How do you divide a plot to sell part of it?
A division is prepared in four stages: read the PLU rules, have the land bounded and split by a géomètre-expert, obtain the right planning permission, then sell before the notary. Dividing in order to build generally requires a works declaration (déclaration préalable), and a development permit (permis d’aménager) if the division creates shared roads or spaces, or in a protected heritage site, within a listed monument’s surroundings or in a listed site. The mairie decides.
What the PLU says
First of all, read the regulations for the PLU zone where the land lies: they may set buildability, distances to side boundaries, the building footprint, access to the road and sometimes the number of lots. A new boundary can make the existing house breach a distance or footprint rule. The mairie’s planning department provides information on these rules; an operational certificat d’urbanisme says whether a specific operation is feasible.
A house’s land is also understood through what the cadastre does not prove and finding a cadastral parcel. For one address, the free ScanAdresse preview shows the parcel and what the registers say, for free.
The géomètre-expert
Before applying for permission, call in a géomètre-expert. They bound the new parcels and draw up the document modifying the cadastral parcel layout (DMPC), which updates the cadastre with the new numbers. They can also check access, utilities and the easements to be created: a lot with no access to the public road will need a right of way.
Which permission
| Situation | Permission |
|---|---|
| Division with no building project | No planning formality |
| Division in order to build | Works declaration (DP) |
| Creating shared roads, spaces or facilities | Development permit (PA) |
| Protected heritage site, listed-monument surroundings, listed site | Development permit (PA) |
These thresholds come from articles R421-19 and R421-23 of the Urban Planning Code; a division in order to build is a lotissement (housing estate) within the meaning of article L442-1. A building permit or a works declaration does not authorise a division: the division needs its own application. The file is lodged with the mairie, online if the commune offers it. The mairie generally processes a works declaration in one month and a development permit in three months.
The sale and what follows
If you sell a parcel resulting from the division, the notary publishes the division at the land registry. Buildings that follow the division give rise to the development tax (taxe d’aménagement) and sometimes to the preventive archaeology levy. Land sold for building must be buildable and bounded; also think about connections to water, drainage and electricity, whose cost is negotiated in the sale.
Housing estates and the cahier des charges
For the buyer of a divided plot
If you buy a plot resulting from a division, ask for the permission obtained and its date, the surveyor’s plan, the boundary report and the easements created. Check that the period for third parties to challenge the permission has expired and read the zone’s rules: they apply to your future project as to any other, and the mairie will decide on the application.
Extending a house: declaration or permit
ScanAdresse shows for one address the parcel, the PLU zone and regulations with their articles, the public easements and recent permits in the cadastral section; it does not say whether a division will be accepted; €29 including VAT, free preview.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a surveyor to divide land?
In practice, yes: bounding the new parcels and updating the cadastre go through a géomètre-expert, before the permission is applied for.
Can I divide without applying for anything?
Yes if the division is not made in order to build. As soon as a lot is intended for building, a permission is needed; the mairie will tell you which.
How long does a division take?
Allow for the surveyor’s work, processing (generally one month for a works declaration, three for a development permit), the third-party challenge period, then the sale before the notary.
Must the remaining house comply with the rules?
The division must not create a breach of the PLU rules on the land you keep. The géomètre-expert and the planning department check this point.
Sources
- Service-public: dividing a plot
- Service-public: works declaration
- Service-public: development permit
- Urban Planning Code, art. L442-1, R421-19 and R421-23
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.
Updated on