What are the risks in the event of poor clearance?
You must be aware that beyond fines, you risk not only the lives of the occupants and the emergency services, but also the destruction of property.
If you do not respect the obligation to clear brush, you expose yourself to administrative and judicial police measures which can be taken independently or concurrently.
In matters of judicial police
You incur a 5th class fine (of €135, maximum amount of €750 or a fixed fine increased by €375), and a 5th class fine (€1500) if your land is located in a ZAC, an AFU or a subdivision.
In addition to these minor offenses, in the event of a formal notice not being respected, the criminal fine is increased to €30 per square meter not cleared. The court can also order you, under penalty (rate between €30 and €75 per hectare per day), to carry out the work within a specified time. The municipality can give you formal notice to carry out the clearing, and accompany this formal notice with a penalty of a maximum amount of €100 per day. You will have to pay this penalty from the notification of the formal notice and until you clear the brush, or until the mayor has it done automatically at your expense.
Furthermore, when you have not carried out the work prescribed by the formal notice at the end of the set deadline, the mayor may refer the matter to the competent administrative authority of the State, which may impose an administrative fine of up to at €30 per m² not cleared.
If the fact of not having cleared brush allowed the spread of a fire which destroyed the property of others, you can be sentenced to up to 1 year of imprisonment and a fine of €15,000. If this concerns your home, your insurer may apply an additional excess of €5,000.
