Buying a piece of land to grow your own vegetable garden, to fish on the edge of your pond, to sleep a few nights in your own cabin or simply to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. This is the dream of many French people. But what activities are possible on this type of land? Is it possible to buy agricultural land to use as a leisure area? We answer your questions.
It is first necessary to define what is a land of leisure. There are 6 main classifications of territories in terms of urban planning rules:
The leisure zones (AUL) are intended for sports, cultural and leisure activities (sports grounds, campsites, residential leisure parks, etc.).
The agricultural zones (A) include plots of land that are biologically, agronomically, economically and landscape rich, where the land must be reserved for farming.
There are therefore no specific town planning regulations for recreational sites outside this AUL zone.
The official definition of a leisure site can therefore be the one made by the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Equality in a ministerial reply of 15 May 2014: "The designation of "leisure site" is a matter of usage and not a legal category of the town planning code. It results, in fact, from the activity of camping which leads to the installation of leisure accommodation on private plots located in non-buildable, natural or agricultural areas."
Recreational land generally refers to land in agricultural (A) or natural (N) zones.
The good news is that it is the use you make of an agricultural or woodland site that will make it a recreational site and not a legal classification.
There is therefore no particular step to take to transform an agricultural site into a recreational site.
If you are free to camp on this land, it will be more complicated to install a caravan or a light construction. You are not free to do what you want on a recreational site.
If you do not change the purpose of the land, you are free to use it as you wish. You don't have to worry about turning it into a vegetable garden or playing football in the meadow. On the other hand, construction in zones A and N is strictly regulated and you will therefore not be free to build a house or a hut. This was explained in our articles on building on agricultural land and forest land.
Agricultural (A) and natural (N) zones may include STECAL zones (Secteur de Taille Et de Capacité d'Accueil Limitée) in which light constructions may be authorised, but very few communes have included these zones in their Local Urban Plan.
In practice, before installing a caravan, mobile home or light dwelling, building a cabin, etc., contact the town hall to find out what you are allowed to do. Otherwise you risk having to dismantle your installations.
For a construction project other than an agricultural project or a light leisure dwelling, it will be necessary to obtain a change of zoning: i.e. to modify the Local Urban Plan (PLU) to downgrade the agricultural (A) or natural (N) parcel into a constructible parcel (Zone U of the PLU). This downgrading can be done when the PLU is being drawn up or revised.
We advise you to contact the town planning department of your local council to present the arguments for downgrading your plot and to find out when a revision is possible.
If your plot of land was previously classified as zone U and it is an evolution of the PLU that has changed the classification of the plot to zone A or N, it is possible to contest this classification before the Courts, a procedure that requires a careful examination of the PLU.
Create a lake and spend your weekends fishing. Why not, but you won't be free to do so either.
The creation of a water body has an impact on the aquatic environment, on the flow of water in the catchment area and can have an impact on public safety.
Also, the creation and maintenance of water bodies are subject to regulatory obligations (articles L.214-1 to L.214-6 of the environmental code) and therefore require prior approval.
Buying a piece of land with a water feature may be an easy solution, but remember to check that the water feature is compliant. It is compulsory for any pond or water body created after 29 March 1993. A declaration procedure allows water bodies created before this date to be regularised.
The purchase of agricultural or forest land is free. However, like any sale, it may be subject to a right of pre-emption, including that of the SAFER.
If you are in an area of land tension, the risk of the SAFER pre-empting the purchase of a plot of land for leisure purposes is quite high, especially if the purchase price is much higher than the average market.
It should be noted, however, that the SAFER only has a right of pre-emption over forestry plots in special cases:
Do not hesitate to contact the SAFER beforehand to find out if your project is feasible.
