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Everything you always wanted to know about France - from France |
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Problems With the BuildersHi TonyIt’s great to hear from you again, we had missed our regular news update from the sunny South of France. Glad you are so much better, and the French health service was there when the need arose. You seem to have settled into your new home and exploring the surrounding area. We need some advice and thought you might point us in the right direction. We purchased a villa in September 2003 when it was at floor level from the local builder, and after many delays took full possession in March 2005. Since then the access road has never been completed, although initially we were able to gain vehicle access to the villa. When the county architect visited the site some work on the road was begun but soon stopped. The result for us is vehicle access to our land is now impossible. This restricts us from using the villa as we had intended for long relaxing holidays and an inability to offer it for some rental as the site is still a building one. We cannot obtain the completion certificate from the local council until all work on the site has been completed in accordance with the planning approval so had we wanted to sell we cannot do so. We have discovered that we are not the only purchasers to find themselves in similar circumstances, although most can access their property, there are other unfinished sites around the area but nothing happens to restrict new sites starting, do the French planning authorities have a duty of care similar to the one in the UK? The builder is a difficult person to deal with so we have reluctantly decided to obtain legal advice to resolve this matter; do you know an English speaking solicitor you could recommend? Any suggestions on ways forward will be appreciated. We are pleased with our villa, and the general area is great. We have always loved France and (most) French people but this situation has questioned our decision to buy - with all the builders in all of France why did we choose this one? I know you advise people to be certain before buying but how can one know beforehand of this situation? Thanks for reading this tale of woe! Regards M === Hello M There are not any people like UK solicitors in France - you need to speak to the Notaire who did the purchase for you - the other person is the Mayor - however both are likely to do little to nothing to help. You can talk to an avocat - this is more like a UK barrister - except the cost is much lower - you can get a fixed advice period of a couple of hours for under 200 euro. I have had advice from an advocat and found it very valuable - you need to find one who specialises in real estate problems - ask anyone listed in Yellow Pages and they will refer you to the correct specialist - all those I have spoken to have good English. However, getting a builder to finish anything is a big problem - once they are paid they often walk away - the only way is to retain payment until all building work is finished Hope this helps Best wishes Tony === There are over 2,000 features and articles on this site about French life and living in France. You can search from the search box above. Do browse through our website and please use the advertising links, they help pay for the site. I do try to reply to all mail - Contact Me - most is about property or living in France. I publish comments in this newsletter which I believe are of interest and may help find answers for people wanting to come to France. I hope readers will go to the adverts which help support our overheads. |
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