City planning violations: what are the limitation periods?

Verified 25 February 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you have carried out work without city planning authorization or without respecting the authorization obtained, it is a offense. The town hall or third party may sue you. You risk criminal, civil and administrative sanctions as long as the limitation periods are not finished. There are 3 different prescription deadlines. We're taking stock of the regulations.

The time limit for criminal statute of limitations is the length of time you can be prosecuted in the correctional court for city planning violations.

The time limit for civil prescriptionis the period during which the town hall or a third party may apply to the judicial court for compensation for a harm caused by your construction.

The time limit for administrative prescription is the period during which the city council may refuse you a city planning permit for work on an existing building. The refusal is based on the lack of authorization to build it or non-compliance with the authorization obtained.

The criminal statute of limitations is 6 years from the date of completion of the work. After this period of 6 years, the town hall can no longer prosecute you before the correctional court.

For 6 years, you risk a fine if you have carried out work without authorization or without respecting the authorization you have obtained. Depending on the case, it is between €1,200 and €300,000 maximum. In case of recurrenceHowever, in addition to the fine, a prison sentence of 6 months may be imposed.

The limitation period varies according to the person bringing the action:

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Appeal by the City Hall

The civil limitation period of the town hall is 10 years from the completion of the work. After this period, the town hall can no longer initiate civil proceedings.

The municipality or theEPCI: titleContent may refer the matter to the court of justice for order compliance or demolition of construction.

Remedies of third parties

The civil limitation period for third party is 5 years from the completion of the work. After this period, a third party can no longer bring a civil action.

The third party may be a neighbor, a syndicate of co-ownership, the buyer of a neighboring property or an association.

If a third party considers that his interests are prejudiced, he can apply to the judicial judge demolition, conformity of the construction or damages and interest.

This concerns the following situations:

  • Infringement of a right in rem (encroachment on the ground of the third party, infringement of a bondage conventional, non-compliance with specifications of a subdivision)
  • Abnormal neighborhood disorder, such as lack of sight or sunshine
  • Violation of a city planning servitude (failure to comply with MORE).

To request the demolition of the structure before the civil court, the third party must first have obtained annulment of the city planning authorization by the administrative court.

The administrative limitation period shall be 10 years where he is imprescriptible.

It is different for work carried out on an irregular building (built without authorization or not in accordance with the regulations) or for a building built without a city planning authorization:

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Work carried out on an irregular building

The administrative limitation period is 10 years from the completion of the work.

During this 10-year period, the city council may refuse your requests for city planning permits on this building on the grounds of the initial irregularity.

Building built without building permit

The deadline is imprescriptible for a construction carried out without city planning authorization when it was necessary. Construction does not have an administrative legal existence until the situation is regularized administratively.

Also, if you plan to carry out work on your built construction without authorization, you must request authorization for the entire building, both to regularize the existing and to realize your new project.

The city planning authorization is granted if the entire building complies with the regulations of the MORE: titleContent in force.

For older buildings (for which criminal or civil action is no longer possible), however, the administration may authorize the work necessary to preserve the construction, such as the consolidation of a wall threatening to collapse.

If your building does not have an administrative legal existence, it is still subject to the payment of property tax.

If you have carried out work without authorization or without respecting the requirements imposed by the authorization obtained, the municipality or theEPCI: titleContent may issue a fine of up to €30,000. She can also you give formal notice to submit an application for authorization to regularize or bring the construction into conformity within a specified period. The formal notice may be supplemented by a periodic penalty payment €1,000 maximum per day of delay.

FYI  

You can request at any time the regularization of your work carried out without authorization. The City Council then checks the conformity of your work with the city planning regulations in force. It may, as appropriate, take the following decisions:

  • Regularize your construction
  • Request the completion of certain works to bring your building into compliance with city planning regulations
  • Refuse regularization because it is not possible in view of the city planning regulations.

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