Can foreigners buy property in France in 2026?

Choose your own notaire (state-appointed property legal officer). The seller may have a different notaire; using two does not normally double the regulated notarial fee because they share the work and fee. The notaire verifies title, formal searches, planning information, and the transfer, but does not replace your surveyor, tax adviser, or independent technical inspection.

The preliminary agreement may be a compromis de vente (preliminary sale agreement binding both sides, subject to its terms) or a one-sided promise. It should identify the property, price, fixtures, completion plan, finance, and conditions that let the sale stop if a required event fails. Do not sign an estate agent's form before understanding its French text.

An individual buyer of an existing home normally has ten calendar days to withdraw after proper notification of the preliminary agreement. After that period, the contract and its conditions matter. If you need a mortgage, make the loan amount, rate, term, application steps, and deadline accurate in the finance condition.

Review the dossier de diagnostic technique (required technical report file). It can cover the DPE (home energy rating), asbestos, lead, termites, gas, electricity, sanitation, and natural or technological risks, depending on the home. A report is disclosure, not a promise that no work is needed.

Use Géorisques, the government risk service, to check the address or land parcel for flooding, coastal retreat, wildfire, radon, soil pollution, and retrait-gonflement des argiles (ground movement caused by clay shrinking and swelling). Around the Atlantic, Mediterranean, river valleys, and clay-heavy inland areas, the exact parcel matters more than the commune's reputation.

For an apartment, copropriété means a shared-ownership building with private units and common parts. Read the building rules, meeting minutes, maintenance plan, accounts, unpaid charges, planned works, reserve fund, insurance, and any disputes. A low asking price can hide major roof, façade, lift, or energy-renovation votes.

For a house, verify boundaries, legal access, drainage or septic arrangements, extensions, pools, outbuildings, and planning permissions. France does not require the seller to provide a UK-style structural survey, so commission the inspection your risk requires.

The notaire completes the authentic deed, receives cleared funds, and publishes the transfer. Expect source-of-funds checks, especially for an overseas transfer. Arrange insurance, utilities, local contacts, and occupation declarations promptly.

Taxe foncière is the annual owner property tax. A non-resident owner also owes taxe d'habitation on a French second home, while French rental income and a later sale can create separate tax duties. The tax office for the property's location handles local taxes.

Ownership does not create French immigration status. A non-EU buyer still needs the appropriate visa or residence permission for the intended length and purpose of stay.