Are you planning to furnish your home, renovate a rental property or build a swimming pool or veranda in your second home? Please note, this work sometimes requires the submission of a building permit. This administrative document, which is not reserved only for new constructions, allows town planning services to check that your project complies with the rules: town planning code, thermal regulations, etc.
A building permit is required if the planned work modifies the exterior of the home, results in the creation of an interior surface area greater than or equal to 40 m², creates a new exterior surface area with a footprint of more than 20 m², or changes the destination of the property. Concretely, if you insulate a facade from the outside, raise a house, convert an attic, build a garage or transform a shop into accommodation, this document will be required. The same goes for the installation of a swimming pool of more than 100 m².
Juggling deadlines
To submit it, you must complete a Cerfa file and attach a series of essential documents to the instruction: ground plan, location plan, 3D modeling, etc. A task that you can entrust to an architect, even if it is not always OBLIGATORY. “By calling on us, individuals save a lot of time on construction,” says Gabriel Reiniche, architect at the Punkt agency.
This complete file must be submitted in several paper copies or sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to your town hall, or even in electronic form as is the case in Paris. It will be recorded on a date which will end the three-month investigation period.
During this period, the town planning department can grant you your permit at any time. If necessary, he has one month to request additional documents, the examination period starting with a complete file. He may also reject the request, provided he justifies this refusal. Finally, “if there is no response within the legal investigation period provided, the building permit is considered tacitly accepted,” specifies Gabriel Reiniche. Please note, in certain cases, the request can be suspended – two years maximum. This is the case if the planned work risks hindering a public development operation, for example.
Last point: once obtained, the building permit must be displayed on your land so as to be visible from the outside. Any person – neighbor, resident, member of an association – then has two months to contest this authorization. If no one acts against you, you will be able to launch your project with complete peace of mind.