Hi all new to this so if im in the wrong place please accept my apologies,
We own a small house with a large barn in a row of buildings so we are sandwiched in between other buildings, we also own a house we are renovating that has no space for a garage sadly. So we would like if possible to split the barn in half so we can have a garage and then sell the other half with the little house when we move into the renovation. Question is would the dividing wall have to be a block wall or something that is just fireproof? And are there any other complications im going to hit?
Many thanks in advance. Derek
Hello @Des-Chris and welcome to the forum.
Why not visit your Mairie and discuss your thoughts?
They will be able to advise you on what you can and cannot do… and if you can do things, how they should be done!
(If you can do it, you’ll need their permission in any case, so speak with them before you spend any money… 
)
best of luck
EDIT: if changing Barn to Garage doesn’t need their permission, you will still need their permission for “something which doesn’t need permission”.. one of the joys of living in France.
Many thanks Stella we will give that a try
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But also bear in mind this is not now within the authority of the Mairie to grant permission. It is now dealt with at the prefecture level and there are norms these days for building density, building use etc. The Mairie can be sympathetic but permission may still not be granted.
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Absolutely, which is why the Mairie should be the first port of call… to check the situation.
(this is something which our Secretaire keeps drumming into me… so that I can pass it on to any/all Brits I meet, whether in person or on a forum) 
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Perhaps what you really mean is that you wish to divide the large barn into two separate smaller barns.
Either, or both of such barns, might have a door wide enough to drive a tractor into the barn in order to keep it secure and out of the weather, or indeed to reverse a trailer full of logs for the fire inside to facilitate ease of unloading and stacking.
If subsequently someone might choose to park a car in the barn instead of a tractor, well who is going to care ?
Sometimes it’s not so much what you wish to do that is important, but rather the way in which it is described.
The dividing wall will of course provide much needed additional support for the roof of the existing structure, and be fireproof for the benefit of all.
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I’m no expert on matters like this, but you might want to check the legal requirements of splitting a single property into two separate properties in order to sell one part. I seem to remember my Notaire talking about plot numbers and the services of a ‘geometre’ (land surveyor / draftsman?) and the registration of the changes. But, as others have said, perhaps start with asking your local Mairie for advice on how to proceed. And please let us know how you get on. Good luck
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you beat me to it..
We engaged a Geometre and Notaire when selling-off part of one of our properties… although in our particular case we didn’t need to speak with the Mairie in advance.
The geometre made all the measurements and provided a plan of the land/buildings thereon. He placed new bornes marking-out the new boundaries. Thus he turned one plot into two and allocated them new cadastral numbers. Subsequently, we sold-off one plot, using the Notaire.
Many thanks for all the advice we will make an appointment with the Mairie and ill post the outcome
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