Historical monuments

OUR MISSIONS

Work on a historic monument

Project Definition

The state services in charge of the historical monuments, exercise the «scientific and technical control» of the operations concerning the classified and inscribed historical monuments from the preliminary phase (definition of the draft work programme) and for the duration of the operation.

The DRAC shall provide the contracting authority with the state of the art available to it and shall specify to it, in accordance with the nature, importance and complexity of the work envisaged, scientific and technical studies to be carried out prior to the establishment of the programme of operations.

Choice of supervisor

The DRAC indicates the skills and experience required of architects who are candidates for project management of these works, defined in terms of the particularities of the protection of the building and the operation.

The contracting authority submits its choice of prime contractor to the DRAC, which must give its approval for all repair and restoration work carried out on a classified building.

The project management mission: from diagnosis to work

Before submitting an application for a work authorization, the contracting authority shall forward to the regional prefect the draft programme accompanied by the diagnosis of the operation.

Work authorization

Once the studies have been completed, at the stage of the final preliminary project, the owner must send the Cerfa an application for authorization to work on a building classified as historical monuments - General regime and the technical file in 4 copies to the UDAP of the department where the building is located.

This application exempts the applicant from formalities under the Urban Planning Code (mainly building permits). If other laws are applicable (sites, establishments receiving from the public, security, accessibility of people with reduced mobility, etc.), the owner must also send his requests for authorisation under these laws to the competent authorities (Mayor or Reeve as appropriate). A work permit is a special permit for the classified site if the administrative authority responsible for the sites has given its consent. Differences in processing times imply that the two authorisations are issued separately.

The authorization for work on a classified building is issued by the DRAC, which decides within six months of the date of registration notified to the petitioner by the UDAP. The management time starts when the file is received by the UDAP, which assigns a number and sets the registration date. Failure to reply within this period shall be deemed to have been granted.

In the absence of a request for additional documents within one month of receipt, the dossier shall be deemed complete.

The file may be found to be incomplete within this one-month period. The time limit for processing the dossier shall again run from the date of receipt of the requested documents.

If the documents are not received within two months, the application for authorization to carry out the work shall be the subject of a tacit decision rejecting it.

The authorization decision may be subject to requirements, reservations or conditions. 

The decision shall also take into account any requirements formulated by the competent authority for the purpose of deciding on building permit applications.

The work authorization is notified to the owner by the MHRC. It indicates the DRAC agent(s) in charge of scientific and technical control (CST) in connection with ABF, a recent practice at the DRAC Ile de France.

The work authorization shall lapse if the work is not undertaken within three years of notification of the decision or the date on which the tacit decision was taken. Where the commencement of work is subject to authorization or to a procedure provided for by other legislation, that period shall run from the date on which the work may begin under that other legislation if that date is after the notification of the authorization to carry out the work. The authorization shall also lapse if, after this period, the work is interrupted for a period exceeding one year.

The authorization may be extended for one year at the request of its beneficiary.

These time limits shall be suspended in the event of legal proceedings against the authorization.

Work on listed historical monuments

(building permit-form CERFA 13409).

The services responsible for historic monuments verify and guarantee that the interventions on the listed buildings are compatible with the status of monument. They define, according to the characteristics of the registered buildings concerned, the scientific and technical conditions under which the interventions are studied, conducted (art. R621-64).

As part of a work project, the documentation is made available to the petitioner and the State services inform the petitioner of the regulatory, architectural and technical constraints that the project will have to respect.

The use of an architect is made mandatory by the Urban Planning Code for the establishment of the project.

The control of the State services during the works

During construction, the DRAC checks and verifies the proper execution of the work it has authorized.

The contraaing authority shall keep the DRAC staff identified in the work authorisation decision informed of the schedule of the work and its progress, of the site meetings.

At the end of the work, the supervisor shall draw up the completed work file (DOE) in view of which the DRAC departments (UDAP, CRMH) may draw up the certificate of conformity of the work to the authorised project within six months of its completion.

Temporary facilities on classified buildings.

Temporary installations or constructions with a surface area of less than 20 square meters and a duration of less than one month, no authorization is requested under the Heritage Code.

Applications for temporary installations or constructions with a surface area of more than 20 square metres and a duration of between 1 and 3 months shall be examined by the DRAC within one month. In the absence of a reply from the Prefect of the Region, the authorisation is deemed to have been granted.

Applications for the installation of temporary installations or structures with a surface area of more than 20 square metres and a duration of more than three months shall be examined within three months with submission to the competent planning authorities.

Financing of works, grants, excluding specific schemes.

The contracting authority shall ensure that the work is financed and may be allocated over several financial years.

It may apply for aid from the State, local authorities and possibly from foundations or private companies.

State subsidies are not compulsory. It is advisable to make the request in advance as soon as the estimated amount of the transaction is known. In order to reduce the financial burden on owners in terms of payments, advances of 30% may be paid to them at the beginning of the work.

The subsidy shall be capped at the amount notified in the order and may not be increased if the estimated amount on which it was calculated is exceeded. The balance of the subsidy is paid after the certificate of conformity is issued for the classified buildings and after the proofing for the registered buildings.

The grant application appears in the Cerfa de demande d'autorisation de travaux.

In the case of grants granted for the restoration of historical monuments which have been the subject of an advertisement, public grants are calculated after the amount of revenue received for the display has been deducted from the amount of eligible work.