150 or 170 m²: where should the threshold be?

The new Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti, says she is in favour of lowering the floor-area threshold above which an architect must be used. The Fédération Nationale des Dessinateurs Indépendants, which represents independent maîtres d’œuvre, naturally defends this proposal, so here is its view of the reform:

“Previously, the planning reform (of 1 March 2012), with its new method of calculating floor areas, had already reduced the scope for any private individual or professional without an architecture degree to carry out a building project. A correction to that reform, issued by the Decree of 7 May 2012, brought back a less severe calculation, but it still imposed a significant loss in the floor area allowed (without having to use an architect).

In these difficult times, when businesses are vulnerable to reform, it is unthinkable that, in order to preserve a decent income on one side, markets should be cut away on the other, at the risk of seeing firms close and unemployment rise still further.

The FNDI meets other federations and the Ministers.

For this reason, Mme Christine NADEAU (President of the FNDI) and Mr Philippe SPAGNOLI (Vice-President of the FNDI) are meeting the other federations to organise a consultation that will lead to a meeting with the relevant Ministers, namely Mme Filippetti, Minister of Culture, and Mme Duflot, Minister for Equality of Territories and Housing.

This grouping of federations is under way. The powerful FFACB (Fédération Française des Artisans Coopérateurs du Bâtiment) and the SYNAMOB (the professional organisation for architecture and building project management) are meeting in Paris with the FNDI (Fédération Nationale des Dessinateurs Indépendants) to discuss the matter. Other federations are already following suit, and we can hope to see a meeting with the Ministers formally scheduled before the end of the year.

The FFACB, with its President Mr Picoron and its Secretary General Mme Becker, has been particularly active in protecting its members. Indeed, on its own, the FFACB succeeded in turning the original planning reform into a fairer one by pointing out to the former Housing Minister the harmful consequences that such a reform was already having on professionals. This led to the latest Decree of 7 May 2012”. (The passages in italics are the FNDI’s own words.)

Everyone knows that work will be hard to come by, all the more so for private housing (a segment that has halved) while social housing is holding steady. Self-employed architects and maîtres d’œuvre will therefore be the hardest hit by this crisis.

Through this reform, the question is who should tighten their belt the most, or rather who is best placed to take a pay cut. On top of this, the average floor area built by a young couple is falling. See our article on trends in the property market.

I will not ask whether you are for or against a 150 m² threshold. Rather, speaking objectively, who do you think is best placed to take a pay cut?

To see the results of the vote, click here