maire would be the place to start asking whether this is ok or not. Places vary so much, there doesn't seem to be standard rule, except always ask the Maire first!

Keeping the Maire happy!
She also says that for mobile homes that aren't being lived in full-time, or that are on land which also has a permanent house, friends have still said that it depends on the Maire of each place - if he's happy you can have one. A mobile home is a mobile home as long as it has wheels, even if it is more of a house! Her friends were told they can have any size mobile home on their land no problem, as long as they leave the wheels on. Other friends of Joanna's have three caravans at their home, no questions have been asked at all. She thinks as long as no one complains you are ok, but the trick is always keep the Maire happy!

Connecting utilities
Regarding the connection of utilities, if you are planning to live in your mobile home full-time or even part-time, then I would say that what you must do would be similar to what you would have to do with a house, though again I would advise checking with the Maire first. If you haven't already seen it, we have an article on our site which goes through the processes involved. The link to this article is:

Connecting utilities (water, gas, electricity, telephone and sewage) in France

I hope this information helps.

2. A visitor to the site asks about "CU" (added 8/12/06)...
Hello - can you advise what is meant in the adverts by "CU" - is that planning permission?? Your advise is appreciated. Thank you.

Our answer...
CU stands for "certificat d'urbanisme" which is a certificate granted to land owners who want to build new buildings on their land (so similar to outline planning permission). But this certificate doesn't entitle you to build anything, it just means that the land can be built on. There are other permits you need as well before you can start building.

3. Chrissie Wardle asks about cattle on land (added 10/5/07)...
I've just been on your web site and wondered if you could help with the following question. We have seen a place with land for sale and there are cattle on it at the moment, which the agent said would be removed if we bought the property. I was talking to a friend who lives in France and she says they have a right to leave the cattle there for nine years. Do you know anything about this? Many thanks.

Our answer...
As far as we know, if the person who has the cattle has ever paid rent on the land, he/she has a right to it which is ongoing UNLESS he/she agrees to terminate it. This needs to be done with the NEW owner, and preferably through SAFER, the French equivalent of DEFRA. If he/she hasn't paid rent the picture is muddier, but our advice would be that the new owner needs to get the cattle owner to forgo his/her rights legally. Best of luck!

4. A question about fair land prices (added 11/5/07)...
We own a house in the Pyrénées-Orientales and a neighbour has just offered to sell us an adjoining plot of land, which is currently “non constructible”, but could well become a building plot in five to ten years time. It would appear his asking price is below that of a building plot, but higher than agricultural land. Apart from checking the prices of similar land in the area and checking with the Mairie on the future likelihood of it becoming a building plot, I’m not sure what other criteria I need to take into account in working out whether the price is fair.

His offer of sale letter took over a week to reach us here in the UK, and not having heard from us, he presumed we were not interested and has advertised the land via a local agency and now has other interested parties via the agency. He is, however, giving us first refusal, but we would need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. (I presume by offering it to us, he won’t have to pay any agency fees, but I’m not too clear on how that works.)

Because of the time pressure, I would be grateful for any advice you might be able to give me to help me gather the information I need to make an informed decision in such a short time. I would be interested in buying the land, only to preserve my privacy, but am a little daunted about making such a quick decision. I would also be very grateful if you could give me any information on what other costs might be involved in land purchase. I remember the notaire's fees were quite high when we bought the house, so I want to try to estimate what other costs I might have to pay in addition to the land purchase cost before meeting the vendor.

Our reply...
Joanna Simm, author of several articles on this site says:

"All I can think of is what you have done... or are planning to do. Prices are very changeable from village to village, so although the Pyrénées-Orientales is close to me, I have no idea what the prices could be. Generally it is an expensive department... but specifics are very specific! The only thing I can advise is to ask around.

Land that is really expected to become constructible will be more expensive, of course, but there are no guarantees that it will be built upon, though it is often sold on this expectation I know. I realise this is not very helpful really... as far as I can ascertain "you pays your money and makes your choice", as it were... and stand your own risk too!

Certainly the Mairie is a place to begin... then other neighbours may have a clue, other people who have recently built in the area, local estate agents etc. The local precedent is a good rule of thumb though not totally reliable of course!"

