Play all audios:
NOTAIRES BELIEVE PLANNING REGULATION SHOULD BE AMENDED TO MAKE CONVERSIONS EASIER Office-to-home conversions are rare in France but the idea is being championed by the notaires’ trade body,
the Conseil supérieur du notariat. The notaires believe it would simplify life and say amending the _Code de l’urbanisme_ to allow offices in _copropriétés_ shared buildings to change their
use to homes would be one way of creating more housing in towns and cities. READ MORE: MAKE SENSE OF LOCAL RULES GOVERNING PLANNING PERMISSION AROUND FRANCE It has also called for planning
permission laws to be eased to allow office conversions into flats through a simple declaration of works. ‘POLITICAL INTERFERENCE’ Looking at underlying reasons for the small number of
conversions, the notaires say political interference is the cause of half of announced projects being abandoned. Town councils often believe it is better to retain empty office blocks in the
hope that they will one day be filled and consequently bring jobs to the commune, rather than see them converted into housing. Other difficulties are around the locations of office blocks –
the ones most likely to be empty usually being the ones sited away from public transport and other amenities – and the structural changes that have to be made in order to build flats.
RELATED ARTICLES €100,000 WATER BILL, BOUNDARY RULES: FIVE FRENCH PROPERTY UPDATES FRENCH HOUSING MINISTER SPARKS DEBATE OVER FUTURE OF DETACHED HOUSES CHANGES TO LAW LIMITING NEW BUILDING
ON FARMLAND IN FRANCE