Buying Property in France: Costs, Steps and Rules for Foreigners

Introduction

You may have bought two or three homes in the United States or the United Kingdom. France can still make you feel like a first-time buyer. There is no central listing service, the contract you sign is in French, the person handling the legal side is a notaire rather than your own lawyer, and the ten days in which you can walk away start on a date you cannot always see.

The buying rules are national. What changes from one city to the next is the price, the taxes on ownership and what you are allowed to do with the property once you own it. This guide is written for international and non-resident buyers, and it follows the order in which you will actually make decisions: can I buy, how does it work, who is involved, what does it cost, can I finance it, what do I check before I commit, and where should I look.

Where Paris works differently, we say so. That is the market Estate in Paris works in every day, and it is where most foreign buyers with a serious budget end up, so the Paris-specific sections are flagged as we go.

Can Foreigners Buy Property in France?

Yes. France places no restriction on property ownership by foreign nationals, whether or not they live in the country, and it charges them nothing extra for the privilege.

Can non-residents buy property in France?

They can. The professional body for the officials who handle every French sale states it plainly in its guidance on property purchases in France by non-residents (opens in a new window): any non-resident, from any country, may buy freely, whether as a second home or an investment. There is no quota, no minimum stay, no foreign-buyer surcharge and no approval process, which sets France apart from Switzerland, Singapore, Canada or Australia.

You do not need to be in France to buy, either. Most cross-border purchases are completed by power of attorney, and we cover how that works later in this guide.

Does buying property give you French residency?

No. This is the misconception that catches the most buyers, so it is worth stating plainly: owning a French home, at any value, does not create a right to live in France. Non-EU owners, including Americans and Britons since Brexit, remain under the Schengen rule of 90 days in any 180. A long-stay visa is a separate application with its own conditions, and the property purchase is not one of them.

Are the rules different for Americans and British buyers?

The right to buy is identical. What differs is everything around the purchase:

• Banking: Americans face extra scrutiny from French lenders because of FATCA reporting; Britons are now assessed as non-EU borrowers.
• Resale tax: Britons lost EU status for tax purposes, which changes the social levies and the tax-representative rule when they sell.
• Home-country paperwork: both groups have reporting obligations on foreign property that a French notaire will not handle for them.

In practice these two groups are the core of Paris's non-resident market. In the Notaires du Grand Paris study of buyer nationalities in Paris and Île-de-France (opens in a new window), Americans were the largest group of non-resident foreign buyers in the capital, ahead of Lebanese, Italian and German buyers, with a median budget above €800,000.

How Does Buying Property in France Work?

A French purchase follows a fixed legal sequence supervised by a notaire: a written offer, a preliminary contract with a deposit, a ten-day cooling-off period, financing and legal checks, then the final deed. From an accepted offer to keys, allow three to four months.

Before the steps, a short video may help if you prefer to hear the process explained rather than read it. The one below walks through the notaire's role and the two contract stages in plain English, which is the part of the French system that puzzles most American and British buyers.

Step 1: Search for the property

There is no MLS in France. Each agency holds its own mandates, and a flat in the Marais may be listed only by an agency across the river. Portals show a large part of the market but never all of it, and the best-priced lots often sell before they are advertised. Prices are usually displayed FAI (frais d'agence inclus), meaning the agency fee is already inside the number you see.

Step 2: Make an offer

You make an offre d'achat in writing. Once the seller accepts it in writing, the price is fixed, and a buyer who then withdraws without cause is on shaky ground. Do not make an offer you have not costed.

Step 3: Appoint a notaire

The notaire is a public officer appointed by the Minister of Justice. They are not your lawyer and they do not negotiate for you. Their job is to:

• Authenticate the sale and check the title
• Run the legal searches on the property and the building
• Collect the transfer taxes on behalf of the State
• Register your ownership at the land registry

You may appoint your own notaire at no extra cost, because the regulated fee is simply split between the two offices. For a non-resident, choosing a Paris notaire used to international files, and to signing by proxy, is worth the phone call.

Step 4: Sign the preliminary contract

The compromis de vente (or, less often, a promesse de vente) binds both sides. It fixes the price, the completion date, the deposit of 5 to 10% held in the notaire's escrow account, and the conditions suspensives, the conditions that let you exit without penalty if, for example, your mortgage is refused. It is written in French only. A translation is a courtesy, not the legal text.

Step 5: Use the cooling-off period

You have ten calendar days to withdraw for any reason with a full refund of your deposit. The seller has no such right. Under article L271-1 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (opens in a new window) the clock starts the day after you receive the signed contract with all its annexes, not the day you sign, which is why you should ask the notaire for the exact receipt date in writing. After day ten, walking away costs you the deposit unless a written condition fails.

