Real estate notary: renting, buying, selling real estate

Updated on Friday 13 March 2026

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Buying and selling : the various stages

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The promise to sell and the sales agreement

Are you about to sign a preliminary contract? This is known as a "pre-contract". The preliminary contract and the sales agreement are two contracts with different consequences for the buyer and the seller
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Act of sale: Timelines after signature

You leave with the keys, but without your Ownership Title. However, the notaire has given you the Certificates of Ownership. These certificates represent, in some way, a provisional and simplified Ownership Title.
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Obligations related to a real-estate sale

A building’s seller (apartment, house, land) is obliged to inform his buyer as soon as the preliminary contract has been signed. It is important to get advice before putting a property up for sale.
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Buying a property

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The joint-ownership system

Joint ownership is the legal situation in which two or more people jointly own the same property. Theoretically, it allows easier financing, maintenance, and management.
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Co-ownership, your rights, and obligations

The legal regime of co-ownership allows the distribution of the ownership of an apartment building between several people, known as co-owners.
This system sets the operating rules of this small community, so that the latter is experienced peacefully.
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Private water body: what is the regulation?

Buying a private water body can be useful to produce fish, irrigate one’s crops, provide water to life stock or fight a fire. But it can also help to do a hobby like fishing or hunting.
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Buy or sell a forest: how to go about it ?

Purchasing a forest isn’t an insignificant act, which is bought on an impulse. It is an ecological, environmental, civic, economic, heritage-like approach... regardless of the motivation, purchasing a forest needs to be mulled over, carefully.
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Purchase in France by a non-resident

Before any real estate investment in France, a foreign national must contact a professional to find out the conditions for the investment in question. Several aspects need to be examined.
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Buying property with the interest free loan (IFL)

IFL (or "Interest Free Loan") is a government regulated loan, with no interest or administration fees. It is granted depended on the conditions for resources, to acquire a main residence or financing certain works.
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Wealth tax (IFI)

The wealth tax (IFI) is a tax on the real estate assets for individuals, which has replaced the solidarity wealth tax (ISF) since January 2018.
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Selling a property

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Capital gains on real estate in France

The real estate capital gain is equal to the difference between the sale price and the purchase price or the declared value, when the property has been received by donation or inheritance.
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Buy or sell a forest: how to go about it ?

Purchasing a forest isn’t an insignificant act, which is bought on an impulse. It is an ecological, environmental, civic, economic, heritage-like approach... regardless of the motivation, purchasing a forest needs to be mulled over, carefully.
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VAT on property

Property Value Added Tax on property (VAT on property) is a tax levied by the French State, when the sale concerns a new property whether it is housing or building land.
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Sale of real-estate renovation (VIR)

The seller of real estate for residential and/or professional use, who undertakes to carry out work within a specified period and receives sums from the purchaser before the completion.
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Building up a real estate portfolio

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SCI family

A SCI family (real estate company) allows members of the same family (relationship or alliance) to be owners, in different proportions or not, and manage one or more real estate together, for a non-commercial purpose. 
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Rental investment : DENORMANDIE scheme

The "Denormandie" tax incentive scheme aims to encourage individuals to purchase a property to renovate in a deteriorated old district with the intention of renting it out. It is an extension of the Pinel rental investment scheme.
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Professional furnished lessor

The activity of direct or indirect rental for furnished or intended to be furnished accommodation is implemented on a professional basis, when the following three conditions are met.
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Rent

Build and develop on a daily basis

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French property law: prior declaration of works

Generally required to carry out minor developments, the prior declaration is an administrative act which gives the administration the means to check that your construction project is in keeping with the town planning rules in force.
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Development permit in France

A development permit is an administrative act which allows the administration to monitor the works, installations, and developments, which shall impact the use of the land on a given site.
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Demarcation

Demarcation is about definitively fixing the limit of two adjacent sites and marking these limits through marker materials known as “bounds”. Demarcating a land is not compulsory (with exceptions). However, it is highly recommended.
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Joint ownership

Joint ownership can be defined as a regime of forced co-ownership of dividing barriers such as walls, hedges and ditches. These are not easements but genuine rights of ownership held in common by two people.
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The building permit : the steps to take

The building permit makes it possible to undertake any new construction (such as a house) but extension works for an area greater than 20 sqm or work for historical monuments.
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Sewerage systems in France

Nearly 20% of the french population is not connected to the public sewage collection network and must be equipped with non-collective sanitation facilities that are particularly suitable for dispersed settlements.
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A question ? Need help ?

It depends on the municipality where the property is located. The purpose of this inspection is to verify that wastewater is not being discharged into the stormwater drainage system. This control may be mandatory if: The municipality has issued a local decree requiring it, pursuant to Article L2224-8 of the…
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Reminder: The partition duty is levied by the French tax administration when co-owners agree to terminate the joint ownership by allocating the jointly owned property to one of them. Except in specific cases, this duty is set at 2.5% of the net value of the assets being divided. Answer: Yes…
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No, you are not required to sell, even if a prospective buyer offers the asking price (see, to that effect, Cour de cassation, 3rd Civil Chamber, 12 February 2008, No. 06-21.709, concerning a mandate given to an estate agent; and Cour de cassation, 3rd Civil Chamber, 17 June 2009, No…
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No. Under the community of acquisitions regime, assets received by way of succession are considered separate property of the spouse who inherits them (Article 1405, paragraph 1 of the French Civil Code). Consequently, the undivided share inherited by your spouse is his separate property. If you purchase the share of…
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