How to get rid of squatters from your French property
A high-profile case means that French laws on property-squatting are again in the news. Though the process is still a complicated one, recent reforms make things a little easier for property-owners to get rid of uninvited guests - here's how.
France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has made headlines again recently - this over French laws about squatting.
The minister was reacting to the situation of a young couple from the Paris area who bought their 'dream house' - which was at the time home to squatters - but found themselves unable to move in.
The couple took their case to the courts and the media, drawing Darmanin's attention, who demanded that local authorities invoke the DALO Law. The family squatting in the house was eventually forced out with tear gas by a group of hooded and masked people.
But what are the rules when it comes to squatting in France? And what can you do if you find yourself in this situation.
Cette situation est inacceptable.
Avec @AdeMontchalin, nous demandons immédiatement au @Prefet91 d’engager la procédure de l'article 38 de la loi DALO pour une évacuation rapide des occupants illégaux. https://t.co/kDereCdug9
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) June 9, 2022
In recent years the French government has made it easier to evict squatters from properties in France, expanding anti-squatter laws to cover second homes; accelerating the process of forced eviction; deploying legal clerks to help with the process; and removing the time limit in which you had to report squatters.
Illegally entering and occupying someone else's home in France is punishable by up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
As the video below show, French law enforcement is not afraid to deploy extensive resources including helicopters, riot police and specialist intervention units trained for counter-terrorism operations to remove squatters - or even pro-migrants' rights activists - from a property, if necessary.
CRS Calais : opération de démantèlement d’un squat ce matin.
CRS engagés sur le dispositif avec les effectifs locaux, départementaux et de la FIPN. pic.twitter.com/PHnD4H27dV
— UNSA Police CRS Hauts de France (@unsadh) February 11, 2022
But while big operations like this grab the headlines, the process can still be a difficult and lonely one for owners of a single French property.
The law DALO that the Interior Minister made reference to is the previously existing legal infrastructure that governs property owners' rights in these situations, and there are two main processes through which to have squatters removed from your property.
The accelerated administrative procedure
This is the fastest way to have squatters removed from your property - and since December 2020, no longer requires owners to report squatters within 48 hours of them moving into the building.
If you want or need squatters removed from your primary residence or second home quickly, you need to take the following steps:
- Call the police or gendarmerie and file a report. Alternatively, you can do this at your closest police or gendarmerie station. This step can be taken by the property owner or someone acting in the interests of the property owner (so if you're not in France you can instruct a family member or notaire to represent you). An officer will be able to assist you in filing the report.
- You will need to prove that you are the rightful owner of the property, with household bills, financial documents or an attestation signed by a neighbour.
- Once you have done this, an officer from France's judicial police will have to inspect the property to determine that squatters are living inside.
Once these steps have been taken, you need to ask your local préfecture to issue a cease and desist order (mettre en demeure) to the squatters. To obtain such an order, you can either write a tracked letter to the Préfet, go through a legal clerk, or hand the request in yourself (this is easier if you are living in a rural area).
Once your request has been received by the préfecture, they have 48 hours to give a decision on whether to evict the squatters. If the green light is given, the squatters are given a notice to leave the property within 24 hours or be forcibly evicted by law enforcement officers.
From February 2022, the government has ruled that you can now employ a legal clerk, known as a huissier de justice, to help you with the procedure, which can be complicated if you don't speak French. Fees for such a service vary. You can find your closest clerk here.
Taking the case to a judge
There is another process by which to remove squatters but it can take months or even years. It involves launching a legal case and having a judge passing an eviction order - but it has the advantage that it can be used if your application for an accelerated procedure is turned down.
If squatters have moved into a property that is classed as uninhabitable - for example, a garage, shipping container or office space - you have to follow this procedure and cannot benefit from the accelerated process.
You would need to take the following steps:
- Ask a lawyer to make your case to a judge, asking for the authorisation to expel the squatters and ask them to pay indemnity;
- Prove that the property belongs to you, with a deed, financial documents or bills;
- Prove that there are squatters in your property - this is best done by hiring a legal clerk. Ideally, at least one of the squatters will need to be identified by name.
If the judge accepts the case, a legal clerk will issue the squatters with a court summons - even if they fail to appear in court, they must be informed of any judgement.
If the squatters do not leave the building in the month following the ruling, they will be ordered to leave immediately. If they do not leave after that, the legal clerk should ask the local préfecture to send in law enforcement officers to remove the squatters by force.
What not to do
Even if you are angry and upset, do not take justice into your own hands and try to remove the squatters yourself.
