An introduction to the legal process of buying French property

• Purchase of a property in France usually starts by signing an offer to purchase which already binds the parties to buy and sell.
• The Contract (Promesse de Vente or Compromis de Vente) is prepared either by a Notaire or the estate agent.
• The Contract contains conditional clauses (conditions suspensives) which have to be fulfilled before completion can happen, e.g. legal rights of pre-emption not exercised (sitting tenants, the local mairie and the national land agency 'SAFER'), mortgage and/or building permits obtained etc.
• The buyer is given a 7-day cooling off period (Loi SRU) to withdraw from the contract without penalties.
• The buyer is required to pay a deposit of up to 10% on signing the Contract, held by the Notaire in 'escrow'.
• The Notaire will verify that the seller has good title (titre) to the property.
• The seller must provide all relevant information about the property to the buyer: hidden defects, surface area (Loi Carrez), any legal interests over the land, including easements/rights of way, tenancies/licences etc.
• Searches are commissioned by the Notaire: Land Registry Search (l'état hypothécaire from the Conservation des Hypothèques), local planning search (note d’urbanisme or certificat d’urbanisme) to establish the existing use of land and administrative restrictions and requirements.
• The Contracts is followed by a Deed of Sale (Acte Authentique) before the Notaire.
• You can appoint an attorney to execute the Deed of Sale using a Power of Attorney (Procuration).
• Fees include the notaire’s fees, stamp duty and registration fees in addition to the purchase price.
• The owner of a property in France is liable to two local taxes: council tax (taxe d'habitation) and land tax (taxe foncière).
• A building owned jointly by individual owners of apartments within the building is a Copropriété. The Managing Agent (Syndic) is the manager of the building and the regulator of relationships between owners.
• Capital gains tax in France is called impôt sur les plus values and is payable on the sale of land or buildings, on shares, and certain other personal property (the most important exemption concerns the family home).
• French law of succession: French law will govern your French property.

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