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Swimming pool planning permission


mickcooke
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Hi we are buying a house in the Aude region near Carcassonne and want a swimming pool. The current owner wants to move quickly with the sale but the problem is we don't have planning permission for a pool and I understand it takes two months to get it (from something called the DDE). We asked if we could put a clause into the purchase contract so that we would get our deposit back if planning permission was refused but the owner won't agree. Does anyone know of planning pemission being refused for a swimming pool and what the reason was? We are not in a conservation area and we would not be building it near another house but we are near a rive that was subject to a flash flood seven years ago and which now is offlimits for housing construction after a ruling by the prefecture.  Thanks for any info Mick
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As so often in these cases, I think the answer is check with you local Mairie. Unfortunately, people aren't always honest. Last year we told very vehemently by a swimming pool company that we didn't need planning permission for a pool. A check with the local Mairie showed that we did and that it would take at least two months to obtain.

It would seem that the rules vary enormously from commune to commune. I don't think you should consider signing until you know for sure.

Hoddy
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[quote user="Hoddy"]As so often in these cases, I think the answer is check with you local Mairie. Unfortunately, people aren't always honest. Last year we told very vehemently by a swimming pool company that we didn't need planning permission for a pool. A check with the local Mairie showed that we did and that it would take at least two months to obtain. It would seem that the rules vary enormously from commune to commune. I don't think you should consider signing until you know for sure. Hoddy[/quote]

 

Mick

 

The advise you have been given above is very good. Get in touch with the Mayor (himself) and check out what are the possible problem for planning permission in advance of signing, as if the Mayor is behind you then you have far more chance than if he is not. There are a thousand reasons why a planning permission might not be grated or be conditional so its impossible for anyone else to say ( specially a pool builder) if it will be granted or not. If in the last resort you are denied planning permission and you still want a pool then an above ground version can be just as pleasurable and it does not need permission.

If you need any more help or specific advise then contact me directly by PM

 

Andrew

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Probably not much use but we made it a condition of sale that permission for a pool was granted (and it came through very quickly because the agent really spent time "assisting" with the local bureaucracy).  I guess it depends on how much you want the house, but you are the purchaser and therefore currently have leverage - which you will not have after signing.  Our thought process was:  if we cannot get permission then the house is not going to be any use to us so if we cannot get permission after buying it how would we feel?  Distraught was the answer so we made it clear that this was a deal-breaker if we did not get permission prior to purchase.

Going to the Marie is a good idea - but again our thoughts were rules change and so to be 100% sure we got it as part of the final acte.

Simon

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote user="Simon"]we made it a condition of sale that permission for a pool was granted (and it came through very quickly because the agent really spent time "assisting" with the local bureaucracy)[/quote]No more than what they should do to earn their fees. They want the sale to go through so stick to your guns and make it a condition of sale, even if it takes a bit longer.

If the property has been on the market for a while and there is nobody else sniffing around then you hold all the cards.

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