Certificat d'Urbanisme

[Ysatis]

   We bought a 'terrain à bâtir on the 20th September '05 and looking at our paperwork it seems that the CU was 'stamped' by the Maire or one of his staff on the 2nd of September '05. If  I am correct we have until the beginning of September before it expires. I am aware that to apply for an extension for a further 12 months it has to be submitted, I assume, at the Mairie's, 8 weeks previous.

   We were intending to go to France after Easter but work hindered that occassion, and again were going to go on the 4th June '06 to give plenty of time to go and consult the Maire on this matter, but thwarted again, the car broke down. We are trying in vain to get to France in a few weeks time, but work and school are making this a problem. If we need to allow 8 weeks, we are quickly running out of time.

   My question is, do we have to visit the Maire in person to extend the CU or is it something that can be done via e-mail and post?  Just in case we can't get there allowing enough time.

    I would also be grateful if someone could give some information on the procedure involved in reapplying/extending a CU.

Regards,

[Gail Smith]

If the CU was applied for by you/in your name, and you do not want to make any changes to it,  you should be able to do this by post to the Mairie.

I let my CU get past the 8 weeks, in fact it had expired by a few days and there was no way they were going to extend it. However, even though I had to re-apply, they used the old one as reference and the nice lady at our Mairie just filled out a much simpler single page form which she attched to the old CU and sent it off for me. The new one arrived in less than a fortnight. I suppose though, that if you let it expire there is a very small risk that it may not be granted again and a greater chance that they may add some additional conditions to the new one (as they did with mine; originally they made no mention of additional fosse septique requirements and the second time they stipulated I had to consult the Maire as to whether this would be required.)

[Ysatis]

   Thanks Gail for your reply.

   Our CU expires on the 2nd September so I wrote to our Maire on the 12th June, via e-mail, and he answered saying that we couldn't extend our CU as it was not in our name. He urged us to submit plans for Planning Permission very soon and informed us that our land is in zone" N au PLU ",  but this was/is impossible as we haven't drawn them yet. So I wrote to our Notaire as the CU was applied for by him and the previous owner, ( it was a clause we had put in the sale that we would only buy if the land had a CU, so I assume that's why it was in their names ) to ask if he or the previous owner could apply on our behalf. The Notaire replied the following day and said he'd done it that day, so I'm hoping that it will be extended as we have made the request in good time. I must admit I can't relax until we have been told that it has been granted, hopefully sooner rather than later. Is it normal practise to be told before the two month's ( prior to the expiry date ) is up.

   Can anyone shed any light on what zone " N au PLU " means, I know that the 'N' is for 'natural' and 'PLU' is for Planning Local Urbanisme', if I'm incorrect could someone correct me. Below is a quote from my e-mail from my Maire and would be grateful if someone can be more exact about it's meaning.

" Les terrains que vous avez acheter vont être classés en zone N au PLU, actuellement en cours, ce qui signifie que si aucun bâtiment en dur n'est construit sur le terrain, toute construction sera impossible."

   I read it as: "The land that you have bought are going to be classified in zone N to PLU, currently in progress, which means that if no building is hard (started, I assume) on the ground, any construction will be impossible". I worried a bit reading this and wrote a seperate e-mail to our Notaire to clarify this and asked his opinion on whether there was aforeseeable problem with building. I have yet to have a reply. I really hope that an application for an extention of the CU won't be in vain, if it's turned down, we surely won't and don't have time to submit plans for PP as the 2nd September is less than 9 weeks away.

Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I be panicking!

Regards,

[BJSLIV]

Zone N contains land where building of anything other than a "batiment legere"  is not allowed. It sounds as though the local plan is currently being revised, so unless you get your permis de construire approved, before the new PLU is approved, them you won't be able to build anything significant on the land.

In many areas the area for building is being more tightly defined. In some cases this is to avoid buildings in areas subject to the risk of flooding, in others to restrict the need for extensions to the drainage systems. There is also a desire to cut down the general sprawl which is affecting some villages.

You shouldn't have a problem getting the extension to the CU, but don't delay getting your plans in. It might be worthwhile trying to establish just how quickly the new plan (PLU) is coming into force. I personally would  also want  to know why the classification is going to change!

[Ysatis]

Our building plot is almost on the edge of a hamlet and a house used to be there but was in disrepair and fell down, or at least part of it, in, I beleive the 1996 storm. Would this make a difference or maybe an advantage to the CU being approved an extention.

A couple of short and sweet questions.

1)  'batiment legere': is that a house of simple construction.

2)  can you elaborate a bit more on the PLU as I see the initials crop up all the time but don't really know much about it's meaning.

3)  If the CU extention is granted, is it possible that, say, 3 months later it be retracted.

4)  You say get the plans in for PP before the new PLU is approved without delay, does this mean just because you have a CU that is extended say, to July 07, if the PLU is approved before then, I might not be able to build or build perhaps the type of house I want.

Lastly, how do I find out about what you have mentioned, and preferably in English? I have done some research on the internet but haven't come up with anything with a clear explanation.

Regards, 

[BJSLIV]

A couple of short and sweet questions.

1)  'batiment legere': is that a house of simple construction.

Its basically a temporary building or something like a caravan

2)  can you elaborate a bit more on the PLU as I see the initials crop up all the time but don't really know much about it's meaning.

Its a plan drawn up by the Council which designates the  use to which  each area of land within the commune can be dedicated.

3)  If the CU extention is granted, is it possible that, say, 3 months later it be retracted.

4)  You say get the plans in for PP before the new PLU is approved without delay, does this mean just because you have a CU that is extended say, to July 07, if the PLU is approved before then, I might not be able to build or build perhaps the type of house I want

If you have already received permission then I wouldn't expect the chnage of plan to be retroactive , but I cannot find a firm answer.

The good news is that it seems to take about five years for a council to approve a new PLU!

[Ysatis]

Thank-you BJSLIV for your response, it's been useful and helpful.

   I shall wait patiently for the extention of my CU...hopefully it will be approved.

I look forward to any other comments others may wish to add.

Regards,

[Cassis]

[quote user="EMH"]

Below is a quote from my e-mail from my Maire and would be grateful if someone can be more exact about it's meaning.

" Les terrains que vous avez acheter vont être classés en zone N au PLU, actuellement en cours, ce qui signifie que si aucun bâtiment en dur n'est construit sur le terrain, toute construction sera impossible."

 [/quote]

Translation of this snippet:

"The land that you have bought is going to be classified as 'N' by the PLU, currently in progress, which means that if there is no solid building (already) built on the land, any (future) construction will be impossible."

Doesn't sound very good.  Better move quickly to get the CU.

EDIT:   Unless, as BJ says they are going to take years to change the land classification!

[Ysatis]

We are in the process of having the CU extended, just waiting to hear from notaire (who is applying for it). There is a barn and some pigsheds on the land, can that help in some way. Could we put in for some permission to tidy them up to help our case, we don't want to convert them to live in at all, just to keep them as they are. Would installing the fosse septic be classed as 'building'? How can I find out when the changes will take place, is it a case of talking to the Maire, who might push us to build quicker than we would like (due to finances) or will he give it to us 'straight'. Once we have the CU extended (if it is, that is) will the 'pressure' be off us for a while to start building. I'm beginning to sound desperate but I don't want to lose the possibility of building our house but at the same time I don't want to be 'pushed' financially if I don't need to be.

Once again I thank everybody for their input.

Regards,