Regulations regarding collective-ownership

Whether you live in a place with collective-ownership or on an estate, your garden will be subject to certain regulations; these add another layer to legislation that is already complicated!

Regulations regarding collective-ownership

Conifers are not always welcome on housing estates!

Stronger than the law

In an area of collective-ownership or on an estate, the law applies to everyone. From a legal point of view, it is a private contract that may impose obligations that are more restrictive than the law. On subjects where the law says nothing, a particular rule on an estate can forbid or oblige you to do certain things. The law is only applied as a last resort, this is usually on a particular point where there is no rule in place (planting distances in relation to a boundary for example). It is very important to you: you cannot ignore a clause in the estate’s rules on the basis that the law imposes no obligation on that subject.

Regulations regarding collective-ownership

Nothing must exceed the limits!

The most constraining rule on an estate is in relation to the appearance and height of hedges. The law itself imposes no height restriction on a hedge that is planted more than 2 metres away from the boundary. On an estate it is possible (and legal) to restrict the height to 1.50 m or less. The planting distance away from the boundary, however remains the same at 50cm. Rules on estate can be more restrictive than the law but they cannot allow more freedom than the law authorises! In practice, the rules of a particular estate tend to ease over time. Hedges are allowed to grow a little more than allowed and generally, less attention is paid to strictly enforcing the rules. However, you could always get a neighbour who digs out the rules and tries to impose them even if the problem does not inconvenience him directly!

Regulations regarding collective-ownership

Mixed hedges are a much more appreciated in the landscape.

Imposed choice

The rules of estates and collective-ownership can also proscribe the type of plants that must be used for hedging on aesthetic grounds. Very often, such rules ban the use of laurel and conifers in a hedge. The thuja is also often banned on the basis that it is susceptible to disease if it is planted in large numbers in a concentrated area. The ban can encompass all conifers including the cypress of Provence and Junipers. When a rule states the type of plants that you can grow or not, it may also state the type of material that you can (or must not) use. Concrete slabs are often restricted, always for aesthetic reasons.

Estate rules can also impose quite a limiting list of plants that you can choose for hedging. This may strike you as very restrictive but tell yourself that there is a good reason for it! The list of species that you are given does however let you choose the individual varieties to use. You can therefore make up a hedge that will be much prettier than a monotonous straight line… and wildlife will adore it! By contrast, in a laurel hedge you will not see many species of birds.

M. Jean-Michel GROULT
 
Pépinières PLANFOR
1950 Route de Cère
40090 UCHACQ - FRANCE
Tel : (020).7660.0178