Buying property in France: the notaire, the compromis and what it really costs

Buying in France is slower and more formal than back home, but it's also harder to be gazumped. Once the compromis is signed and your ten days are up, the deal is binding on both sides.

The short version

• The sale is handled by a notaire, a public official who drafts the deed, checks the title and collects the taxes. You can have your own notaire at no extra cost; the two share the fee.
• Most sales start with a compromis de vente, binding on both buyer and seller, with a deposit of around 10% held by the notaire [1].
• A private buyer of a home gets a 10-day cooling-off period after the signed compromis is notified, and can walk away without penalty [1].
• "Notaire fees" on an older property are mostly tax and come to roughly 7% to 8% of the price; on a new build it's about 2% to 3% [2].
• Since April 2025 most départements, Paris included, charge the higher 5% rate of transfer tax, but first-time buyers are spared the increase [2][3].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.20).

Who does what

Back home your solicitor does the conveyancing and you rarely meet anyone official. In France the notaire is at the centre of everything.

The FCDO advises contacting an English-speaking lawyer in France if you're considering buying property or land [4]. That doesn't mean you must hire a separate lawyer, since your own notaire acts for you, but if your French isn't strong, an independent notaire or lawyer who explains things in English is money well spent.

How a French purchase works, step by step

1. Make an offer. Put your offer (offre d'achat) in writing, with a time limit. Once accepted it carries real weight, so don't make one you aren't ready to stand behind. Offers below the asking price are normal, especially outside Paris.
2. Sign the avant-contrat. This is usually a compromis de vente (both sides are committed and the price is fixed) or sometimes a promesse unilatérale de vente (the seller is committed and you have an option to buy for a set period) [1].
3. Pay the deposit. With a compromis it's a dépôt de garantie, generally 10% of the price, held by the notaire. With a promesse unilatérale it's an indemnité d'immobilisation, usually 5% to 10% [1]. On a €400,000 flat, 10% is €40,000 (about £33,300).
4. Your 10-day cooling-off period. As a non-professional buyer of a home, you can withdraw within 10 days. The clock starts the day after the signed contract is first presented to you by registered letter (or handed to you in person). You withdraw by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and you get your deposit back [1].
5. The get-out clauses. The contract lists conditions suspensives, most importantly getting your mortgage. The loan condition must give you at least a month [1]; in practice it's often longer. If the bank turns you down despite a proper application, you get your deposit back.
6. The notaire's checks. While you arrange the loan, the notaire checks title, planning, mortgages on the property and the town hall's pre-emption right.
7. Sign the acte authentique. Usually two to three months after the compromis. You sign the final deed at the notaire's office (or by power of attorney if you're back in the UK), pay the balance and the fees, and get the keys the same day.

Unlike in England, there's no "exchange" and "completion" with a race between them, and gazumping after the compromis would breach a binding contract.

The diagnostics: France's survey pack

The seller must give you a dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT), and the reports must be valid on the date of the compromis [1]. Which ones apply depends on the property's age, location and services.

Source: Service-Public, checked 10 April 2026 [1]. Rural houses on a septic tank also need a sanitation inspection; our guide to rural France explains it.

The DDT isn't a structural survey. If you're buying an old house or a top-floor flat in a Haussmann building, pay for an independent survey too. For a Paris flat, also read the copropriété paperwork: the minutes of the last three general meetings, the service-charge budget and any planned works (travaux votés), which can mean a big bill for the façade or the lift.

The DPE matters more than it used to. France is phasing out letting the worst-rated homes, so a flat rated F or G is harder to let and may need insulation work. That should be in the price.

What it costs: "notaire fees" are mostly tax

What everyone calls frais de notaire are really frais d'acquisition, and most of the money goes to the state and local councils [2]. For an older property (ancien) they include:

• Transfer taxes (droits d'enregistrement). The département's share is now 5% in most départements, plus a 1.20% local tax and a small collection charge. With the 5% rate the total comes to 6.32% of the price, against 5.81% before the rise [2].
• The notaire's own fee (émoluments), set by law on a sliding scale: on a €200,000 sale it's €1,995 before VAT [2].
• The property security contribution (CSI) of 0.10%, plus land registry costs and the notaire's expenses.

Put together, buyers of older homes typically pay around 7% to 8% of the price. On a new build bought from a developer the transfer tax drops to a reduced rate of 0.70% plus charges, so total costs are far lower, typically 2% to 3%, though VAT is already in the price [2].

The April 2025 rise and first-time buyers

The 2025 Finance Act let départements raise their rate from 4.5% to 5% for sales signed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028 [2]. Paris voted the increase in February 2025, effective from 1 April 2025 [3]. On a €400,000 Paris flat that's about €2,000 (£1,700) extra.

First-time buyers escape it. If you haven't owned your main home in the two years before the sale and you're buying a main home, the increase doesn't apply [2][5]. Whether a Brit who owned a house in the UK counts as a first-time buyer is a point to check with your notaire.

A worked example

Get your notaire's estimate before you sign; the official notaires' calculator gives a good first figure.

Paris vs the regions

Paris prices are in a league of their own. The Notaires du Grand Paris put older Paris flats at €9,590 a square metre (about £7,990) at the end of August 2026, down 0.5% on a year [6]. A 50 m² one-bedroom flat therefore costs around €480,000 (£400,000).

In Paris you're almost always buying a flat in a copropriété, so the service charges, the building's condition and the floor (a lift matters on the fifth) drive value as much as the address. Outside Paris you can buy a farmhouse with land for less than a Paris studio; our guide to rural France covers the Dordogne and Brittany.

Things Brits trip over

• Mortgages are strict. French banks lend against your income with a debt cap, and they want you to take out life cover. Lending to non-residents and to people paid in sterling is harder.
• French inheritance rules can decide who gets the property when you die. Read French inheritance rules before you choose how to buy (jointly, in shares, or through a company).
• Buying doesn't give you the right to live in France. You still need a visa or residence card.
• Ask people who've done it. Other Brits in our community group for Brits in France can tell you what their notaire, bank and copropriété were like.
• UK tax doesn't stop. If you keep a UK home or let it out, read our guide to UK income while you live abroad.

Sources

1. Service-Public: Promise to sell an existing home – unilateral promise or compromise (checked 10 April 2026)
2. Notaires de France: Frais d'acquisition (frais de notaire) (updated 11 February 2026)
3. Banque des Territoires: Hausse du taux de DMTO, Paris ouvre le bal (12 February 2025)
4. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in France (updated 2 October 2026)
5. Service-Public: Ventes immobilières, hausse des droits de mutation (2 April 2025)
6. Mon Immeuble: Prix immobiliers à Paris, un léger recul durant l'été 2026 (5 November 2026, reporting Notaires du Grand Paris figures)

Keep reading

• Renting in Paris
• Rural France as an alternative: the Dordogne and Brittany
• French inheritance rules: forced heirship and choosing UK law
• Inheritance tax for Brits abroad after the 2025 residence rules