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Property Rights in France - Water

3. Drainage Servitudes - Servitude d’aqueduc

Farmers (and local councils for that matter) have a right to require that property owners grant them permission to install a drain under the ground of their property if it is needed to carry irrigation water to outlying fields, or to prevent flooding to the fields.

This right is known as une servitude d’aqueduc and applies whether or not the farmer is a neighbour for the drains may need to pass under several properties.

However, the farmer is not entitled to pass drains through the garden of a residential property.

Neither is the right to this servitude is automatic. The farmer needs to obtain the consent of the owner. If this cannot be obtained then it is necessary for them to proceed to a court of law to obtain passage.

Whilst the court of law may well be sympathetic to the needs of the farmer, they are also forced to take into consideration the interests of the property owner.

If a right is granted then the farmer is obliged to pay compensation to the owner in the form of a single payment, not an ongoing licence fee.

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