Title IV: Land easements or services

Any co-owner may build against a party wall, and have beams or joists placed in the full thickness of the wall, to within fifty-four millimetres, without prejudice to the neighbour’s right to have the beam rough-hewn down to half the wall, should he himself wish to set beams in the same place, or lean a chimney against it. .

Any co-owner may have the party wall raised; but he alone must pay the expense of the raising and the maintenance repairs above the height of the common fence; he alone must also pay the maintenance costs of the common part of the wall due to the raising and reimburse the neighbouring owner for all expenses made necessary to the latter by the raising.

If the party wall is not in a condition to support the heightening, the party wishing to heighten it must have it rebuilt in its entirety at his own expense, and the excess thickness must be taken on his side.

A neighbour who has not contributed to the heightening may acquire joint ownership of it by paying half the expense it has cost and the value of half the soil provided for the excess thickness, if any. The cost of the heightening is estimated at the date of acquisition, taking into account the condition of the heightened part of the wall.

Any owner adjoining a wall has the option of making it party wall in whole or in part, by reimbursing the master of the wall half the expense it has cost, or half the expense of the portion of the wall he wishes to make party wall and half the value of the ground on which the wall is built. The expenditure that the wall has cost is estimated at…

One of the neighbours may not make any indentation in the body of a party wall, or apply or support any work thereon without the consent of the other, or without having, on his refusal, caused to be settled by experts the means necessary to ensure that the new work will not be prejudicial to the rights of the other.

Each person may compel his neighbour, in towns and suburbs, to contribute to the construction and repair of the fence separating their houses, courtyards and gardens in the said towns and suburbs: the height of the fence shall be fixed in accordance with particular regulations or constant and recognised custom and, in the absence of custom and regulations, any dividing wall between neighbours, which is built or re-established in the…

Where a party wall or house is rebuilt, the active and passive easements continue in respect of the new wall or house, without however being able to be aggravated, and provided that the rebuilding takes place before prescription is acquired.

Any fence which separates hereditaments is deemed to be joint, unless there is only one of the hereditaments in a state of enclosure, or if there is a title, prescription or mark to the contrary. For ditches, there is a mark of non-jointness when the levee or discharge of land is on one side only of the ditch. The ditch is deemed to belong exclusively to the person on whose…

The joint fence must be maintained at joint expense; but the neighbour may avoid this obligation by renouncing joint ownership. This option ceases if the ditch is usually used for drainage.