We were horrified to find out yesterday that, due to pressure from agriculteurs, the planning laws regarding change of use to domestic have changed.
It is no longer possible if you buy a farmhouse to use the adjoining barn as part of your domestic housing.
We have a barn between our house and the gite and we would need to win Lotto to bring it into use as part of our house, but that is not the point.
The young couple who are our neighbours bought their property fulling intending to do just that, but are now longer permitted.
There were talking to two our local councillors and we find that our Commune is drawing up a list of all properties with barns and is intending to submit a joint application to get this ruling changed for our properties.
I have noticed that Immobiliers are still advertising properties for sale with full renovation necessary.
This change in the planning regulations will drastically affect the sale of those properties, like ours before renovation, that have a tiny farmhouse and huge outbuildings which are now redundant.
I cannot understand this as modern farming equipment is often too large for these buildings and hay and silage is now wrapped in plastic.
Could this affect you?
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There are many reasons why folk are advised to ensure that they will be able/be allowed to do what they have in mind… before buying a property.( Get applications in and delay Purchase until Permit is received…)
Also, if one has ideas on enlarging/extending etc… it’s worth keeping a weather-eye on Planning discussions, nationwide… and keep in close-touch with one’s Mairie.
Locally, our Maire advised anyone wanting to do blah blah… to put in an Application “now”… as he was advised that things would be changing…
This was before Covid (so at least 3 years ago) and is still regularly mentioned/highlighted… in our Commune Bulletins etc etc… (in French and English 
)
Committees have to regularly change things to justify their existence.
do you have a reference to that change please?
I realize you are asking @Jane_Williamson
but in our case, our Community of Communes had been told “from above” that they could only have xyzz hectares of new dwellings/buildings… for the new 10-Year Plan… so each Commune (22 are within our CoC), was asked to whittle back as much as it could… to bring the CoC into line with the new instructions…
(I forget all the details but it’s something like that…)
Folk who had gained solid-permits (signed in blood) would be OK… those who didn’t get their applications In… might well be disappointed…
And Permits do expire/run out… so folk were advised to check that aspect too…
Sorry, I don’t. This comes from our Conseilles.
We were given to understand that this was not CoC, but National.
Many references to the idiots in Paris were mentioned.
Did you mean adjacent rather than adjoining Jane?
that was certainly the case with the last planning cycle but that seems to be at odds with what @Jane_Williamson is referring to since re-purposing old or potentially redundant buildings in the PLU would seem to be permitted.
But, what Jane alludes to is something more sinister than that… hence the interest.
yes, indeed… I shall be interested to learn more…
Hard to understand how something so important can suddenly change… without warning…
I shall make my own enquiries as well … but not today…
EDIT There’s always been strict control on buildings which sit on Agricultural land… even if the farm has been derelict for generations… if it’s still Agricultural… that’s it…
Hmmm, I can’t find anything at a national level changing this. It still seems to be within gift of local planning to agree or not if the barn in question is close to or attached to a house
“Si une grange est construite sur un terrain agricole sans habitation autour, il se peut que le bâtiment tombe sous une interdiction de changement de destination.
Effectivement, les zonages des PLU (plan local d’urbanisme) délimitent des zones non constructibles sur lesquelles une grange ne pourra obtenir de certificat d’urbanisme positif et restera d’usage agricole. Ce point est très important car n’oubliez pas que sans changement de destination, il n’y aura pas de permis de construire et donc pas d’habitation officielle possible.
UNE GRANGE ISOLÉE À PROXIMITÉ D’UN LOGEMENT
Par ailleurs, si la grange se situe à proximité d’un logement, alors le changement de destination sera possible mais là encore tout dépend de la décision de la mairie. Si la construction de la grange est récente, il est possible que la construction ai été réalisée sur dérogation par un exploitant agricole et donc elle est associée à usage purement agricole.”
seems clear enough to me… perhaps this is just another C luny issue 
We have 2 big ones that we would eventually like to turn to gites so this would really potentially affect us.
might I suggest you go and discuss with your Mairie… find out if the Gites idea is dead in the water… or in with a chance…
Put in an outline Application… give it a try… don’t wait until it’s too late.
If however, in the meantime the PLU cycle changes, that may still scupper any plans that have not actually started progress.
So then as soon as planning permission is received, start the work.
It does nt matter how small the work is.
There are no mandatory end dates for the completion of the project, so potentially the duration could be a decade or more.
We have nothing to do with Cluny. Our HQ for the CoC is Matour.
When our neighbours bought their house they fully intended to extend into the barn,but now they cannot.
Something has changed. I will try and get the relevant piece of planning law.
How on earth someone thinks that barns all over France are going to remain as barns for agricultural use when many fermettes are up for sale I don’t know. Or how are people going to use my barn without my permission?
What would be the reasoning behind this?
Speculation ?
Undeclared converted barn space turned into habitation and on which tax isn’t being paid ?
A legacy of Emmanuelle Wargon (former housing minister under the previous Macro government)? - as I recall, she had a bit of bee in her bonnet about individual housing as being some kind of heresy and wanted us all to live in cities in large communal housing.
I am suggesting speaking with the Mairie and putting in whatever it takes to guard the possibility of doing what one hopes/dreams… I can’t for the life of me remember the exact wording… but I do know it is possible to “guard” the right to do something…
the Mairie/Planning Office will know what is necessary…
Clause suspensive in the compromis de vente, and a certificat d’urbanisme. The latter applies equally once one has purchased a property