French cadastre: viewing the plan and ownership records

Plan and register: what the cadastre contains

Owners’ names do not appear on the plan (service-public.gouv.fr). They are in the register, which article L107 A of the Tax Procedures Code allows to be disclosed on a one-off basis to any person: cadastral references, address, cadastral area, rental value and names and addresses of the holders of droits réels (rights in rem, such as ownership or usufruct).

Viewing the cadastral plan

Online. The DGFiP’s (public finances directorate’s) cadastral plan service, cadastre.gouv.fr, lists 598,747 sheets of plan, searchable by address or cadastral references, which can also be ordered.

At the town hall or the land tax office, in person or by post. At the town hall, searches are by address or cadastral references; searching by owner’s name is not possible there (service-public.gouv.fr).

Prices (service-public.gouv.fr):

Obtaining an ownership record

The record of a person’s property is obtained through a demande d’extrait de matrice cadastrale (request for an extract from the cadastral register) (cerfa 11565*04), sent by ordinary or registered post to the land tax office. It lists the property recorded in the account of the persons named as at 1 January of the year of the last property tax roll (service-public.gouv.fr). One-off extracts are free.

The law regulates these requests (LPF, art. R*107 A-1 and R*107 A-3):

• the request is made in writing and gives the applicant’s surname and first names or company name, as well as the commune (municipality) where the property is located;
• it covers a single commune (or an arrondissement in Paris, Lyon and Marseille) and a single person or five properties at most;
• a user may not submit more than 5 requests a week, up to a limit of 10 per calendar month.

These limits do not apply to holders of rights in rem over the property. Only owners receive all the information, such as date and place of birth or the grounds for tax exemption (service-public.gouv.fr).

A tax value, not proof of boundaries

The cadastral plan has a tax value. Service-public.gouv.fr points out that it “does not fix property boundaries” and gives “only an idea of the layout of the land without guaranteeing its actual boundaries”. In practice:

• the cadastral area is not a guaranteed surface area;
• a line on the plan does not prove where the boundary with the neighbour lies;
• boundaries are fixed by a boundary survey, for which the chartered surveyor examines the titres de propriété (title deeds) (service-public.gouv.fr, fiche on boundary surveys).

The plan is, on the other hand, used to identify a plot in a planning application, a promesse de vente (preliminary sale contract) or a deed, and the rental value in the register is the base for the taxe foncière (property tax).

Cadastre or boundary survey?

“Any owner may compel their neighbour to establish the boundaries of their adjoining properties”, and this is done at shared cost (Code civil (Civil Code), art. 646). An amicable boundary survey is in practice entrusted to a chartered surveyor, who sets the boundary markers and draws up a procès-verbal de bornage (boundary report); once signed, it fixes the boundary permanently. Once registered with the service de la publicité foncière (land registry), which is not compulsory and goes through a notaire (notary), it becomes enforceable against everyone. Failing agreement, an amicable attempt is compulsory before a bornage judiciaire (court-ordered boundary survey), which is possible with no limitation period (service-public.gouv.fr).

Boundary and neighbour disputes are covered in troubles de voisinage et bornage (neighbour disputes and boundaries), and rights of way in servitudes (easements).

Which professional to consult

To fix a boundary, measure a plot or prepare a division, the géomètre-expert (chartered surveyor) draws up the boundary report and plan, which they keep in their archives (service-public.gouv.fr). The notaire (notary) drafts the deed that proves ownership, and can have the boundary report registered with the land registry to make it enforceable against everyone, including future buyers.