Infringement of city planning rules: what are the limitation periods?

Verified 09 August 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The limitation period is the time beyond which the author of a infringement can no longer be prosecuted.

The majority of city planning violations are offenses that engage your criminal liability.

Infringements concern in particular the carrying out of work without authorization or not in accordance with the authorization obtained.

The limitation period for infringements shall be 6 years.

It starts when the work is fully completed.

Example :

For work completed in April 2018, your criminal liability may be committed until April 2024.

After 6 years, you can no longer be subject to criminal prosecution. However, after this period, the municipality may commit your civil liability, within 10 years of the completion of the work. It then applies to the court for an order to demolish or bring your construction into conformity.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    • accès

      For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.

      Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.

    • horaires
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

    • Request a call

      coût Service free
    • service

      The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.