Construction practices in Luxembourg are framed by the law: before starting the works and contacting the builders, collect all useful information with the appropriate authorities to ensure you abide by all the rules. Otherwise, you may find yourself in breach of some of your obligations and be obliged to stop the works, or even to destroy what has already been done.
Know the limits of your land
Obviously, you are only allowed to build on the land you own. But this does not mean you can undertake any kind of works as town planning rules applied locally and must be known before starting anything.
So before all, contact the ACT (Administration du cadastre et de la topography), which can officially mark the boundaries of your land and check that its limits are consistent with the cadastral map.
If you think about dividing or allotting a land, you will also need to resort to a certified surveyor who will perform an official survey.
How to obtain a construction licence?
It is impossible to start building your future house without this key document: in the absence of a construction licence, authorities are entitled to demand the immediate termination of the works and to destroy anything that have already been built.
In order to get your construction licence and to respect all the Luxembourg laws, you must apply to your local municipal administration. The request you will issue must include all the information linked to the owner’s civil status, the various documents related to the land (cadastral extract, localisation and construction plans) and a comprehensive description of the planned works.
You not only need a licence for the main house, but also for any other separate building (for instance, if you plan to build a garage). Besides, each municipality can establish its own requirements, which can imply additional steps to obtain the construction licence ̶ before sending your application file, ask for advice so as to know the exact list of mandatory documents.
“You not only need a licence for the main house, but also for any other separate building.”
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Once the construction licence is obtained, always keep the works under control!
Once you get this precious document, you must start the works within one year (if you should start after the deadline, you will have to go through the whole process again). Even if the administration previously authorized the works, they will remain vigilant: authorities are entitled to follow up the operations to ensure everything is compliant with the initial request.
You did not succeed in getting your construction licence? You should know that a great number of items may result in a refusal of your request: your project may be considered as not integrating in its immediate surroundings, as not respecting some public security rules or may prove to be not rigorous enough if you are on a protected site (historic buildings).
“You did not succeed in getting your construction licence? You should know that a great number of items may result in a refusal of your request.”
In any case, if you have a doubt on the appropriate steps to go through before building, the ideal solution remains to have your project followed up by an architect all through the process. The latter will ensure that each detail is feasible while helping you to keep your budget.
