So, you've moved to France, bought the dream house and you now need to get a swimming pool to finish off the perfect version of heaven that you have thought up.
But getting a swimming pool in France is not as easy as it sounds and there's a large dose of administrative hell to wade through. You'll need to go the the local mairie where your house is located and get the documents form them. They can be downloaded from the internet, but whatever happens, they will need to be taken back, either in person, or by registered post. You'll need a déclaration préalable, for the majority of swimming pools, unless, it's going to be more than 10m in depth, which is unlikely. You'll need to include area shots, with the location of the pool. You'll need to get a sectional drawing made also, along with photos of the area where the swimming pool will be and the details (length, depth, materials used, cover, buried, above-ground, enclosure, fenced off...). Photos will also have to be provided if your pool is visible from the street. If it is not, then you'll have to state and explain why. You'll also need a copy of the cadastre, or the planning office map of where your house and land are located exactly. Once you have dropped it off at the mairie, and someone has signed and stamped the récepissé de dépôt, or the proof that you have put in the request, then you will have to wait a month before you can start the work on the pool. If you are not contacted after a month, then you can start the work. A notice will have to be made visible also for everyone to see that a pool is going to be fitted and must remain in place. Once it is complete, photos will also have to be taken and approved.
If your house is within a certain distance of a heritage site or a protected area, then you will have to provide even more.
All of this will have an impact on the tax foncière you pay. It will normally increase that tax by around 5-10%.
If all of that sounds like too much, then usually people like architects do it for around 500 euros. At French Admin, we can do it, for a lot cheaper than that and we'll gladly deal with it from A to Z. Get in touch with us.