Step 6: Complete financing and legal checks

The notaire now runs the title search, the urban planning certificate, the mortgage register and, for a flat, the copropriété documents. In Paris the City has a right of pre-emption that takes up to two months to clear. Your bank has its own deadline, usually 45 to 60 days, to issue the loan offer.

Step 7: Sign the acte authentique and receive the keys

Both parties meet at the notaire's office, or are represented there by proxy. The notaire reads the deed, the balance and all taxes are wired to escrow beforehand, and ownership transfers on signature. You receive an attestation de propriété the same day; the registered deed follows some weeks later.

How long does the whole thing take? Three to four months from accepted offer to keys is normal for a Paris apartment. It can be faster for a cash buyer with a clean copropriété file, and slower if the pre-emption or a lender drags.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy Property in France?

Plan for roughly 7 to 8% on top of the price for an older property and 2 to 3% for a new build, before any mortgage or currency costs. In Paris the figure sits at the top of that range since April 2025.

Purchase price vs total cash required

The price on the listing is the start of the calculation, not the end. On top of it you will fund:

• Acquisition taxes and notaire costs
• Any agency fee not already inside the displayed price
• The bank's guarantee and file fees, if you borrow
• The cost of moving money across currencies (more than most buyers expect on a seven-figure transfer)
• The first year of taxe foncière and building charges, which the notaire pro-rates at completion

Add these up before you make an offer, not after.

How much are notaire fees?

The phrase "notaire fees" is misleading. On an older apartment, most of the 7 to 8% is transfer tax paid to the department and the commune; the notaire's own regulated remuneration is roughly 1%, and disbursements (the searches and registrations they pay on your behalf) add a few hundred euros.

Paris matters here. The 2025 Finance Act let departments raise their share of the transfer tax from 4.5% to 5%, and the Chambre des Notaires de Paris confirms that Paris and the Grand Paris departments applied the higher rate (opens in a new window) from 1 April 2025, for deeds signed until 31 March 2028. With the 1.2% communal tax and collection costs, the tax alone now comes to about 6.3% of the price in Paris. First-time buyers of a main residence are exempt from the increase. On a new build sold off-plan, the transfer tax drops to 0.715% because 20% VAT is already inside the price.

The notaire's remuneration is a national tariff, so it is the same in a village and in the 6th arrondissement, and offices may grant a 20% discount on the portion above €100,000.

Worked example: buying an €800,000 apartment in Paris

Take an older two-bedroom apartment in the 15th arrondissement at €800,000, agency fee included in the price, bought with a 70% mortgage.

• Purchase price: €800,000
• Transfer taxes at the 2026 Paris rate (about 6.3%): roughly €50,500
• Notaire remuneration and disbursements: roughly €9,000 to €10,000
• Mortgage guarantee and bank file fees on a €560,000 loan: roughly €6,000 to €9,000
• Currency transfer margin on €300,000 moved from USD or GBP: commonly €1,500 to €4,500 depending on the provider
• Estimated cash to complete, before renovation: about €300,000 of deposit and costs on top of the loan

The exact notaire line depends on the current tariff bands and the loan structure, so treat this as an order of magnitude and ask the notaire for a written estimate before you sign the compromis.

Can a Non-Resident Get a French Mortgage?

Yes, French banks lend to non-residents, but on tighter terms than they offer residents: a larger deposit, a shorter maximum term, a hard ceiling on your debt ratio and a heavier file.

How French banks assess non-resident buyers

Every French lender applies the regulator's rule that total debt repayments, loan insurance included, cannot exceed 35% of net income. Beyond that, a non-resident file is judged on:

• The stability of your income and the currency it is paid in
• Your existing debts and assets
• Your country of residence
• The deposit you bring

In 2026 most banks expect a non-resident to fund 20 to 30% of the price plus all acquisition costs from their own money, and many cap the term at 20 years rather than 25. Some will ask you to place savings with them as a further guarantee.

What changes for American buyers?

FATCA. The US reporting regime makes some French banks unwilling to open accounts for US persons at all, and those that do lend tend to be a shorter list with more conservative loan-to-value limits. Nothing stops an American from borrowing in France; it simply means fewer doors, more documents (several years of US returns, translated) and a longer lead time. Start the bank conversation before you start viewing.

What changes for British and other non-EU buyers?

Since Brexit, British buyers are assessed as non-EU residents, which affects the deposit banks ask for and how sterling income is discounted for currency risk. Buyers resident in the Middle East or Asia fall into the same category. Rates for well-prepared non-resident files were sitting roughly between 3.5% and 4.25% fixed in early 2026, a little above resident pricing.

Documents banks usually request

Expect the file to be heavier than at home. Most lenders ask for:

• Identity documents and proof of address
• The last two or three years of tax returns
• Recent payslips or company accounts
• Statements for every account and existing loan
• Proof of where the deposit comes from
• Sworn translations of anything not in French

A French bank account is usually required before completion in any case.

