scrubbedexpat122

I'm planning to set up an off-grid lifestyle in France, and I'd like to connect with like-minded people.

christmasoompa

Just to add before people ask - the OP has an Irish passport.

Moses2013

There have been several threads over the years, be it France, Spain & Portugal. I think first of all you need to define what you mean by off-grid lifestyle and although I'm in Ireland and also bought land across the border in Spain, the regulations across the EU are very similar. Is it an existing house/ruin you want to convert, do you plan to build on land, put a caravan on it etc.? At the end of the day every local council will have different building regulations and like anywhere, you need to make sure it's legal and have the paperwork. You will find all the positive stories online about people living the dream, some do it legally and others do it illegally.

scrubbedexpat122

Hi Moses,

I'm hoping to find a derelict building and some land, so I've got legal accommodation and some land, but because I've got family in the area where I'm searching and the offer of a free room to stay in, I'm in a position where just a plot of land would be good for me to begin with, somewhere to grow food and keep some livestock.

cyrian

What area are you looking at?
Do you plan to be self-sufficient or to sell produce?

Because of complex French inheritance laws there are buildings that are just lying empty.
The problem is to find such a building with the land you will need.
Depending on your chosen area pay close attention to infestations e.g., termites in any timbers.
HTH

Listen Very Carefully

If you do find a bit of land that you want to build on or even if there is a ruin check with local mairie before buying whether it will be possible to actually build or renovate Round our way the commune is trying to encourage farming even on a small scale and as part of that they have been refusing permission for old barns stys etc to be converted to housing Ideally any land that you want to build on should come with a CU(certificat d'urbanisme) Beware the honeyed words of vendor/estate agent

Moses2013

Can only agree and regarding livestock, this recently came up in the Portugal forum. If you are talking about sheep and goats, this would be important.
France:
https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/fra...ning-livestock
EU:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-c...and-goats.html

dmu

+1 The local Mairie is the first port of call before signing anything, whatever the vendors/estate agents say.....
Even if the Mairie does give a Permis de Construire, the sale of agricultural land involves extra bureaucracy, which adds about 3 months more to the procedure. The OP should also research "keeping some livestock" if it's more than a few hens, as well as "living off-grid" (the legal aspects of sewage disposal, water/power supply). A lot of French administrative/legal terminology will be involved!
Fore-warned is fore-armed.......