A couple of owners are, for the moment, condemned to stay in their house. They cannot sell or rent. All this because of a cadastral fraud.
A couple from Sevran, Béatrice and Lionel Harpon, must curse their notary. They are, in fact, victims of a cadastral fraud that condemns them, for the moment, to stay in their house. They can neither sell nor rent even if they want to move soon, he says The Parisian. The story dates back almost 10 years. The couple bought a house in Sevran in 2015. Their first house. They do a great job here, internal and external 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 not. The couple does not own the house they bought in 2015. They own the land next door.
No solution yet
Certainly, some elements could have ticked off Béatrice and Lionel Harpon, such as the different plot number on the DPE and the title of the owner or the low amount of property taxes. But the manager of the real estate agency points out to Le Parisien that it is precisely the work of the notary to verify this type of detail. Especially since the couple were first-time buyers and therefore not particularly experienced in the exercise. The previous owners did not detect anything. Returning to the real estate records, the notary notes that the error dates from a deed of partition dated October 24, 1949.
What’s next for the couple? The chamber of notaries told the couple that the notary did not make a mistake in 2015 and their lawyer told them that there was nothing to do. The notary of the neighbors has been aware of the error since 2017 but for the moment things remain as they are. In any case, the latter must, for its part, trace all the documents for the sale of the land since 1949. Something that could be 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 caught.
It’s not the first time that a plot error penalizes the owners. Please be careful when you buy.