Must you clear fallen leaves from your garden outside your home in France?
In most cases it is not legal to burn leaves once they have been raked up
The place where leaves land dictates who is responsible for clearing them
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Reader Question: Leaves from the trees on my street are falling right outside my house. Am I responsible for clearing them?
Fallen autumnal leaves are common both in gardens as well as on pavements and the side of roads.
Generally speaking, the cleaning of leaves from public spaces (public streets, roads, parks, etc) is the responsibility of the mairie.
Article L2212-2 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales states the mairie is responsible for “everything that concerns the safety and convenience of passage in the streets, quays, squares and public roads”, which includes cleaning these areas.
Therefore, your local mayor is responsible for ensuring there is not a build-up of leaves on public paths, and will organise street-sweepers to clear these.
However, similar to snowfall, some local authorities can enact a by-law that makes property owners or tenants responsible for cleaning public paths directly outside their properties (essentially, the public pathway between your property and road).
You will need to check with your mairie if such a law is in place in your commune.
Even if it is not required, you can always clear the path should you wish, in order to reduce the risk of slipping yourself.
Rules differ inside property boundaries and for neighbours
Within the boundaries of your own property there is no requirement to clear and rake away leaves. However, it is recommended, as a build-up of dead foliage can lead to fungal infestations and pests, as well as spoil lawns in the following year.
Beyond the boundaries, if leaves, fruit, branches, etc from your trees fall onto neighbouring gardens, it becomes their property, and vice versa if things fall into your garden.
Generally, trees must be planted a certain limit from the property boundary depending on their size, to reduce the amount of debris falling over fences.
Once leaves are cleared, remember that you cannot burn them, as they fall under green waste (déchets verts). Anti-bonfire rules apply year-round.
Only in certain circumstances do mairies grant approval for such bonfires (notably, in some communes where there is no system for the collection of green waste).
Usually, garden waste must be composted or collected as part of special bin collections, otherwise it needs to be taken to tips that accept green waste.
