Guide · Buying

Buying a house in France: process, notary and purchase costs

As of November 2026 · about 7 minutes' read

As an EU citizen you can buy property in France without restrictions. You do not need to live there and you do not need a permit. The process is strictly regulated and goes through a notary. That protects you, but it does not automatically make the purchase safe. Most problems arise before the first signature, with the preliminary contract and the survey reports.

The process at a glance

In France it usually takes about three months from agreement to handover of the keys. During this time the notary gathers documents, the municipality checks its right of pre-emption and you sort out the financing.

1. Offer. You make a written offer (“offre d'achat”). If the seller accepts, that is not yet a purchase.
2. Preliminary contract. You sign the “compromis de vente” or a “promesse de vente”. After that, your cooling-off period begins.
3. Waiting period. The notary, the bank and the authorities work through the conditions of the preliminary contract.
4. Purchase contract. At the notary you sign the “acte authentique”, pay the rest and get the keys.

The preliminary contract: compromis de vente

The “compromis de vente” commits both sides to the purchase. It sets the price, the date and the conditions under which the purchase may fall through. The alternative is the “promesse unilatérale de vente”: here only the seller is committed, and you get an option to buy for a set period. For you as a buyer, the difference in practice is small.

When you sign, you usually pay a deposit of 5 to 10 per cent of the price. It does not go to the seller but into an escrow account with the notary or estate agent.

Once the ten days are over, the contract is binding. If you pull out without an agreed reason, you will generally lose the deposit. So have the draft translated and checked beforehand.

The mandatory survey reports: diagnostics

The seller must provide a package of survey reports, the “dossier de diagnostic technique”. It is attached to the preliminary contract. Which reports are needed depends on the year of construction, the location and the fittings:

• DPE: the energy performance certificate, with classes from A to G. For houses in classes E, F and G, an energy audit is also mandatory when selling.
• Asbestos: if planning permission was granted before July 1997.
• Lead: for buildings built before 1949.
• Electricity and gas: if the installation is more than 15 years old.
• Termites: in areas the prefect has declared infested.
• Natural and environmental risks: flooding, earthquakes, mining, noise near airports.
• Sewage: an inspection report for houses not connected to the mains sewer.

Read the reports carefully, especially the energy performance certificate. A house in class F or G can no longer be let on long-term tenancies indefinitely. The renovation can quickly cost more than the purchase price. The energy audit gives you a rough cost estimate for it.

Notary and acte authentique

There is no property purchase in France without a notary (“notaire”). The notary checks the land register, obtains extracts from the land registry (cadastre) and the planning office, checks pre-emption rights, collects taxes and has the purchase registered. The notary is neutral and acts for both sides.

You may bring in your own notary. As a rule this costs you nothing extra, because the two notaries share the fee set by law. A second notary who speaks German or has experience with German buyers is a good safeguard.

You do not have to be there in person for the “acte authentique”. You can give a power of attorney (“procuration”). The balance must be in the notary's account beforehand. Cash is not accepted.

Pre-emption rights: SAFER and the municipality

Before the purchase is completed, the notary checks for possible pre-emption rights. Two are important:

• Municipality (“droit de préemption urbain”): In many towns and villages the municipality can buy instead of the buyer. It usually has two months to decide. It rarely uses this right for ordinary houses.
• SAFER: The regional agencies for rural development have a right of pre-emption on agricultural land. This affects you if the house comes with meadows, vineyards, woodland or larger garden plots classed as farmland. SAFER also has about two months.

If you are buying a country house with a lot of land, ask early on which plots are affected. Sometimes it is worth dealing with the house and the farmland separately.

Purchase costs

What is called “frais de notaire” in France is mostly taxes. The notary only collects them. For existing properties the total costs are usually 7 to 8 per cent of the purchase price, for new builds about 2 to 3 per cent.

The purchase cost calculator works it out in euros for your price.

Furniture sold with the house can be listed separately in the contract. No property transfer tax is due on its value. But the value must be realistic. You can read more about the costs after the purchase in the article Costs and taxes for a holiday home abroad.

Ongoing taxes

• Taxe foncière: the property tax. It is paid by whoever owns the property on 1 January. The purchase contract usually states that you refund the seller the share from the date of purchase. The waste charge is often included.
• Taxe d'habitation: It has been abolished for main residences, but not for second homes. If you use the house as a holiday home, you keep paying it. In areas with a tight housing market, municipalities may add a surcharge of up to 60 per cent. Many popular coastal towns do so.
• Declaration of use: Owners must state online to the French tax office how they use the property: themselves, let or empty. If anything changes, the declaration is due by 1 July of the following year. For this you need an account on impots.gouv.fr.

Typical pitfalls

• Septic tank instead of mains sewer. Many country houses have their own sewage system (“assainissement non collectif”). The seller must provide an inspection report from the responsible authority (SPANC) that is no more than three years old. If the system does not comply, you usually have to bring it up to standard within a year of the purchase. That can cost 8,000 to 15,000 euros, or more depending on the soil. Negotiate this into the price.
• Unauthorised extensions. Check whether the pool, veranda or converted barn has been approved. The notary does not check every area in detail.
• Unclear boundaries and rights of way. With old farmhouses, access is often only tolerated. Ask to see the cadastral plan and the easements.
• Not reading the local plan. If you want to extend, ask at the mairie (town hall) about the “PLU”, the local development plan, first.
• Underestimating letting. If you want to let to holidaymakers, you must register, and some municipalities restrict this heavily. More on this in the article Holiday home in France.
• Forgetting inheritance law. In the EU, inheritance is in principle governed by the law of your habitual residence. French forced heirship rules can still play a role if you live there. Clarify this before you buy, including the question of whose name goes in the land register.

You can find official information on the preliminary contract on service-public.fr, the French government portal.

This article gives a general overview and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice. Tax rates and rules change. Check them with a notary, lawyer or tax adviser in France before you buy.