How do you find a house’s easements before buying?
A house can carry two kinds of easement. Public easements (servitudes d’utilité publique: a historic monument, a pipeline, a power line, a risk prevention plan) appear in the PLU annexes and on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme. Private easements, such as a right of way, appear in the title deeds and at the land registry: the notaire identifies them. Ask about both before the compromis de vente.
Two families of easements
The word servitude covers two different legal situations, which are not found in the same place.
| Public easement | Private easement | |
|---|---|---|
| For the benefit of | The public interest (the state, a network operator...) | Another plot and its owner |
| Examples | Surroundings of a historic monument, gas pipeline, high-voltage line, risk prevention plan, railway | Right of way, a pipe crossing the neighbour’s land, a right of view, a ban on building |
| Where to find it | PLU annexes, Géoportail de l’urbanisme, planning certificate | Title deeds, land registry, the seller’s statement |
A house’s planning rules are read together with other documents, such as an address’s PLU and the planning certificate. You can see how a dossier brings them together for one address in the sample dossier.
Public easements
Public easements are annexed to the PLU (art. L151-43 of the Urban Planning Code). An easement not annexed within the required period in principle ceases to be enforceable against permit applications (art. L152-7), which is why the up-to-date list is worth checking. They are also published on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme, layer by layer.
For a house, the most frequent are the surroundings of historic monuments (the heritage architect’s opinion on exterior works), risk prevention plans (building rules in a flood zone, for example), transmission pipelines and power lines (distances and restrictions), and building-line easements along certain roads.
Private easements
A private easement is a burden placed on one plot for the use and benefit of a plot belonging to another owner (art. 637 of the Civil Code). It runs with the land, whoever the owners are: when you buy, you inherit it, for or against your house.
- A landlocked plot without adequate access to the public road can claim a right of way over the neighbouring land (art. 682 of the Civil Code).
- Discontinuous easements, such as a right of way, or non-apparent ones can only be established by deed (art. 691 of the Civil Code): they must therefore appear in a written act.
- A housing estate can add its own rules in a cahier des charges, the estate covenant, which binds the plot owners.
Housing estates and their covenants
How to find them before buying
- Open the PLU annexes and the easements layer on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme for the parcel.
- Request an information planning certificate: it lists the public easements.
- Ask the seller for their title deed and the list of easements they know of; the compromis de vente usually contains a clause on this.
- Look at the land: a path crossing it, a manhole, a pole or a visible pipe all call for a question.
The notaire checks the land registry and the earlier deeds, and sets out in the deed the easements they have found. To know what an easement allows or forbids in your case, the notaire, or a lawyer, will explain; for its exact route on the ground, a géomètre-expert (chartered land surveyor).
The ScanAdresse dossier for an address sets out the public easements published on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme and the surroundings of historic monuments; private easements are not included, as they come from the deeds.
What the cadastre does not show
The cadastral map does not show easements, and the cadastre is a tax document that does not prove ownership. A boundary or a right of way is checked in the deeds and, if needed, by a formal boundary survey (bornage).
What the cadastre does not prove
Frequently asked questions
Does an easement end when the house is sold?
No. An easement is attached to the land, not the person: it continues with the new owner.
Must the seller disclose easements?
The compromis and the deed usually include the seller’s statement on the easements they know of. The notaire checks the published deeds separately.
Where can you see the public easements on a parcel?
In the PLU annexes, on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme, and in an information planning certificate.
Can a right of way exist without a deed?
For a landlocked plot, the law provides for access. Otherwise, a right of way is established by deed; the notaire or a lawyer will say how it stands in your case.
Sources
- Géoportail de l’urbanisme
- Service-public.fr: planning certificate
- Urban Planning Code, arts L151-43 and L152-7
- Civil Code, arts 637, 682 and 691
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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