Doing so would mean breaking the law and the sanctions are heavy. You could face three years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
This article contains the guidelines on the law around squatting and is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If in doubt, contact your closest préfecture or a legal expert.
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France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has made headlines again recently - this over French laws about squatting.
The minister was reacting to the situation of a young couple from the Paris area who bought their 'dream house' - which was at the time home to squatters - but found themselves unable to move in.
The couple took their case to the courts and the media, drawing Darmanin's attention, who demanded that local authorities invoke the DALO Law. The family squatting in the house was eventually forced out with tear gas by a group of hooded and masked people.
But what are the rules when it comes to squatting in France? And what can you do if you find yourself in this situation.
Cette situation est inacceptable.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) June 9, 2022
Avec @AdeMontchalin, nous demandons immédiatement au @Prefet91 d’engager la procédure de l'article 38 de la loi DALO pour une évacuation rapide des occupants illégaux. https://t.co/kDereCdug9
In recent years the French government has made it easier to evict squatters from properties in France, expanding anti-squatter laws to cover second homes; accelerating the process of forced eviction; deploying legal clerks to help with the process; and removing the time limit in which you had to report squatters.
Illegally entering and occupying someone else's home in France is punishable by up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
As the video below show, French law enforcement is not afraid to deploy extensive resources including helicopters, riot police and specialist intervention units trained for counter-terrorism operations to remove squatters - or even pro-migrants' rights activists - from a property, if necessary.
CRS Calais : opération de démantèlement d’un squat ce matin.
— UNSA Police CRS Hauts de France (@unsadh) February 11, 2022
CRS engagés sur le dispositif avec les effectifs locaux, départementaux et de la FIPN. pic.twitter.com/PHnD4H27dV
But while big operations like this grab the headlines, the process can still be a difficult and lonely one for owners of a single French property.
The law DALO that the Interior Minister made reference to is the previously existing legal infrastructure that governs property owners' rights in these situations, and there are two main processes through which to have squatters removed from your property.
The accelerated administrative procedure
This is the fastest way to have squatters removed from your property - and since December 2020, no longer requires owners to report squatters within 48 hours of them moving into the building.
If you want or need squatters removed from your primary residence or second home quickly, you need to take the following steps:
- Call the police or gendarmerie and file a report. Alternatively, you can do this at your closest police or gendarmerie station. This step can be taken by the property owner or someone acting in the interests of the property owner (so if you're not in France you can instruct a family member or notaire to represent you). An officer will be able to assist you in filing the report.
- You will need to prove that you are the rightful owner of the property, with household bills, financial documents or an attestation signed by a neighbour.
- Once you have done this, an officer from France's judicial police will have to inspect the property to determine that squatters are living inside.
Once these steps have been taken, you need to ask your local préfecture to issue a cease and desist order (mettre en demeure) to the squatters. To obtain such an order, you can either write a tracked letter to the Préfet, go through a legal clerk, or hand the request in yourself (this is easier if you are living in a rural area).
Once your request has been received by the préfecture, they have 48 hours to give a decision on whether to evict the squatters. If the green light is given, the squatters are given a notice to leave the property within 24 hours or be forcibly evicted by law enforcement officers.
From February 2022, the government has ruled that you can now employ a legal clerk, known as a huissier de justice, to help you with the procedure, which can be complicated if you don't speak French. Fees for such a service vary. You can find your closest clerk here.
Taking the case to a judge
There is another process by which to remove squatters but it can take months or even years. It involves launching a legal case and having a judge passing an eviction order - but it has the advantage that it can be used if your application for an accelerated procedure is turned down.
If squatters have moved into a property that is classed as uninhabitable - for example, a garage, shipping container or office space - you have to follow this procedure and cannot benefit from the accelerated process.
You would need to take the following steps:
- Ask a lawyer to make your case to a judge, asking for the authorisation to expel the squatters and ask them to pay indemnity;
- Prove that the property belongs to you, with a deed, financial documents or bills;
- Prove that there are squatters in your property - this is best done by hiring a legal clerk. Ideally, at least one of the squatters will need to be identified by name.
If the judge accepts the case, a legal clerk will issue the squatters with a court summons - even if they fail to appear in court, they must be informed of any judgement.
If the squatters do not leave the building in the month following the ruling, they will be ordered to leave immediately. If they do not leave after that, the legal clerk should ask the local préfecture to send in law enforcement officers to remove the squatters by force.
What not to do
Even if you are angry and upset, do not take justice into your own hands and try to remove the squatters yourself.
Doing so would mean breaking the law and the sanctions are heavy. You could face three years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
This article contains the guidelines on the law around squatting and is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If in doubt, contact your closest préfecture or a legal expert.
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