Summer is coming, and with it the anxiety of many homeowners living near wooded areas. In Le Teich, on the Arcachon Basin, Malika’s mother, 72, hardly sleeps any longer. Her small house sits beside the forest, her bank account far less so. “We’re facing absurd laws! My mother can’t sleep at night, she’s worried about fires and the law, but she isn’t rich!”, Malika says.
Between the fear of fires and the worry of a 1,500 € fine, the mandatory brush clearance is mounting pressure, especially among the elderly or those living alone. Some, like Jérémy Debruge in Dordogne, hire a gardener. Others, lacking means, feel trapped. Many discover that this obligation does not stop at the edge of their fence.
Legal obligation of brush clearance: who must comply and to what extent?
The principle is laid out by the Forest Code: as soon as a building is located in or within 200 meters of forested massifs, moors, scrubland or garrigue classified as fire-risk, the legal obligation to clear vegetation applies. The government clearly summarizes the rule: “You have the obligation to brush-clear your land and to keep it cleared if it is located within 200 meters of forest massifs, moors, scrublands or garrigue areas classified as fire-risk.” In Aquitaine, nearly all departments are concerned.
Around houses, the area to be cleared is generally a radius of 50 meters, even if this extends onto the neighbor’s property. Access roads, routes or paths must also be brush-cleared to 10 meters on either side. It is not a matter of leveling all vegetation, but of cutting tall grasses, ferns, scrub and pruning branches up to two meters high. “The brush fire is the one that will spread the fastest and feeds the fire until it reaches all trees and shrubs,” explains Victor Culong, a surveillance officer with the DFCI.
Cost, fatigue, absent neighbor: when brush clearing becomes impossible
In Coursac, Dordogne, Jérémy Debruge chose to delegate. “Between the brush cutter and the mower, I don’t have time to maintain it myself. I have 200 trees and fields all around,” he describes. The professional Yannick Daudou follows the jobs back-to-back: “We’re doing a lot of brush clearances right now, especially in vacation homes or primary residences. Homeowners are afraid of fires and don’t want to take risks.” But this choice comes with a cost, sometimes hard to bear.
For Malika’s mother, a small-time cleaner’s pension, the bill is out of reach. “I haven’t asked for a quote, but when you know that trimming a small hedge costs on average 600 euros, you realize it’s impossible to hire someone, especially since it has to be redone every year,” sighs her daughter. In Le Teich, 4,000 m² around the house must be brush-cleared, much of which belongs… to the neighbor, in a secondary residence. Yet the law requires treating the entire 50-meter zone, even on the neighboring plot, unless the neighbor explicitly refuses and takes charge of the work.
Forest fires, neighbor conflicts and a 1,500 € fine: what the law provides
Mayors, like Claude Denis in Creyssenac-et-Pissot, see tensions rising. “There are many people who refuse, saying it’s the neighbor’s responsibility, so it isn’t up to them to do it. And there are others who don’t want their neighbors to come onto their property,” he notes. To limit conflicts, official services recommend writing to the neighbor by registered mail, offering an intervention and waiting at least a month before contacting the town hall if there is a blockage.
On paper, the sanction can be heavy. Penal provisions for non-compliance with the OLD expose one to a fine of up to 1,500 € per owner, with more serious offenses at 50 € per square meter of uncleared ground. The municipality may also issue a formal notice, accompany it with a daily penalty charge of up to 100 € for each day of delay, arrange the works ex officio and bill the cost, while adding an administrative fine of up to 50 € per square meter. In the event of a fire, the insurer may even increase the deductible, by several thousand euros, if the brush clearance was not carried out in accordance with the rules.