With regards to the costs involved in buying land, you may want to have a look at a page on our site

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/thefees.htm

which goes through the fees you should expect to pay with property, which I understand is similar to land, though not exactly the same! With land, I believe you may have to pay:

a) Tax (approximately 5% of the value of the land) which is made up of duty and communal tax.
b) Notaire's conveyancing fees (these vary as to the cost of the land, but the fee is a maximum of 5% and minimum 0.825% of the land value).
c) Notaire's commission (allow 5% - a higher commission is usually payable if going through an estate agent).
d) Land registry (1% of value of land).
e) Mortgage fees if taking out a French mortgage (allow up to 3%).

And all except point a) would be subject to VAT at 20.6%. However, as I am no expert on the matter, it would be worth you perhaps contacting a solicitor. If you fill out the form on our website (web page below), a member of the legal team will contact you:

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/frenchlegalservices.htm

I hope all goes well.

5. A question about land issues (added 7/6/2007)...
The previous owner of our property had an arrangement with a local farmer, whereby he could use an area of our land to plant crops. The farmer is not paying rent. When we signed the Acte de Vente on 22/02/07, the notaire made it very clear that we only had 10 months in which to erect a fence around our land. The farmer would be allowed to harvest his crops, but should vacate the land by 31/08/07, which gave us 4 months in which to finish the fencing. The notaire was very insistant that the previous owner understood neither he, nor the farmer, were allowed to use our land to access theirs after the 31/08/07. We then signed an agreement to accept that is was our responsibility to fence off the land and this would be done within 10 months of signing the Acte. (The land is over 1.3 hectares. I think the farmer uses over a quarter of this at present.)

However, the farmer has now asked us if he can continue to use the land for another year. While, we appreciate that we may not get round to dealing with this portion of the land for sometime, what with decorating the house and the land being so large (for us anyway), we really don't want to find ourselves in a legal predicament, or make an arrangement that is hard to get out of in the future. We also, would like to keep on good terms with our neighbours.

If you have any advice or know of any past experiences that could help us in making a decision, we would be extremely grateful for it.

Our reply...
Thanks for your email. Land issues between neighbours can often be a bit tricky, and it usually comes down to the individuals concerned and the situation. I would advise firstly trying to contact the notaire you initially dealt with, to ask his/her advice. Perhaps this agreement can be extended for a further year or a new agreement drawn up? And if not the original notaire, perhaps ask the advice from another notaire. It would also be worth asking around, talking to the local people who may know if the farmer is to be trusted. May be it would be worth fencing the section of land he doesn't use, which seems to be the larger part, so that at least here you have satisfied the notaire's agreement within the time limit.

However, as what you don't want to happen is to lose this land by not fulfilling an agreement, I would suggest you go down the route of asking the experts. You may like to contact a member of our legal team, as I am not an expert in this matter. If you fill out the form on our website (web page below), a member of the legal team will contact you:

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/frenchlegalservices.htm

And finally, perhaps it may be worth talking to the Maire? In any event, I wish you luck and hope the situation can be easily resolved.

6. A visitor to the site asks about permission to build on land (added 13/7/07)...
We are considering buying property from friends in France (i.e. not using an agent). It is a tiny cottage in the grounds of a farmhouse in a rural area. We will be buying the land it stands on and some adjoining land. We may wish to extend the property. You mention that one obtains a Certificat d'Urbanisme with the purchase documents, but my question is whether there is any way we can discover whether we will be zoned to allow this extension BEFORE we buy. As it is a rural area I am a bit worried that it may be zoned "non constructible". Hope you can help or point us to somewhere that can help.

Our reply...
Thanks for your email. I assume you have asked your friends about being able to build on the land? It's just that the regulations differ hugely from place to place, so there is no set rule.

Certainly the Mairie is a place to begin, as quite often what the Maire says goes. Then other neighbours may have a clue, other people who have recently built in the area, local estate agents, the notaire who arranged the sale of the property to your friends etc. Might your friends be able to help with providing contact details for such people?

However, as I am no expert on the matter, it might be worth you perhaps contacting a solicitor. If you fill out the form on our website (web page below), a member of the legal team will contact you:

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/frenchlegalservices.htm

Or alternatively you could contact one of the other legal firms listed on our Services page.

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/memberscat.asp?category=LEGAL

I hope this information has been of use.