Now, you might think that you can just do anything in France in your garden, like putting up a garden shed. But you can't. Well, not exactly. You'll need to get permission, even if it's not planning permission. Just like for a swimming pool that's under 10m in depth, you'll need to get a déclaration préalable filed with the local town hall and planning office.
Again, if you're on or near a national heritage site (site patrimonial remarquable (SPR)), then you will need to do even more and it's the local mairie that will tell you if this is the case. So, that's the first stop. But the fact that it's an SPR could mean that the colour or the materials that are going to be used must correspond to the rules and regulations imposed in the area. The general rules are that when putting up a garden shed, or abris de jardin, you can't build it within 3m of the neighbour's property (that means their fencing), or even the road. If the surface area is under 5m2, then you won't need to do anything at all. It also has to be under 12m in height also. If it's over that, then you need a déclaration préalable. If it is under 5m2 in surface area, but you live in a protected area, then you DO need to make a déclaration. The surface area of an arris de jardin is calculated by taking the surface area that has a height below the roof of at least 1.80m. If it's under that height, then it is not taken into the calculation, as you are, in theory, not able to stand up correctly.
If the surface area is above 20m2, then you will need a permis de construire.
The surface area will have an incidence again on your taxe foncière, or the local property tax, since it will increase it by about 800 euros on average per square metre. BUT only if you fall into one of the categories that makes it necessary to make a déclation préalable or if you need a permis de construire. this is why you will need to make a declaration, as they will inform the tax office. If you don't need to make a déclaration, then you will NOT see an increase in the taxe foncière.
French Admin can help you with the necessary paperwork. We will literally do everything, including contacting the mairie to find out if it's a protected are or if there is a heritage site nearby, to doing the paperwork if needs be.
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