Building & Renovation

12th Apr 2023

Planning Rules on Agricultural Dwellings

A recent case in the French courts illustrates the planning rules for a house connected to an agricultural activity.

6th Mar 2023

Home Energy Efficiency Grants 2023

The French government are making much of the grants system for home energy efficiency, but in practice they are reducing the number of eligible households and the works for which grants are available.

28th Feb 2023

Freeze on New Planning Consents

New planning consents have been suspended for 5 years in the Var, due to severe drought in the department.

18th Nov 2022

Housing Improvement Grant Application Process

The French Ombudsman has heavily criticised the 'MaPrimeRénov' home improvement grant application process.

21st Oct 2022

House Insurance Claim Exceeds Value of Property

What happens with an insurance claim when the cost of proposed remedial works to a house exceeds the value of the property?

27th Aug 2022

Interest Free Loan for Home Energy Conservation

The government have increased to €50,000 the level of an interest-free loan that is available to owner-occupiers and landlords for works of home energy conservation.

27th Jun 2022

Energy Efficiency Grant Steeplechase

A increase in the grant to improve energy efficiency recently announced by the government is being neutralised by a reduction in other grants, a complicated process and the spiralling costs of the work.

3rd Jun 2022

Home Adaptation Grants in France for Elderly and Disabled

What financial support options are available to adapt a property to assist those who may have mobility issues?

30th May 2022

A Rose Between Two Thorns

A cunning plan by a local council to protect an emblematic 19th Century villa from demolition is thrown out by the courts.

28th Apr 2022

An End to Development in the Countryside?

The French government commits to the end of urban sprawl by 2050 and to halve it within ten years.