Expandable homes gain popularity in France

Would-be homeowners unable to afford the property of their dreams are increasingly looking at houses that can be extended at a later date.

A number of promoters in France are selling houses specially designed for this purpose as a way of reducing initial costs.

Many of the properties are modular, and the architects include extra wiring and plumbing from the start so future rooms can be built with minimal disruption.

Planning laws in France have changed to make adding rooms, especially by creating extra storeys, easier to get approval than before.

Extension vs reality

Nevertheless, extension plans do not always come to fruition.

A 2016 housing development in Chanteloup-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne) boasted 35 properties designed to be enlarged in this way.

At the time, it featured on France 2 TV with much fanfare. However, the reporter returned this year to find that none of the owners had yet extended their houses as they thought they would.

The main reason cited was price rises – adding a storey, which was estimated to cost €35,000 in 2016, now costs €50,000.

Most properties built with extensions in mind are made from wood, but one patented design called Cubik-Home, made by David Damichy of Magny-Cours (Nièvre), uses prefabricated concrete units.

Read more: French design kit house can be built in a weekend by two people

They have walls just 5cm thick, to which can be added 18cm of internal insulation. The units are made in a factory, with a maximum of 10m by 4m, and then slotted together on site.

Most customers keep the roofs flat, but it is possible to have sloped roofs with the woodwork resting on the walls too. Prices start from around €1,500 per m2.

The French government is also encouraging the idea of large gardens being used to site new homes, as a way of stopping urban spread.

Périgueux in Dordogne is one of the pioneering towns, offering advice and help with planning requirements to people considering the move.