Gates, fences and automatic gates on the Riviera

Nationally, most fences and gates need no filing at all. French rules treat the gate as part of the clôture (anything that closes off your land), so the same test covers both. You need a déclaration préalable (planning declaration) in three cases. The first is land in a protected sector. The second is a sector the PLU marks out for fence control. The third is a commune that has made fences declarable. A solid wall 2 m or taller needs one anywhere.

Even where no filing is needed, the PLU still applies. On the Riviera it often sets a maximum height, the materials, and sometimes the colour of the gate and the wall under a railing. Ask the service urbanisme what your zone allows before you choose a design, including whether the gate has to sit back from the road and whether it may open outwards.

If the plot lies near a listed monument, or inside a protected old town, the filing also goes to the Architecte des Bâtiments de France for an opinion. That stretches the mairie's answer to two months, and the ABF (the state heritage architects) may ask for another material or colour.

Two private rulebooks sit on top. Houses on a private estate (lotissement) often share a set of rules, the cahier des charges, which can impose one fence style on every plot. On a drive shared through a copropriété, a new gate or a change to the look of the grounds needs a vote at the general meeting first.

French rules for automatic gates in residential buildings require it to stop at once when someone is in the way. A flashing orange light must warn before and while it moves, and the area it sweeps has to be lit. On handover, ask the installer to show you each safety feature working:

• the gate stops and backs off when it touches an obstacle;
• photocells across the opening stop it when a person or car breaks the beam;
• the flashing light starts before the gate moves;
• you can release it and open it by hand during a power cut.

Then keep three documents with the house papers. They are the installer's declaration of conformity for the finished motorised gate, the instruction manual (in a language you read), and a record of the safety tests at handover.

Liability starts with you. Under French civil law you answer for damage caused by things in your keeping. If the gate injures a guest, a tenant's child or a delivery driver, the claim comes to you and your home insurer first. If the installer left out the obstacle detection or set the closing force too high, your insurer can then turn to them. The signed devis (written quote) and the handover test record are its evidence.

A shared gate in a copropriété must have a written maintenance contract with two visits a year and a logbook. For a gate serving only your house, the rules don't spell out the same contract. Book a yearly service anyway, and keep the report. It proves the safety devices were checked if something goes wrong.

The motor needs its own protected circuit from your consumer unit, usually in a trench up the drive. Get that on the electrician's quote too if the gate installer doesn't do electrical work.

Two gates that look alike in a catalogue can end up far apart in price once the installer has walked your drive. The width sets how heavy the gate is and how strong a motor it needs. On a slope, swing leaves may need cutting or raising. New masonry pillars, with their foundations, are building work in their own right.

The motor needs power from the house, usually by a cable in a trench up the drive, and a longer or harder run costs more. Where a trench would cut through a terrace, a solar motor avoids it. Fencing is priced by the metre: rigid mesh panels cost least, and a rendered or stone wall with a railing on top costs most.

On a house over two years old, the fence, the gate, its motor and a fitted intercom or camera are all taxed at 10%. That holds even if you bought the land more recently. Three things stay at 20%: a living hedge, a spare remote bought on its own, and any monitoring subscription. You certify the house's age on the devis.

Get at least two written quotes, each made after a site visit. The devis should name each safety device, the motor type, and the gate's material, width and colour. Groundwork, pillars and the power supply belong on lines of their own, so none of them turns up later as an extra. It should say who files the déclaration préalable, if one is needed. A gate on new masonry pillars is building work, so the insurer for the garantie décennale should be named. For the motor, get the installer's and the maker's warranties in writing. On handover day, run the gate through its safety tests before you sign the réception, and list anything that sticks or fails.