Fire Damage and No-Fault Liability: The Complete Guide After the 2026 Wildfires

The fire started on the neighbour’s land — who pays?

The wildfires of summer 2026 in the Landes region destroyed dozens of hectares and damaged numerous homes. For victims, one question keeps coming up: can you obtain compensation even if no one is at fault? The answer is yes — thanks to no-fault liability, a pillar of French civil law that is too often overlooked.

What is no-fault liability?

Under ordinary law, to obtain compensation you must prove fault: the neighbour recklessly burned waste in high winds, left a campfire unattended, and so on. But the French Civil Code provides a second, more powerful route: liability for things under one’s custody (Article 1241, formerly Article 1384).

In practice: if a fire breaks out on your neighbour’s land — even without any fault on their part — and spreads to your property, their liability can be engaged on the sole ground that they were the custodian of the thing that caused the fire (electrical installation, chimney, machinery, stockpile of flammable materials).

« A person is liable not only for the damage they cause by their own act, but also for that caused by the acts of persons for whom they are responsible, or by things under their custody. »
— Article 1241 of the French Civil Code (formerly Article 1384, paragraph 1)

How it works: the three conditions

1. A thing: electrical installation, vehicle, stockpile, chimney, machine. The fire itself is not the « thing » — it is the thing that caused the fire to start.
2. A custodian: the person who has control, direction and use of the thing. Usually the owner of the land where the fire started.
3. A causal link: the damage must be a direct consequence of the thing. If the fire started on the neighbouring plot and reached your home, the link exists.

Fault is not a requirement. The neighbour did nothing wrong? It doesn’t matter — the mere fact that a thing under their custody caused a fire is enough to engage their civil liability.

How can the neighbour be exempted from liability?

The custodian can only escape liability in three cases:

• Force majeure: an external, unforeseeable and irresistible event. Lightning striking a tree during a storm with no prior warning may constitute force majeure. However, a heatwave announced days in advance is not unforeseeable — courts have already ruled on this.
• Act of a third party: if a third party deliberately started the fire (arson), the custodian may be exempted — but they will have to prove it.
• Act of the victim: if the victim themselves caused the damage (rare in fire cases).

The 2026 drought: force majeure or not?

This is THE legal question raised by the summer 2026 wildfires. Owners of land where fires broke out will likely invoke force majeure: « It’s not my fault, it’s the exceptional drought. »

Courts are divided on this question. Case law on floods and natural phenomena teaches us that:

• A climate event that was announced and foreseeable (drought alert, fire ban in effect) is not force majeure
• The custodian must have taken all normal precautions given the alerts in force
• If a prefectural order banned open fires and the custodian ignored it → no force majeure

Under criminal law: it’s different

Criminal liability requires fault (intent or negligence). Three scenarios arise:

• Arson: destruction by fire (Articles 322-4 to 322-7 of the French Criminal Code) — up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a €150,000 fine if a home is involved. A criminal complaint is essential.
• Involuntary fire through negligence: burning despite a ban, gross carelessness — Article 322-6 of the Criminal Code punishes fires caused by negligence.
• No criminal fault: the fire broke out without anyone being at fault. No criminal complaint is possible, but no-fault civil liability still applies.

The path for a fire victim

1. Report the loss to your insurer (home multi-risk policy) — within 5 business days
2. Document the damage: photos, videos, invoices — before any clean-up
3. Check the natural disaster (CAT-NAT) scheme: if a natural disaster order is published in the Official Journal, compensation is automatic (with a reduced excess)
4. Consult a lawyer: if the fire came from a neighbour’s property, a no-fault civil liability claim can supplement your insurance payout
5. Call in an expert: an independent building expert assesses the damage, investigates the fire’s origin, and documents the causal link with the neighbouring property

Which courts have jurisdiction?

Action	Court	Time limit
Civil liability (neighbour)	Judicial Court	5 years
Criminal complaint (arson)	Criminal Court	6 years (investigation)
CAT-NAT (insurance)	Insurer / ombudsman	per policy
Municipal liability	Administrative Court	4 years

Liability of the municipality or department

If the fire spread because DFCI forest fire-prevention tracks were poorly maintained, or the municipality failed to enforce brush-clearing obligations, the local authority’s administrative liability may be engaged (no-fault or for negligence). The Mont-de-Marsan Administrative Court has jurisdiction for the Landes.

Key case law

Principles drawn from French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) rulings on fire cases:

• The custodian of the thing: the Cour de cassation regularly applies Article 1241 to fires originating from a chimney, an electrical installation, a vehicle or a stockpile. The custodian is presumed liable unless force majeure, a third party’s act or the victim’s act is proven.
• Lightning as force majeure: recognised as such when exceptionally intense and no protective measure could reasonably have been required. But if the installation was faulty, lightning alone does not exempt the custodian.
• Mandatory brush-clearing: failure to comply with brush-clearing obligations (Articles L131-10 et seq. of the Forestry Code) constitutes civil fault that can engage the owner’s liability, even if the fire did not start on their land.
• Liability for municipal structures: municipalities can be held liable for their facilities (depots, tracks) that helped the fire spread.

The role of the building expert

• Fire cause investigation: electrical, thermal, arson, lightning
• Determining the point of origin: which plot did the fire start on? Whose property?
• Damage assessment: structure, roofing, installations, contents
• Adversarial report: admissible in negotiations with insurers or in court

At Cassini Expertise, we work across the Alpes-Maritimes and Var for fire damage assessments, in collaboration with construction law specialist lawyers.

Frequently asked questions

The fire started in municipal woodland — who is liable?

The municipality may be liable (via the Administrative Court) if it failed to meet its brush-clearing or DFCI track maintenance obligations. This falls under administrative liability.

My insurer refuses to pay out — what should I do?

Dispute it in writing (registered letter) with a lawyer’s help. An independent expert can challenge the insurer’s expert findings. As a last resort: the insurance ombudsman, then court.

The neighbour burned waste despite a ban — what recourse do I have?

Two routes: a criminal complaint (destruction by negligence, Article 322-6 of the Criminal Code) plus a civil claim for damages. The fault is established by the breach of the fire-ban order.

Can I sue under no-fault liability even if the neighbour did nothing wrong?

Yes. That is the whole point of Article 1241: liability is objective, based on custody of the thing, not on fault. The neighbour (or their liability insurer) will have to compensate you.

The fire destroyed my woodland/my business — how is that valued?

A forestry expert assesses the loss (timber value, replanting, loss of business). A building expert assesses damage to structures. The combined report is used for insurance claims and legal proceedings.

What’s the difference between CAT-NAT and civil liability?

CAT-NAT: your insurer compensates damage caused by a natural event officially recognised by government order. Civil liability: you pursue the neighbour (or their insurer) under Article 1241. The two can be combined — the CAT-NAT insurer then recovers costs from the liable neighbour.

📅 Updated 02/09/2026 — By Cassini Expertise, independent building expert for the Alpes-Maritimes & Var. ☎ 04 22 46 06 04.

⚠️ This article is general legal information and does not constitute personalised advice. For your specific situation, consult a lawyer specialising in construction and insurance law.

📅 Mis à jour le 25/09/2026 — Cassini Expertise, expert bâtiment indépendant (06·83·13·40).