A couple of owners are, for the moment, condemned to stay in their house. They cannot sell or rent it. All this because of a cadastral imbroglio.
A couple from Sevran, Béatrice and Lionel Harpon, must curse their notary. They are, in fact, victims of a cadastral imbroglio which condemns them, for the moment, to staying in their house. They can neither sell nor rent even though they wanted to move soon, says The Parisian. The story goes back almost 10 years. The couple bought a house in Sevran in 2015. Their first home. They are doing major work there, interior and exterior insulation, electricity, terrace, attic conversion, etc.
Nine years later, they decided to put their cocoon up for sale. They go through a real estate agent who finds them a buyer for 242,000 euros. But the latter notices an anomaly. On the property title given by the couple, it is written that they are the owners of plot BX151. However, the house is built on plot BX152. Simple typo? Unfortunately no. The couple does not own the house they bought in 2015. They own the land next door.
No solution yet
Certainly, certain elements could have tipped off Béatrice and Lionel Harpon, such as the different plot number on the DPE and the owner’s title or the low amount of property tax. But the manager of the real estate agency specifies to Le Parisien that it is precisely the notary’s job to verify these kinds of details.
Especially since the couple were first-time buyers and therefore not particularly experienced in the exercise. The previous owners didn’t detect anything either. By going back through the real estate archives, the notary noted that the error dated from a partition deed dated October 24, 1949.
What will be next for the couple? The chamber of notaries allegedly told the couple that the notary made no mistake in 2015 and their lawyer told them that there was nothing to do. The neighbors’ notary has been aware of the error since 2017 but for the moment things remain as they are.
However, the latter must, for his part, trace all the sales documents for the land since 1949. Something that could have been done in at least 7 years. The solution would be for an investor to buy both plots with, as a result, a reduction in price from both sellers. But the neighbor refuses. The couple is therefore stuck.
It is not the first time that a plot error penalizes the owners. Please be careful when purchasing.