Which works require a prior declaration?

The works concerned

The prior declaration is a simplified town planning authorisation, reserved for works that change the appearance or volume of a property without reaching the scale of a building permit. It is required for small constructions and extensions of 5 to 20 m² of floor area or ground footprint, a threshold raised to 40 m² for an extension in the urban zone of a local town planning scheme.

• Changes to the external appearance: cutting or replacing a window or door, changing joinery or roofing (article R.421-17 of the French Town Planning Code).
• Change of use of premises without altering the load-bearing structures or the facade (for example converting a shop into housing).
• Installing or altering a fence, where the municipality has made it subject to declaration by resolution or in certain protected areas (article R.421-12 of the French Town Planning Code).
• Facade cleaning (ravalement), where the municipality has decided so by resolution or within a protected perimeter.

Facade cleaning and fences: cases that vary by municipality

Facade cleaning is no longer subject to a prior declaration as a general rule across the whole territory. It is subject to one only if the municipality has expressly decided so by a resolution of the municipal council, or if the property lies in a protected area (near a historic monument, a remarkable heritage area, a listed or registered site). You therefore need to check the local situation before starting the works.

The same applies to fences: installing a fence requires a declaration only if the municipality has introduced the requirement, or in protected areas. Outside these cases, a fence can be built without any town planning formality, subject to the height and siting rules set by the local town planning scheme.

The filing and the one-month period

The declaration is filed on the dedicated Cerfa form, at the town hall or through an online service, with the plans and graphic documents suited to the project. The standard review period is one month (article R.423-23 of the French Town Planning Code). It is extended by one month, that is two months in total, notably where the project lies within the perimeter of a remarkable heritage area or near historic monuments (article R.423-24), and this extension must be notified to the applicant within the month of filing.

On expiry of the period, the administration's silence amounts to a decision of non-opposition to the prior declaration (article R.424-1 of the French Town Planning Code): the works can then be carried out. The decision, tacit or express, must be posted on the site (article R.424-15), which starts the third-party appeal period running. Where the declaration concerns an operation involving works, the non-opposition lapses under the same conditions as a permit, that is after three years (article R.424-17).