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Here is a blog on everything you need to know about the building permit: filing the application, the formalities to be completed, the procedure to follow and the deadlines to respect. The building permit is a common document. But like most administrative procedures, its application and acceptance procedure follows stages that are often overlooked. Update on the procedure for obtaining a building permit.
Definition
Anyone wishing to build a construction of a certain size must apply for a building permit from the administration. This approach is intended to verify that the project complies with the legislative and regulatory provisions in terms of town planning.
Scope
The application for a building permit is mandatory as soon as the construction has certain characteristics.
See scope of building permit and prior declaration
Submission of the request
The request must be filed by the owner or his agent at the town hall. The file includes an administrative building permit application form, a copy of the cadastre, a ground plan and the plan of the facades. There is also a "landscape" file including a photo of the land, a section, a drawing and a notice intended to describe the visual impact of the project in question. You do not need to own the land to apply. This is particularly the case when the plaintiff is the beneficiary of a promise of sale. Moreover, the intervention of an architect is not compulsory when a natural person wishes to construct for himself a building with a floor area less than or equal to 170 m2. The same applies when it comes to extending a building whose total area will remain below this threshold. On the other hand, recourse to the architect is in all cases compulsory when the extension concerns a building whose surface area already exceeds this threshold. If the file is incomplete, the town hall must claim the missing documents within thirty days of filing.
Receipt and additional file
The town hall must issue a receipt containing indications given on a provisional basis, which may be rectified within one month (failing which these indications are binding on the administration). It mentions the date on which the absence of a response from the administration leads to the tacit acceptance of the request. It also specifies that the town hall has one month to request missing elements and to notify a different instruction period than that indicated in the receipt. When the mayor or the competent department requests missing documents from the depositor, the latter has three months to provide them, from the date of receipt of this request. Failing this, the project will be subject to a tacit refusal.
Training time
In principle, for building permits, the processing time for the application is two months from receipt of the complete file for individual houses (comprising at most two dwellings intended for the contracting authority) or three months for other projects. But this period can be extended in certain cases (historical monuments, public inquiry related to the impact on the environment, etc.). Throughout the duration of the investigation and at the latest fifteen days after the filing of the file, it is displayed in the town hall. If no response has been received by the applicant on the expiry of the statutory period specified by the competent authority in the receipt, this receipt is treated as a tacit building permit. The plaintiff may also require a certificate of no objection. When the town planning rules are being modified, the administration can postpone its decision and issue a stay of proceedings. This reprieve cannot exceed two years and must be motivated. If several reasons are invoked successively, the total duration of the stay cannot exceed three years. In this case, the plaintiff must confirm his request within two months preceding the end of the stay of proceedings.
Once obtained; display
The permit, formal or tacit, must be displayed at the town hall within eight days of the decision or non-opposition, for a period of two months. It must also be displayed on the work site so as to be visible from the public thoroughfare, for a mandatory minimum period of two months and for the entire duration of the work. Regulatory panels are on sale in specialized stores. To avoid any risk of litigation, it is recommended to have the bailiff certify the presence of the regulatory panels.
Contestation
Any interested person can challenge the validity of the permit within two months of the tacit (receipt of deposit) or express (poster board) decision on the ground. It is therefore recommended not to start work immediately after obtaining the permit. A neighbor can challenge a building permit when the project is "likely to directly affect the conditions of occupation, use or enjoyment [of his] property" (article L. 600-1-2 of the Code of town planning). The courts assess the neighbour's interest in acting according to elements related to the nature, size and location of the construction (for an illustration, see judgment no. 389798 of the Council of State rendered on 13 April 2016). The distance between the dwelling of the neighbor contesting the permit and the construction project is a predominant criterion in relation to visibility. The competent authority (town hall, EPCI or State) can cancel the permit for error of instruction or illegality noted within three months following the formal or tacit agreement of the building permit.
Period of validity
The permit is valid for three years. It lapses if the works have not started within this interval. It also lapses in the event of voluntary interruption of the site for more than one year, after this three-year period. It is also possible to request two extensions of one year each of the validity of the permit provided that the request is submitted more than two months before the expiry of the initial period. In the event of legal action before the administrative court, this expiry period of three years is suspended until a final court decision is obtained.
Refusal of building permit
The applicant can initiate a discussion with the competent department to possibly agree to make slight modifications to the initial project. Any refusal must be justified and the notification must mention the deadlines and possible means of appeal. The applicant can also file an informal appeal with the signatory authority. A lack of response within four months is equivalent to a refusal. Finally, the applicant can file a contentious appeal with the administrative court within two months following either the notification of the refusal, or the four-month period in the event of a non-contentious appeal.
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