Housing and property · Building · facade
Mandatory facade renovation in France: from the mayor’s order to works done for you
In Paris and in towns on an official list, facades must be kept clean and renovated at least every ten years when the mayor orders it (article L126-2 of the Construction and Housing Code). If works have not started six months after the order, the mayor can issue a decree setting a deadline of one year at most. An owner who does not comply faces a 3,750 euro fine. In a condominium, the syndic receives the order.
Text in force1 July 2021Sources checked17 October 2026
- Official texts cited
- Sources checked on
- Drafted with AI assistance, our method
General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
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Does facade renovation require insulation?
Sometimes. A major renovation that redoes the render or cladding on at least half of a wall requires insulating that wall when it faces heated rooms and is more than 50% terracotta, concrete, cement or metal.
Read the referencesYou received a facade renovation order in France, or your building must vote the works: I can tell you where the deadlines stand and what comes next.
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Is facade renovation compulsory in your town?
In Paris, and in towns on a list set by administrative decision, on the proposal or with the agreement of their council. There, façades must be kept clean and in good order, and the works are done at least once every ten years, on the mayor’s injunction.
Elsewhere this text sets no frequency: ask the town hall whether the town is on the list.
What happens after the mayor’s order?
You have six months to start the works. If you do not, or if works started are not finished within a year of the injunction, the mayor can issue an order requiring them, with a formal notice to complete them within a period the mayor sets, of one year at most.
If the notice goes unheeded, the mayor can have the works done at the owner’s cost, with the court president’s authorisation; the town advances the costs and recovers them like a direct tax.
Which steps lead from the order to works done for you?
The steps, from the mayor’s injunction to works carried out at the owner’s cost.
The mayor’s injunction
In the towns concerned, at least once every ten years.
Six months to start the works
Counted from the injunction.
The order with a formal notice
If no works have started, or they are not finished within the year, the mayor sets a deadline of one year at most.
Notice to the syndic
In a condominium, it is served on the syndicate alone; the syndic informs each co-owner by registered letter.
The fine
€3,750 for an owner who has not done the works in time.
Works done for you
With the court president’s authorisation, at the owner’s cost, advanced by the town.
Which majority votes the facade works in a condominium?
How to carry out works made compulsory by law or by a police order served on the syndic is voted by a majority of the votes cast by co-owners present, represented or voting by post. The meeting does not vote on whether to do them, which is imposed, but on how: quotes, schedule, calls for funds.
Energy-saving works chosen beyond the obligation, such as more ambitious insulation, require a majority of all co-owners’ votes.
Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 24Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 25
Do you need planning permission for the works?
Not everywhere. Façade works are excluded from the general rule that requires a prior declaration for works changing a building’s exterior. They need one in a remarkable heritage site or near a historic monument, in a listed or registered site, a nature reserve or a national park core, on a building protected by the local plan, or in a town that has decided so by resolution.
Check with the town planning office before ordering the works.
Code de l’urbanisme, article R*421-17Code de l’urbanisme, article R*421-17-1
Where does your deadline stand?
Enter the injunction date and, if there is one, the order date: the tool gives the next deadline, the fine at stake and the next step.
Fictional example · next deadline
Start the works before 10 August 2026: after six months, the mayor can issue an order requiring them.
- Order possible from
- 10 August 2026
- Fine at stake
- €3,750
In a condominium, the injunction and order are served on the syndic, who must inform each co-owner by registered letter.
What does article L126-2 of the Construction and Housing Code say?
Les façades des bâtiments doivent être constamment tenues en bon état de propreté à Paris ainsi que dans les communes figurant sur une liste établie par décision de l’autorité administrative, sur proposition ou après avis conforme des conseils municipaux. Les travaux nécessaires sont effectués au moins une fois tous les dix ans, sur l’injonction qui est faite au propriétaire par l’autorité municipale.
In plain English: Building façades must be kept clean and in good order in Paris and in towns on a list set by administrative decision, on the proposal or with the agreement of their councils. The necessary works are carried out at least once every ten years, on the injunction the municipal authority serves on the owner.
Article L126-3 sets out what follows: six months to start, then an order with a formal notice, and finally works carried out at the owner’s cost.
What has changed in the texts?
The façade rules move to articles L126-2 and L126-3 of the Construction Code, and the fine from former article L152-11 to article L183-12.
Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L126-2Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L183-12
First stage of the multi-year works plan in condominiums, which schedules works to conserve the building among others.
What else do owners ask?
Does facade renovation require insulation?
Sometimes. A major renovation that redoes the render or cladding on at least half of a wall requires insulating that wall when it faces heated rooms and is more than 50% terracotta, concrete, cement or metal.
Who pays for facade works in a condominium?
All co-owners, by their general charge units, as this is conserving the common parts. The works fund can be used for it. On a sale, a call for funds is owed by whoever owns the lot when it falls due.
Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 10Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 14-2-1Décret n° 67-223 du 17 mars 1967, article 6-2
Can the mayor have the works done for you?
Yes, if the formal notice goes unheeded within the time set: with authorisation from the court president ruling as in urgent cases, at the owner’s cost. The town advances the sum and recovers it like a direct tax.
What if the syndic never passed on the order?
Notice served on the syndic counts for all co-owners, and the syndic must inform them without delay by registered letter. Ask for a copy of the injunction and get the works on the next meeting’s agenda: time keeps running.
Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L126-3Décret n° 67-223 du 17 mars 1967, article 10
Which texts is this timeline based on?
- Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L126-2Légifrance
- Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L126-3Légifrance
- Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article L183-12Légifrance
- Code de la construction et de l’habitation, article R173-4Légifrance
- Code de l’urbanisme, article R*421-17-1Légifrance
- Code de l’urbanisme, article R*421-17Légifrance
- Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 24Légifrance
- Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 25Légifrance
- Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 10Légifrance
- Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, article 14-2-1Légifrance
- Décret n° 67-223 du 17 mars 1967, article 6-2Légifrance
- Décret n° 67-223 du 17 mars 1967, article 10Légifrance
- Loi n° 2021-1104 du 22 août 2021, article 171Légifrance
Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026