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Roof question and vellux windows


Le Scouse
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can anyone offer a little guidance please. just received the first of two Devis for a proposed new roof. This is a replacement tile/slate roof for a currugated tin one which whilst being sound and dry is certainly due for replacing. The new roof will allow me access to the roof space which i wish to open up for additional living space.. a bedroom/study or for storage. I have two questions..

Do I need permission to convert the attic space, perhaps for insurance purposes or is it a "blind eye" sort of thing? If I  definitely,  abolutely do need permission, is there a standard form or format and is it a Maire thing in the first instance?

Secondly if I wish to fit vellux windows to give light into the space, do I need permission and if so what is the process

The house is in dept 50 and is an old stone house. The vellux' would not infringe on privacy as the house behind has no windows on it's rear wall and the nearest house ahead of me is some 300yds away and would not be overlooked due to its location.

The house is a holiday home at present but will in time be my main residence. My french is not good enough for technical conversation yet, so if there is an expert out there who could assist then please mail me if you feel it requires a reply in greater detail than a two line response. I'd be pleased to talk to anybody who could offer expertise and assistance .. for a price of course

Lee

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Yes you need permission. Go to the Mairie and they will give you various permis forms. these have to be completed and returned with before and after drawings, and plans. Then you hear if the roof/velux has been approved. If you are increasing the area of habitable space this may impact on your taxe payment too. Please PM me if you want a hand with the forms etc.

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The answer - like to most questions like this - is start with the Mairie. The rules in various places vary but certainly here in 23 the installation of a Velux requires a declaration de traveaux to be completed. This is a form available from the Mairie on which you detail the proposed work. In my case I was adding 2 to each side of the roof so the 'pack' I returned to them contained : -

1/ the completed form

2/ 4 copies of the plan cadastral

3/ 4 copies of pictures of the front and back elevations (before)

4/ 4 copies of pictures of the front and back with the proposed windows drawn in to scale

This may be over the top but I have to say I didn't get anything thrown back at me.

I received a receipt for it, and about a 10 days later, a letter saying that if I hadn't heard anything further by the 17th (1 month on from the date of the receipt) I could go ahead and do the work.

 7 days and counting !

If the attic is currently a habitable space (you know: fixed access rather than climbing up the back of a chair, boarded floor as opposed to putting you foot through a ceiling, all that sort of thing) then it would be reasonable to assume that the area is currently included in the ratable sqm used to calculate your tax d'habitation. If not then it isn't and will need to be, when you finish the conversion. Again, you could ask the Mairie and you might get an answer that makes sense, but there again the formula for calculation is so byzantine that it's often hard to 'reverse engineer' it, as it were, to see if a given area is included or not.

p

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[quote user="Le Scouse"]... Do I need permission to convert the attic space, perhaps for insurance purposes or is it a "blind eye" sort of thing?...[/quote]

Blind eyes are absolutely fine, until something goes wrong, then you'll pay through the nose for the error. It usually pays to visit your Marie and get a definitive answer. Play ball, and sleep easier at night. Besides, playing ball may get the mayor to do you a favour one day...

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