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This
article on swimming pool safety in France was taken from FrenchEntree.com,
your complete guide to property and life in France
Fosses septiques - Septic tanks & new laws
- What's going on with the new regulations
There has been a lot of recent discussion and activity about new laws concerning fosses septiques, septic tanks on private properties. Here, we give the background to these changes. In a future article we hope to provide the technical specifications that will relate to private property owners.
By the end of 2005 each Mairie must have in place the necessary controls over the properties within their commune as regards compliance with the laws for private (“non-collectif”) waste disposal. The onus has always been on the owner of the property to comply with the laws and now the pressure is on for the Mairie to ensure this has happened. These laws regarding the control of waste water (made law in 1992) on private properties without mains drainage are designed to meet environmental & pollution control standards.
New houses
If you are buying or building a new house the contractor will be aware of what is required because modern systems that comply with the law have been installed in new houses for some time now (but obviously you should check!).
Older houses
Perhaps more importantly for many people the laws apply to older houses and by now most Mairies should have information about the specifications (depending on your house, land, type of system etc), what will be required, what surveys they are undertaking, what assistance might be available and so on. Before you carry out any work you will be asked to have a study, an étude de sol, carried out by a specialist in “assainisement” – this could cost around 400-500€ but it will determine what system will work best for your property and that it will comply with the regulations.
The general consensus seems to be that if you own or are buying an older property and you need to do work of any kind on your system now then it would be sensible to speak to your Mairie and be prepared to upgrade to the standards as you carry out the work. If you are buying a property that does not currently have mains drainage or a full septic tank system you should find that a study is required to form part of the final purchase contract. There have been quite a few recent property purchases being held up or disputed because of wrangling over septic tank liabilities - it can cost many thousands of euros to install a new system.
But if you already live in an older house with a system that works well enough you may prefer to sit tight for the time being and wait for your Mairie to get in touch at some point in the future. They are going to be busy: it is estimated that of the 4.5 million installations in France 3.5 million don't conform! Having said that, given the obligations of the Mairie to comply with the laws it seems likely that they will get around to calling or asking
you to complete a questionnaire one day in the not too distant future.
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