Buying property in France as a foreigner is easier than most people expect: France is one of the most open property markets in the world, with no nationality test, no permit, and no pre-approval needed to buy. An American, a Brit, an Australian or a Swiss buyer has exactly the same right to own a French house, apartment or piece of land as a French citizen does.
What trips people up is not the right to buy. It is the process. The French system runs on a public officer called the notaire, a sequence of contracts that are binding much earlier than most foreign buyers expect, and a set of costs that go well beyond the sticker price. This guide walks through all of it, in the order it actually happens, with the real numbers.
Can a foreigner buy property in France?
Yes. There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of residential property in France, whether you are inside or outside the EU. You do not need to be a resident, and you do not need a visa to complete a purchase.
One thing to be clear about: buying a house does not give you the right to live in France. France has no "golden visa" tied to property. If you plan to spend more than 90 days at a time in the country, you still need the appropriate long-stay visa or residence permit (visitor, worker, retiree, and so on). Owning a home can support that application by proving you have accommodation, but it is not a shortcut to residency.
This matters most for non-EU buyers, which since Brexit includes British citizens alongside Americans, Australians and others. As a third-country national you are held to the Schengen limit of 90 days in any 180-day period unless you hold a visa. France has moved to ease this for British second-home owners specifically, with a change to its borders law meant to let them stay up to six months without a full long-stay visa. It is a recent and evolving measure, so check the current position with the French consulate before relying on it. EU and EEA citizens keep unrestricted freedom to live in France.
What buying property in France really costs
The price on the listing is only the start. Budget for the total, not the headline figure.
On an older resale property (what the French call ancien), expect purchase costs of roughly 7% to 8% on top of the price. These are the famous frais de notaire, and the name is misleading, because most of that money is tax, not the notaire's fee. It breaks down into:
- Transfer taxes (droits de mutation), the largest slice, historically around 5.8% of the price.
- The notaire's own regulated fee, on a government sliding scale, usually around 0.8% to 1.2%.
- Registration and administrative disbursements, a smaller fixed amount.
On a new-build (neuf, under five years old and sold by a developer), the notaire costs are much lower, roughly 2% to 3%, because these properties carry 20% VAT that is already baked into the developer's price rather than a separate transfer tax.
Add agency commission on top if it is charged separately (often already included in the displayed price in France, but always confirm who pays it).
The property buying process, step by step
From accepted offer to keys in hand, a straightforward purchase takes about three to four months.
1. Make an offer (offre d'achat)
Once you find a property, you submit a written offer stating the price, how you will finance it, and any conditions. The seller can accept, reject or counter. An accepted offer is a moral commitment but not yet legally binding.
A word of caution: some agents ask buyers to sign a "letter of intent" before the real contract. Read it carefully. It can be treated as a binding commitment and may stop you from later adding protective conditions, such as a clause making the sale conditional on getting a mortgage.
2. Sign the preliminary contract (compromis de vente)
This is the pivotal document, and it is where France differs most from English-speaking countries. The compromis de vente is legally binding on both sides. It fixes the price, the completion date, and the conditions that must be met (the conditions suspensives, such as mortgage approval or clear planning searches). You pay a deposit, usually 5% to 10% of the price, held in escrow by the notaire, not handed to the seller.
Crucially, you then get a 10-day cooling-off period (délai de rétractation). During those ten days you can walk away for any reason, with no penalty, and your deposit is returned in full. After that, you are committed unless one of your written conditions fails.
3. Due diligence through the notaire
The notaire runs the legal checks: title, planning, mortgages or charges on the property, boundary and pre-emption rights. In France a single notaire can act for the whole transaction, though the buyer can appoint their own at no extra cost, since the two notaires split the same regulated fee.
4. Sign the final deed (acte de vente)
At the notaire's office you sign the acte authentique de vente, pay the balance plus all fees and taxes, and receive the keys. Ownership transfers on the spot, and the notaire registers it with the land registry.
Financing as a non-resident
French banks do lend to foreign buyers, but the terms are tighter than for residents.
- Loan-to-value: non-residents typically borrow 50% to 80% of the value (EU buyers at the higher end, non-EU buyers lower), so plan for a deposit of 20% to 50%.
- Rates: non-resident fixed rates currently run roughly 3.5% to 4.5%, a little above resident rates.
- The 35% rule: France's regulator caps total monthly debt payments at 35% of gross household income. That ceiling includes the new mortgage and the borrower's insurance, which French lenders require even though it is not technically compulsory by law.
Non-resident files also face more documentation and slower approval, so start the mortgage conversation before you sign anything. And always make your offer and compromis conditional on financing.
