Glossary
Déclaration préalable de travaux: the French planning declaration explained
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What is a déclaration préalable de travaux?
A déclaration préalable de travaux (DP) is a planning notification you file with the mairie (town hall) before certain work. It applies when a building's outside appearance changes or a little floor space is added. It covers many home projects: repainting a facade in a new colour, new windows or shutters, a pool of 10 to 100 m², or a small extension. It also covers an AC, heat pump or solar installation fixed to the building. The mairie has one month to respond, and no reply within that month counts as approval.
Which works need a déclaration préalable and which need a permis de construire?
A DP is triggered by a visible change to the outside of a building, or by a modest gain in floor space. Go past the relevant threshold and you need a full permis de construire (planning permission) instead.
- Facade and roof: a new facade colour, a different roof tile, or any change visible from a public road needs a DP. That covers most renovation work on the outside of a house.
- Windows, shutters and doors: changing a window style, a shutter colour or the look of an opening needs a DP if it can be seen from outside.
- Pools: a pool of 10 to 100 m² needs a DP, as long as it has no cover or a cover under 1.80 m high. Below 10 m² there's no formality. Above 100 m² you need a permis de construire, whether the pool stands alone or is part of a wider outdoor project.
- Extensions: 5 to 20 m² of new floor space needs a DP. If your commune's PLU (its local zoning plan) puts your plot in an urban zone (zone U), the limit rises to 40 m². An extension of 20 to 40 m² still needs a permis if it takes the house past 150 m² in total. At that size a private individual also needs an architect.
- External wall insulation: it changes the facade's thickness and finish, so it needs a DP even when nothing structural changes. That's why insulation upgrades on older houses often go through the mairie.
- AC and heat pump outdoor units: a unit fixed to a wall or roof changes the building's appearance and needs a DP. One standing on the ground in a rear garden usually doesn't.
- Solar panels: panels on a roof need a DP whichever slope they sit on. A street-visible slope just gets a closer look from the mairie, and from the ABF (the state heritage architects) where one is involved.
If you're unsure, ask the mairie before work starts. Asking costs nothing, while removing work built without a required DP can cost thousands.
What changes inside an Architecte des Bâtiments de France perimeter?
Much of the Côte d'Azur sits in or near a heritage perimeter. Your property may be affected if it's within 500 metres of a listed building (monument historique). The same applies inside a protected heritage zone (site patrimonial remarquable, formerly ZPPAUP or AVAP).
In either case, the ABF must approve the outside change before the mairie can grant the DP. The response period goes from one month to two, and often longer in practice. The ABF can set conditions, such as screening an outdoor unit or using a specific tile colour. It can also refuse street-visible solar outright.
Ask your installer whether the property sits inside a protected perimeter. If they aren't sure, ask the mairie before you settle on a design.
How do you file a DP and how long does the mairie have to answer?
You file with the mairie of the commune where the property is, either on paper or through the commune's online planning counter. Most communes now have one.
Expect to supply a site plan, a plan showing where the work sits on the building, and photos of the existing facade. Pools and extensions also need a cross-section drawing and a sketch of how the project fits its surroundings. Solar needs a layout of the panels with their dimensions.
Many installers file the DP as part of the job. Confirm this at devis stage and ask for a copy of the filed declaration. If a contractor builds without a required DP, the legal problem stays with you as the owner.
The mairie has one month from a complete file to answer, or two inside an ABF perimeter. Within the first month it can ask for missing documents, and the clock then restarts when you supply them. Silence at the end of the period counts as approval (non-opposition). Keep proof of your filing date so you can show the period ran out without an objection.
A granted DP is valid for three years and can be extended twice, one year at a time. You must display it on site for the whole build, on a panel at least 80 cm on its shortest side and visible from the road. The display starts a two-month window in which a neighbour or other third party can challenge the approval.
What happens if you build without a DP?
Building without a required DP breaks the French planning code. The consequences can include:
- An order to remove the work at your own cost
- Fines, including an astreinte, a daily penalty that runs until the situation is put right
- Trouble when you sell, because the notaire (notary) will ask for planning documents
- Problems with home insurance if a claim involves work that was never authorised
Enforcement on small visible changes varies a lot between communes. On the Côte d'Azur, though, many properties sit near heritage zones and neighbours are often there year-round, so objections do get raised.
More on French planning permission for home projects
Sources
Official sources for déclaration préalable thresholds and deadlines
- Service-Public.fr: déclaration préalable de travaux One month to answer (two in a protected sector), the one-month limit for asking for missing documents, three-year validity, the 80 cm panel and the two-month challenge window.
- Service-Public.fr: extension of a house The 20 m² and 40 m² extension limits and the 150 m² total that switches a project to a permis and brings in an architect.
- Service-Public.fr: ravalement de façade A facade repaint needs a DP when it changes the look of the building, and in protected zones.
- Ministère de la Culture: les abords des monuments historiques The 500-metre perimeter around a listed building where the ABF must agree to outside changes.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.