Housing and property · Easement · building restriction
French no-building easements: check the title
A no-building easement may prohibit or limit construction for another property’s benefit. Its scope depends on title, plans and amendments, not planning permission alone. Identify both properties, then compare footprint, height and works with the exact clause. Extinction through non-use requires analysing its starting event; thirty years since the deed are not automatically sufficient.
- 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.
Julie by AlphaDeep
Can the clause limit only height?
A clause restricts building on your land: let’s locate title, plans and benefiting property.
3 free questions at signup. Avoid names and sensitive information.
What must be identified in the title?
A contractual easement benefits one property and burdens another under article 686. Locate constituting deed, plans, scope and amendments; an obligation benefiting only a person is not automatically this easement.
Related step: Housing and property
What does the governing text say about building restriction?
Les servitudes non apparentes sont celles qui n'ont pas de signe extérieur de leur existence, comme, par exemple, la prohibition de bâtir sur un fonds, ou de ne bâtir qu'à une hauteur déterminée.
In plain English: A contractual easement benefits one property and burdens another under article 686. Locate constituting deed, plans, scope and amendments; an obligation benefiting only a person is not automatically this easement.
Why is it a non-apparent easement?
Article 689 cites a prohibition on building or exceeding a height as a non-apparent easement. Article 691 requires title for continuous non-apparent easements; longstanding practice alone does not create them.
Related step: Check a French right-of-way easement
Which documents belong together?
| Point | Check |
|---|---|
| Title | Clause and amendments |
| Land | Benefiting and burdened |
| Project | Footprint, height and plans |
How can title and building proposal be annotated?
Fictional example: a no-building strip and proposed extension; the worksheet compares documents without authorising works.
Fictional example · Your preparation worksheet
Planning permission alone does not release a private easement. The restriction’s scope must be read in the title and amendments.
Draft for review · starts with a fictional example
Clause for interpretation
No building on the strip identified in the attached plan
Project for comparison
Extension to compare with the clause plan
Common missing document
Attached plan and identification of both properties
Locate constituting deed, plans, successive titles and benefiting and burdened land.
Compare footprint, height and nature of works with exact wording, without a keyword verdict.
Have amendments, any release and claimed extinction events examined with their dates.
No thirty-year clock starts from the deed date here. For a continuous easement, the claimed contrary act and evidence need examination.
Continue with Julie
Does planning permission allow disregarding it?
Not by itself. Public controls and private rights are separate. Compare the project with the restriction and seek valid amendment or release; administrative approval is not assumed to be benefiting-owner consent.
Related step: French subdivision rules compared
How is a clause read against an extension?
Record burdened area, plan, height, covered structures and amendments. Article 701 protects easement use; the answer requires examining the clause and specific works, not keyword detection.
Related step: Check a project against a French planning certificate
Do thirty unchallenged years erase it?
Articles 706 and 707 govern extinction through non-use and distinguish starting events by easement type. For a continuous easement, a contrary act matters; signature date or absence of construction alone is insufficient.
What else should you know about building restriction?
Can the clause limit only height?
Yes. Article 689 also mentions that restriction.
Does municipal approval amount to release?
No. Check private rights and title separately.
Does ownership prescription create this easement?
Do not transpose that mechanism to the title requirement for a non-apparent easement.
Does the worksheet grant building consent?
No. It organises clauses and documents for examination.
Which sources explain building restriction?
- Code civil, article 686Légifrance / DILA
- Code civil, article 689Légifrance / DILA
- Code civil, article 691Légifrance / DILA
- Code civil, article 701Légifrance / DILA
- Code civil, article 706Légifrance / DILA
- Code civil, article 707Légifrance / DILA
Texts cited last checked: 20 October 2026