Climate change intensifies the risk of forest and vegetation fires. The fire season is lengthening, fires are intensifying and the risk is gradually extending to new regions. In recent years, fires of unprecedented scale have ravaged several European countries, and France is not spared.ee: thus, in 2025, in France, 30,000 hectares of forest and vegetation burned, twice the average of recent years, and nearly 190 buildings were severely damaged or destroyed.
However, 90% of houses destroyed during forest fires are located on poorly or not cleared land. To prevent this danger, clearing your land and the surrounding area of your home is the best protection for you, your property and the surrounding nature. Clearing brush is your home’s safety belt against fires : it limits the spread and facilitates the intervention of firefighters. By clearing brush, you are investing in your safety.
Clearing is OBLIGATORY in the 48 departments (nearly 7,400 municipalities) including areas classified at risk of forest and vegetation fires.
Clearing aims to reduce the mass of plants in a zone of 50 meters (extended to 100 meters in rare cases) around your buildings or other installations.
You are affected by this obligation if you are the owner of buildings or installations located within or less than 200 meters from woods, forests, moors, scrubland and scrubland. The mayor is responsible for monitoring compliance with this obligation and sworn agents, notably those from the National Forestry Office (ONF), are authorized to issue fines.
Please note that since January 1, 2025, buyers of real estate located in an area subject to the legal obligation of clearing must be informed at each stage of the sale.
To find out if you are concerned by the legal obligation to clear brush, you can contact your town hall, your department prefecture or go to jedebroussaille.gouv.f
date: 2026-02-13 20:38:00