Diagnostics are not a survey
Every French sale comes with a Dossier de Diagnostic Technique (DDT), a pack of technical reports the seller pays for (typically 400 to 700 euros). It usually includes the energy rating (DPE), plus checks for asbestos (permit issued before July 1997), lead (built before 1949), and gas or electrical systems older than 15 years. The DDT must be attached to the compromis.
Here is the trap for foreign buyers: the DDT is not a structural survey. It says nothing about the roof, the walls, drainage, damp, a pool, or an unauthorised extension. France has no legal requirement for a building survey, and very few buyers commission one. On an older or rural property, paying for an independent structural survey before you commit is often the single best money you will spend.
The ongoing costs of owning
Two local taxes follow ownership every year:
- Taxe foncière (land tax): paid by whoever owns the property on 1 January, resident or not. It ranges from a few hundred to several thousand euros a year depending on size and location. The bill arrives in September, due mid-October.
- Taxe d'habitation: abolished for most main homes, but it still applies to second homes. In high-demand areas (zones tendues), the commune can add a surcharge of 5% to 60% on top. The bill comes in October or November.
Then budget for the rest: waste-collection tax (often folded into the taxe foncière), utilities, home insurance (legally required if the property is in a copropriété or if you have a mortgage, and strongly advised for any standalone house), and, in an apartment or managed development, the copropriété service charges. Ask for the last few years of copro accounts before you buy, because a vote to fund major building works can land a large, non-negotiable bill on the new owner.
Inheritance: the thing most foreign buyers overlook
French succession law uses forced heirship (réserve héréditaire): a fixed share of your estate is reserved for your children, and you cannot freely will it elsewhere. This applies to French property regardless of where you live.
EU rules (Brussels IV) let many foreign nationals elect the succession law of their home country instead, and English-law wills in particular are generally accepted. But it is not automatic and it is not watertight. France introduced a "compensatory levy" in 2021 that has let children with an EU connection claw back a reserved share even where a foreign law was validly chosen, and the courts have been testing its limits in recent years. The practical takeaway: raise inheritance with the notaire before you sign, especially if you have children from a previous relationship. It is far cheaper to structure it correctly at purchase than to unwind it later.
Tax when you sell, and the wealth tax
Two taxes worth knowing before you buy, because they shape the exit.
Capital gains tax (plus-value). On a second home or investment property, the gain is taxed at 19% income tax plus 17.2% social charges, a combined 36.2% before relief. The good news is a taper for how long you hold: you become fully exempt from the 19% portion after 22 years of ownership, and from the social charges after 30 years. Your French main residence is normally exempt entirely.
Wealth tax (IFI). France taxes real estate wealth above a net 1.3 million euros. For non-residents this counts French property only; for French tax residents it is worldwide. Rates run from 0.5% to 1.5% on the bands above 800,000 euros. Most buyers never hit it, but factor it in on higher-value purchases.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating the compromis casually. It is binding once the 10-day window closes. Get every protective condition written in before you sign.
- Skipping the survey. Diagnostics are not a health check on the building.
- Ignoring currency risk. If you earn in dollars or pounds, the euro price is effectively floating between the compromis and the final deed, a gap of two to three months. Many buyers lock the rate with a forward contract.
- Underestimating a poor DPE. A low energy rating can mean tens of thousands in required renovation and, for rentals, restrictions on letting the property at all.
- Forgetting copropriété liabilities. Upcoming works voted by the building can become your problem the day you complete.
Quick timeline recap
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Offre d'achat | Written offer accepted | Day 0 |
| Compromis de vente | Binding contract, 5 to 10% deposit | Weeks 1 to 3 |
| Cooling-off | 10 days to withdraw penalty-free | +10 days |
| Conditions & mortgage | Searches, financing, surveys | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Acte de vente | Final deed signed, keys handed over | Month 3 to 4 |
After you get the keys
The transaction ends at the notaire's office, but ownership of a French home is really the start of a long paper trail: the DDT, the acte de vente, copro minutes, guarantees on any works, meter contracts, the local plumber and electrician you will eventually need. Foreign owners who split their time between two countries feel this most, because the folder that matters is always in the wrong place.
This is the problem Relai Confiance was built to solve. It is a digital logbook attached to the property itself, holding every document, diagnostic and record in one place you can reach from anywhere, which matters when your home and your paperwork sit on different sides of a border. It comes with an AI concierge you can simply ask ("when was the boiler serviced?", "who fixed the roof?", "what's the wifi code?"), in English or in French. You can see how it works on the owner demo. It will not help you sign the acte, but it makes the years after a lot calmer.