Fencing your property in France: rules, height, permits

The right to enclose and its limits

The right to enclose applies in urban and rural areas alike (service-public.gouv.fr, fact sheet F3131). It has several limits:

• the right of way (servitude de passage): you must not close off a passage that a neighbour is entitled to use. You may enclose your land provided you leave them a way through, for example by adding a gate (F31473);
• the flow of water: the fence must not obstruct the natural flow of rainwater (F3131; Civil Code, art. 640);
• abnormal neighbour nuisance (trouble anormal de voisinage): a fence that deprives neighbours of their view or sunlight may amount to one (F3131);
• local rules: the PLU, local customs, the cahier des charges (specifications) of a lotissement (housing estate) or the règlement de copropriété (co-ownership regulations) may set the height, type, appearance or position of the fence (F3131).

Where to put it? Set back from the boundary, without encroaching on the neighbour’s land, the fence is privative (privately owned): you build and maintain it alone, without consulting the neighbour. On the boundary line (limite séparative), with the neighbour’s agreement, it is mitoyenne (jointly owned, a party fence) and the costs are decided together (F31473). Service-public.gouv.fr recommends having the land formally marked out (bornage) before putting up a fence (F3131).

Party fences and compulsory fencing in towns

Presumption of joint ownership. Any fence separating two pieces of land is deemed to be jointly owned, unless only one of the plots is enclosed, or there is a title deed, a prescription or a mark indicating otherwise (art. 666). It is maintained at shared cost, but a neighbour can free themselves from this by giving up their share of joint ownership (art. 667).

Compulsory fencing (clôture forcée). “In towns and their outskirts, anyone may compel their neighbour to contribute to building and repairing the fence or wall separating their houses, yards and gardens” (art. 663). The height is set first by specific regulations or by established and recognised customs. Failing those, any dividing wall built or rebuilt must reach, coping included (chaperon compris) (art. 663):

A discrepancy worth noting. Fact sheets F3131 and F31473 present these heights as a minimum applying to any boundary wall in the absence of a local rule. F31473 even extends it to wire fencing and wooden fence panels. Article 663 links them to compulsory fencing “in towns and their outskirts” and to the “dividing wall between neighbours”. Outside that framework, none of the texts we read sets a minimum height.

Maximum height. In the absence of a local rule, the law sets none (F3131). The PLU may set one, and the limit of abnormal neighbour nuisance still applies.

Prior declaration: when is it compulsory?

The principle: no formality. The Planning Code exempts from any formality fences other than those governed by article R*421-12. It also exempts walls less than two metres high that do not constitute such fences (art. R*421-2, f and g).

Fences requiring a prior declaration (art. R*421-12):

• in a listed site patrimonial remarquable (outstanding heritage site) or near a historic monument (abords d’un monument historique);
• in a site inscrit (registered site), a site classé (listed site) or one in the process of being listed;
• in an area designated by the PLU under articles L151-19 or L151-23 of the Planning Code; service-public.gouv.fr gives the example of natural or forest zones (F3131);
• in a municipality or part of a municipality where the municipal council, or the inter-municipal body responsible for the PLU, has decided to make fences subject to declaration.

Walls 2 metres high or more. Outside outstanding heritage sites, the surroundings of historic monuments and listed sites, walls whose height above the ground is two metres or more require a prior declaration (art. R421-9, e). Service-public.gouv.fr applies this rule to boundary walls (F3131).

Processing. The processing period for a prior declaration is 1 month from when the application is lodged at the mairie (town hall) (F17578). For the thresholds for other structures (garden shed, extension), see our guide permis de construire ou déclaration préalable (planning permission or prior declaration).

Special cases for positioning

Service-public.gouv.fr points out distances specific to certain plots (F3131):

Natural or forest zones. For a plot adjoining a dwelling in a natural or forest zone, a wall resting on foundations is prohibited. Any other fence must be set 30 cm above the ground and be no higher than 1.20 m, so that wild animals can move freely (F3131).

Hedges. A hedge used as a fence must comply with the planting distances: 0.5 m from the boundary for a height of up to 2 m, 2 m beyond that (F3131). See our guide on plantations (trees and hedges).

Which professional to consult

The géomètre-expert (chartered land surveyor) marks out the land before the fence goes up: the boundary decides whether the fence will be privately or jointly owned (F3131). The notaire (notary) checks the title deeds for easements, such as a right of way, and for the housing estate’s specifications, which may regulate fences.