Moorejw

You need to visit your local DRIRE (also known as les mines) and explain the situation, fill out the inevitable paperwork, pay the inevitable fee and go home and wait for a rendez-vouz, when they will test it and hopefully issue you with a full certification of conformity so that you can get it immatriculated at your local Prefecture (more money ). Good luck!

Try [email protected]   they are surveyors who work throughout France, are registered (Siret No. 448 328 245 00015) and based in Dept. 50.

Yes, we watched it too. After the first 10 minutes we were going to switch off, as we thought they were extremely foolish and were doomed to fail, but something kept our attention and we ended up throughly enjoying it. They worked a miracle on an enormous roofless wreck and really created a dream home in record time. The presenter had to admit at the end that language skills and building experience were not necessary before embarking on such a project if you had the determination to succeed (and no other interests in life)

Hi Helen, the E111 is available from your local CPAM. Health insurance for travel abroad is included in our complementaire, so check yours out. Angie

I believe the time period is 7 years. There is an English family not far from us, running a very successful gite business, who have been here about 10 years. They applied for (and obtained) dual nationality so that their children could compete at national level in Squash, I think they are both (a boy and a girl) national champions! A brilliant example of integration.

A Certificat d'Urbanisme (CU) is a bit like outline planning permission,it is the permit to use a building as a dwelling. All houses have one, but one is normally only aware of this when converting a barn etc. into a house, when the first step is to apply for a CU. In your case, where you are just applying for permission to make a few changes to an existing house you do not need to produce a CU.

Our local Syndicat des Eaux informed us that you can only have permission to install a fosse etanche (Cess pit) if there is not enough ground around your house to install any other system. We have a small cottage which has never been lived in, with a tiny handkerchief garden and they have informed us that a fosse etanche would be permissible. Whatever your situation your first call is to the Mairie for the application form which they send off to the SdE and they will then arrange to inspect your property and advise on possible solutions.  

[quote]Hi, I wondered if anyone had finished with their scaffolding and would be willing to sell it? Willing to collect from 19,46.47,24 or close. best Regards Helen[/quote] 'Finished with their scaffolding' - Now there's an interesting concept - do people ever finish with their scaffolding? We've been using ours for over a year now and find it hard to believe that it will ever be made redundant. Sorry Helen!

As in UK EDF/GDF only actually read your meter once or twice a year and they use the history of usage at your property to estimate in between. They seem to take no notice of a change in ownership until you have been there long enough to create your own history. When we first moved to France our house had previously been a holiday home and we had tiny bills, but they caught up with us eventually!!

Doesn't anyone else have one of these super French toasters with a wide top and a croissant setting? We bought ours when we first came to France and have used it ever since, you put the croissants on the top, it warms them through a treat and they stay crisp and flakey! Angie

Hi Mick I think you'll need that big digger Angie!

Hi Val What Mik says is correct, you have the equivalent of Outline Planning Permission and you need to apply for full,detailed,planning permission before you can develop your buildings. Either you were badly advised by the agent, or there has been a misunderstanding all round! Your builder should have realised as you will have no detailed drawings to work to? You need to approach your Mairie and the DDE to renew your CU before it expires. There is no charge for doing this. Good Luck Angie

If your development is over 170 square metres the rules require you to use a registered architect. If your cave is on the same parcel as your house, then the area of the house will be included. We had our plans returned after 3 weeks stating that we needed an architect, so it can severely slow down the process if you get it wrong. Planning permission is actually issued by the DDE not the Mairie, and I would advise caution in believing everything your Maire tells you! Did you get outline planning permission before you completed on your purchase (A Certificat d'Urbanisme)? If not, you might have a long wait! Good luck    

Hi Mick and welcome the the Forum, and to Charente Maritime If you intend to live in your caravan you do need permission from the Mairie, but beware - in some communes in C-M caravans are not allowed to be lived in on site, even when you are building/renovating your house! If you need any help with contacting the Maire, let me know what Commune you are in, maybe I can help. Angie Moore Charente Maritime Granny (www.Grannynetwork.info)      

If you own a van, although it only needs a full CT every two years you have to present it for emission tests annually. This is what they are probably referring to.

The Titre d'Emploi Service has been set up to encourage small businesses to employ people, and it makes it easier from the payments and records point of view. I received a mailshot from URSSAF about it with my last demand for cotisations. I don't want to employ anybody else, but if I did this looks like an improvement on the previous process.

When we saw Baked Beanz in our Intermarche with the 39p price flash on them I wondered if the checkout girl would accept 39p! Needless to say the Euro price was a bit more. Most of our local supermarkets now have 'foreign' shelves (not just English) and we have a new Epicerie Anglaise opened up in St Savinien. Mind you, there are plenty of French shops in UK - but mostly selling to locals not expat French people.

When we applied for planning permission for our 3 barns we were told at the Mairie that if they had not already been supplied with water and electricity then we would probably have failed! The barns had only ever been lived in by animals, but had 3-phase electricity and a water supply for the animals. Our commune does not have a POS so we relied on information from the Mairie regarding the possibility of gaining planning permission and included a clause suspensive in our Compromis de Vente.  

What you have overlooked is that you only have to register a caravan that is over 500Kg. Therefore the French buy small caravans that do not need registering or paying insurance on and keep them till they fall apart, with nobody checking them out! Its bizarre (one of my favourite French words) but the French don't seem to use any facilities in their vans, they prefer to use the camp-site ones, therefore a small van with a bed and a cooker is sufficient. We felt it was well worth the hassle to bring our lovely Lunar to France with us, registration took 5 months and we have helped many others register theirs. It is very unfortunate that some Depts. are making this process much more difficult than others.  

What a pity that previous personal messages have disappeared in the move to the new Forum. We kept ours as a record of all the Forum members that we have helped with registering their English caravans in France and now they are lost we will not be able to follow up on their progress. Any chance of restoring them? But we are pleased to see that a record of outgoing messages will be kept in future.    

Because you paid reduced TVA on your new house if you sell in under 2 years you have to repay the difference. This only applies to houses under 5 years old. As for Plus Value (CGT) the laws changed in Jan 2004 and you should ask your Notaire for an estimate of your dues. If you are not a French resident the rules are different (e.g. you do not pay the 10% social charges). AFAIK you are only exempt from Plus Value if the residence is your primary residence (i.e. you live there fulltime).

Your entitlement to the E106 is based on the previous two full tax-years contributions, so hubby should be OK. You can be covered by his contributions in France and it is worth obtaining a letter from Newcastle stating that you are not entitled to an E106 on your contribution history. This just makes it easier to get the CPAM to include you on your hubby's Carte Vitale. This worked for us and by the time our two year's entitlement to health cover via CPAM was up I was registered and working (P.S. Hubby is still included on my Carte Vitale as he is not employed as he is renovating). Good luck! John and Angie Moore (17)

Every household in France was sent a booklet recently telling us how to cope with the heatwave. After last summer's canicule and criticism of the Government they obviously felt that they needed to raise their profile as doing something positive. It tells you useful things like when to open and close your shutters, drink plenty of water and keep an eye out for the old folks!!! Really leading edge stuff eh? John and Angie Moore (17)

NI Contributions Office 084591 54655 John and Angie Moore (17)

We have a Peugeot 104 for sale. Its a classic French car, 1976 CT OK in amazing condition for its age. Always been garaged and starts first time, every time. 500 euros.Drop us a message if we are not too far away! (Near Rochefort).(See advert on TF) John and Angie Moore (17)