Dear Catherine, I wish you very best of luck with this. We bought a house which included a route de passage. Oh boy what a BIG BIG problem. We owned this property for just over 7 years and when we sold it as I got cancer suddenly everything change. Never at problem before this. As South Africans we would park our cars in the barn, go back to SA and obviously remove them on our return. It was never resolved and fortunately we did manage to sell the house but at a €20 thousand reduction in the price. You need to check you plan cadastral very carefully to see if you have a route de passage clause - which neither the Notaire nor the estate agent pointed out, despite us asking if there were any hidden problems with the property. The mairie has all the original Napoleonic plan cadastral so I would start there. You are going to now start have a difficult time as for some reason neighbour think foreigners have no rights despite paying taxes and they can become quite vicious. Good luck.
The difference being…?
The maire being the person can make personal comments. The mairie is the official administrative office and the secretary of the mairie is a public official and if you ask for some public document they should give it to you.
Julia, when you bought the property you should have been given a copy of the cadastral plan with the Acte de Vente. Do you still have your Acte? Or if not the Acte, maybe with the draft of the compromis? Both documents will list the “parcelles” that you bought, their ref numbers, the amout of land etc. You can then look on www.cadastre.gouv.fr to check exactly which are your “parcelles” and to see if there have been any changes. Message me if you need help (I’m an ex estate agent). If you don’t have the compromis or Acte, you could ask at your nearest Notaire if they can obtain a copy for you. I don’t know what happens to files when a Notaire retires, but all Actes are registered with the national registry.
When did your neighbour aquire the property?
The papers when you bought the property may contain a copy of the cadastre. They might also contain a reference to the right of way.
An immediate solution, but probably not cheap may be to install an electronic boundary around your property and with devices on your dog collars your dogs are restrained inside the boundary (except when you shut it off and take them on leads beyond the boundary).
A possible long term problem is the relationship between the property and the boundary when you the property is sold.
What are the farmer’s motives? Does he plan to sell the barn for renovation into a dwelling? It is probably irrelevant but how does the farmer use the property, daily, infrequently, for what purpose.
Sadly, especially given the “independence” of the sister resorting to the french legal system will be more expensive than the electronic fence. Except, the electronic fence will be effective.
Hi John,
Thank yous for your input. I have installed an electric fence (+/- 300€). There is not a copy of the cadastre In my deed. Talked to the old mayor, a friend and very helpful, this afternoon who says that there is a copy of the paper cadastre at the mairie, which unfortunately is being renovated so archives might be hard to locate. He said a lot of mistakes were made when moving from paper to the Internet.
This sort of problem is common…and thorny…in rural France. I will persevere. I have no choice. Next year they can try to take my land under a thirty year usage claim. But you’re right- it’s expensive. I already had to pay my lawyer a retainer of 600€…
My friend, the ex-mayor, and his wife just rolled their eyes when I was having tea with them this afternoon. He was mayor for thirteen years and these land disputes were endless. The motive usually sentimental.
Catherine, when you purchased the property the Notaire would have given you a copy of the Acte de vente. Do you have that? In that Acte there should be a description of what you bought and the parcel number or numbers , usually under the title “Désignation”. This will list each individual parcel number in the form; feuille, section, parcelle. From this list you can go to the official website: cadastre.gouv.fr and see/download a plan of your property. It is important to understand that this only proves you own the parcels - NOT exactly where their boundaries are. For that you will need a géomètre-expert. When you say your neighbours brought in a “surveyor” is this what you mean? Did he drive in any markers/bollards. bornes? Did you sign anything,? Called a procès verbal de bornage which should be signed by all the owners of the land in question who border it and means they all agree that these are the agreed boundary points to the land in question?