To ask if anyone in France can help with a recycling/ tip question

[PatterdalePatty]

I'm helping a friend to sort out a house after a family member passed away
It'll mainly be moving personal items to being home like pictures/ photos and the furniture is all knackered and will need tipping / recycling. Do you need a licence or anything ? Anyone who knows that would be great. I think I need to contact the mairie but as the house owner wasn't resident I'm. It sure how it'll go. I speak french rustily so hopefully can help but a steer or any tips would be fabulous. Thank you 🙏

Not sure whereabouts you are, but here in 82 you need to register with the dechetterie (tip) and you get a little card which entitles you to use the facility local to you. It won't work for other locations and I believe there may be a limit (??24) on how many visits you can make before being charged.

I didn't know about the limit so we are being careful now as we are shortly moving back to the UK and have done at least 10 visits in the last few weeks!

Best to ask at the local dechetterie if your French is up to it, but also worth looking on FB to see if there any English speaking groups for the area. As with most things in France it probably varies from area to area.

There is also Emmaus who seem to be France wide.
They may be able to help with house clearance.

The registering is the same in 37. You need to pay tax functionaire to qualify, then you get it from the overall rubbish company , not the Marie. (smut com 👿 no Smitcom). In our commune.
if the deceased lived there, have a look around for the card? You might be able to see if they were registered with the company/ administration.

i don’t envy you, there don’t seem to be any house clearance services in France. Charities don’t seem to be interested Be cautious about recommendations for Emmaus, they now charge for removal and some of the people who turn up are dodgy to say the least.

some people have a house clearance sale, just put a notice up outside the house ‘Vide Maison’.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen

I didn't realise that about Emmaus.

We have bought stuff from there quite often, but not used them for anything else.

Ignore that recommendation OP.

It's Lot. 46.
The house is very isolated so a Maisionvide sign would be seen. I'll look into getting the number and ring them. Wish me luck
Deceased wasn't resident sadly.

Do you reckon if he didn't live there he wouldn't have a card?

He might still have had a card even if not resident, and not all areas need a card (we didn’t until very recently in 56). If you look on the mairie website you might find instructions for the déchèterie, even if the mairie doesn’t run it directly. If not, you could try going to the mairie in person, they’ll know what to do and if they’re helpful will point you in the right direction.

He could have applied for a dechetterie pass even as a non-resident, yes.
Presumably the notaire has given the go ahead for the house to be cleared? There is usually a valuation of furniture, personal belongings, etc, to calculate the deceased's total assets and tax due.

Didn't have a clue a notaire was needed. Crikey.

It's not up for sale yet I should say

OK then the first thing your friend needs to do is appoint a notaire https://www.notaires.fr/en/directory

Is a notaire needed even if the house is just being prepared for sale? There's nothing in it of worth from memory. A huge 1980s microwave I remember and a few knackered beds. The main reason for going was to collect photos (and am hoping they'll buy some wine too to toast his dad )

Yes.
Your friend can't sell the property until it's been transferred into their name, after the notaire has checked the will (if in English, they'll probably require a translation by a court certified translator), geneology checks may be needed to make sure your friend is the sole inheritor, and all taxes/debts have been paid. Your friend will need to submit a tax déclaration de succession and pay inheritance tax to the French impots.
And you only have 12 months from the date of death to pay the tax.