This article is for general information only. You should not act or refrain from acting in reliance of it. You should always obtain professional advice on the facts of your particular case. Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice. The owner of this site accepts no liability.

 

Like everywhere getting involved in litigation in France is a bad move. In smaller towns UK property owners are considered to be wealthier than the locals and suing a local in the local French courts is always going to be an uphill struggle. If it involved trying to evict a local person from your property expect the judges to grant plenty of adjournements and permit delaying tactics at every turn.

 

In England the risks of a substantial costs order keeps a check on matters. This is not the case in which the winner does not get his costs but usually quite a small award which goes nowhere near paying his lawyers fees.

 

The best approach is to plan to avoid litigation and seek to settle early on. In rural communities you can risk the locals having far more sympathy for one of them than an outsider.

 

Unlike England in France if you are involved in a dispute with the local authority or a government or para-state organisation the case will probably not go to the ordinary civil court. Instead it will go to an Administrative Court which usually means very slow procedures. It usuallt means using specialist lawyers.

 

When choosing an avocat to represent you it is often wise to use one from outside the area. Costs of avocats vary greatly across France and it will probably be cheaper to use a specialist property litigator from a provincial town.

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