How do you know if a ZAC or a reserved site affects a house?
Public projects can be read in the PLU: reserved sites appear on the zoning map with their beneficiary, OAPs (planning and programming guidelines) describe how certain sectors will be developed, and a ZAC is created by a public decision. A PLU under revision can be followed at the mairie. Check these four points on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme and at the mairie before the compromis; the mairie or the developer will give the timetable.
Four tools, four effects
| Tool | What it is | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved site | Land set aside in the PLU for a road, a facility, green space or housing | Zoning map and list of reserved sites |
| OAP | Development guidelines for a sector: access, layout, number of homes | A part of the PLU, often with a diagram |
| ZAC | Zone d’aménagement concerté: a public development scheme within a boundary | Creation decision, mairie or intercommunality, PLU annexes |
| PLU under revision | A document being rewritten, which can change a plot’s zone | Mairie, commune website, public inquiry |
What may change around a house also shows in challenging a permit and the buildable plot next door. You can see how a dossier presents it for one address in the sample dossier.
Reserved sites
The PLU rules can mark out land on which sites are reserved for roads and public works, facilities of general interest, green spaces, or housing programmes (art. L151-41 of the Urban Planning Code). On the map they often appear hatched with a number; the list gives their purpose and beneficiary, for example the commune or the département.
Land subject to a reservation cannot take a building contrary to that purpose. In return, the owner can formally require the authority to buy it: this is the droit de délaissement, the right to require purchase (art. L152-2). A reserved site may affect only a strip of a garden, for example to widen a street.
OAPs and ZACs
Planning and programming guidelines describe, for a district or sector, the development principles: access, building forms, green spaces, sometimes the number of homes (art. L151-6 of the Urban Planning Code). Projects must be compatible with them. An OAP on the neighbouring field often signals a future neighbourhood.
A zone d’aménagement concerté (ZAC), a coordinated development zone, is a scheme in which a local authority or public body develops land in order to transfer it, so that buildings and facilities can be built (art. L311-1). A ZAC often lasts several years, with phases of works. Its creation and implementation files can be consulted at the authority.
A PLU under revision, deferral and pre-emption
Revising a PLU can change a parcel’s zone (art. L153-31 of the Urban Planning Code). During the procedure, the mairie can defer its decision on an application that would compromise the future plan, a sursis à statuer (art. L424-1). For a buyer who plans to extend or divide, it is worth asking whether a revision is under way.
Finally, the commune may have set up an urban right of pre-emption over all or part of its territory (art. L211-1): at the sale, it can step in and buy instead of the buyer. The notaire sends the declaration of intention to sell and tells you the answer.
The planning certificate and deferral
The method before the compromis
- On the Géoportail de l’urbanisme, show the zoning map: hatching, numbers, boundaries.
- Open the list of reserved sites and the OAPs in the PLU.
- Ask the mairie whether there is a ZAC, a revision or an amendment under way.
- Ask the notaire whether the house lies within a pre-emption area.
The ScanAdresse dossier for an address sets out the PLU zone and rules from the Géoportail de l’urbanisme, plus the permissions published in Sitadel for the cadastral section.
Frequently asked questions
A reserved site on the garden: what happens?
The land cannot be built on contrary to its purpose, and the owner can ask the authority to buy it. The notaire and the mairie will explain the situation.
Is an OAP a project that has been decided?
It is a framework: future projects must be compatible with it, but the OAP does not say when they will come.
How do you know if the PLU is being revised?
The mairie or the intercommunality will tell you, and the procedure includes an announced public inquiry.
Can the commune buy the house instead of me?
If the house lies within a pre-emption area, yes. The notaire clears this right before the sale.
Sources
- Géoportail de l’urbanisme
- Service-public.fr: planning certificate
- Service-public.fr: planning questions before building
- Urban Planning Code, arts L151-6, L151-41, L152-2, L153-31, L211-1, L311-1 and L424-1
ScanAdresse is a private service by SRI Group BV (VAT BE1037052239), not connected to any public authority: it brings together public data, with the source and date of every item.
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