Undergrowth clearance: where in france must buyers be informed?

MANDATORY VEGETATION CLEARING AIMS TO PREVENT WILDFIRES IN AT-RISK AREAS. House sale and rental documents across a wide part of France now have to include mention of a legal requirement to

prune trees and shrubs, cut grass and clear dead leaves in order to slow the spread of wildfires. The new rule came into force, in January but property professionals do not believe it will

impact property prices. It concerns sales and rental for all buildings situated in or within 200m of woods, moors or scrubby bush in areas officially classified as being at risk from fire.

An interactive map showing which areas are affected can be found at the Géorisques government website here. Rules were introduced or tightened across the country after the 2022 fires in the

Gironde pine forests just to the south and west of Bordeaux, which burned for two weeks before being extinguished. Read more: French property owners and tenants: what are rules for

obligatory undergrowth clearance? Débroussaillage (shrub clearing) involves clearing excess vegetation in area at least 50m from buildings, and creating gaps between remaining trees. It does

not mean that all vegetation has to be removed (coupe rase) or parts of the area cleared (un défrichement).  However, grass, bushes and shrubs have to be cut back and, in some departments,

distances between trees have to be respected. Read more: Garden clearing obligations to be extended in south of France Notice that the property is in an area where débroussaillage is

obligatory must be given during the first visit of any potential buyers or tenants, along with other natural, mining sinkhole or technology-related risks, as well as information about the

threat of coastal erosion for seaside properties. One of the communes close to the 2022 fires is Carcans in Gironde, where débroussaillage details are included in house sale papers from the

compromis de vente stage. “Sometimes people from outside are a bit surprised when they hear of the obligations, but there has certainly not been any negative effect on house prices,” said

Maitre Johan Marchasson, a notaire who works in Carcans. He said sellers now have to swear on their honour that débroussaillage work has been carried out, and there had been no instances

where the issue had blocked a sale. “After the big fires of 2022, there was a general awareness of the risks and what can be done to reduce them,” he said.