Why mortgage approval matters before signing

Your protection is the financing condition written into the compromis. If the bank refuses the loan described in that clause, you walk away with your deposit. If the clause describes a smaller loan or a better rate than you actually need, and you then cannot get the loan you need, the deposit is at risk. Get an agreement in principle first, and make the clause match it.

What Should You Check Before Signing the Compromis?

Check the technical file, the surface area and the building's own paperwork, and do it inside the ten-day window, because after that you are committed.

Property diagnostics

The seller must attach a dossier de diagnostic technique to the compromis, as required by article L271-4 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (opens in a new window). For a Paris apartment it will usually contain:

• The DPE energy rating
• A lead survey, if the building predates 1949 (most of central Paris does)
• An asbestos survey, if the building permit predates July 1997
• Electricity and gas reports, if those installations are over 15 years old
• The ERP report on natural and technological risks

A missing or expired diagnostic is a reason to pause, not a formality.

The DPE now carries real money. Under the Climate and Resilience law of 22 August 2021 (opens in a new window), a home rated G has been barred from new lets since 1 January 2025, F follows in 2028 and E in 2034, and rents on F and G homes are frozen. A G-rated pied-à-terre you never intend to let is still a G-rated flat when you come to sell. In Paris, note that the mandatory energy audit on sale applies to houses and single-owner buildings, not to a flat in a copropriété, so nobody will hand you a works plan; you have to read the DPE and price the renovation yourself.

Surface area and Loi Carrez

For any lot in a copropriété the deed must state the private surface measured under the Carrez law. If the real surface turns out to be more than 5% smaller than the figure in the deed, you can claim a proportional price reduction within a year of signing. At Paris prices, one lost square metre is worth checking for.

Copropriété documents

Ask for the règlement de copropriété, the minutes of the last three general meetings, the carnet d'entretien and the pré-état daté showing the charges, the works already voted and any ongoing disputes. This is where you find the €40,000 façade renovation the seller forgot to mention (more common than agencies admit), and whether your future flat is legally a dwelling or a converted office.

Your 10-day cooling-off checklist

Ask for the building's own paperwork before the ten days run out:

• The règlement de copropriété, which sets the rules on use
• Minutes of the last three general meetings
• The carnet d'entretien, the building's maintenance log
• The pré-état daté, showing charges, works already voted and any ongoing disputes

This is where you find the €40,000 façade renovation the seller forgot to mention (more common than agencies admit), and whether your future flat is legally a dwelling or a converted office.

Where Should International Buyers Look in France?

Where you buy depends on what the property is for, and for buyers relocating for work or family the answer is usually Paris, which is a different market from the rest of the country.

Most international buyers fall into a few patterns:

• Career, business or an international school: Paris and its western suburbs
• A Mediterranean second home: Provence and the Côte d'Azur
• City living at a lower entry price: Lyon or Bordeaux
• Space above all else: the southwest and other regional markets, where a house costs what a two-bedroom flat costs in the capital

This guide is not a ranking of places to invest. The point is that the national buying rules described above apply everywhere, while the pricing problem does not.

What Should Foreign Buyers Know About Paris Property Prices?

The Paris average of about €9,600 per square metre is a starting point, not a valuation: the gap between the cheapest and dearest arrondissements is almost one to two, and inside a single building the floor, the light and the state of the common areas move the price again.

2026 Paris property prices by arrondissement

The Notaires du Grand Paris, whose database covers the large majority of Paris transactions, put the average for older apartments at €9,580 per square metre in the first quarter of 2026, up about 1% over the year after two years of decline. The market has paused rather than corrected, and the notaires' forward indicators from signed preliminary contracts pointed to a small rise into mid-2026.

The spread is what matters to a buyer. On the notaires' price map of Paris and the Grand Paris (opens in a new window), standardised prices ran from roughly €7,500 per square metre in the 19th arrondissement to about €14,000 in the 6th. The 18th, 19th and 20th sit at the lower end, the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th form the middle band, and the 6th, 7th, 4th and parts of the 8th and 16th sit at the top. Year-on-year movement varies by arrondissement as well, so a district-wide figure can be a full year out of date for one street.

What makes one Paris apartment worth more than another?

Two flats of the same size on the same street can differ by 20% or more. The variables buyers from abroad tend to underweight are:

• The floor, and whether there is a lift (a fourth floor without one is a different asset)
• Orientation, natural light and view
• Layout (a well-planned 80 m² often beats a badly planned 100 m²)
• The DPE class
• The condition of the stairwell and façade
• The level of charges and the works already voted by the copropriété

In its monthly market report for the Grand Paris (opens in a new window), the notaires' office found that apartments resold in Paris after only three years lost, on average, close to 9% of their purchase price. Most of that loss was decided on the day the buyer set the offer.

Why value the property before making an offer?

Because the offer is the moment you can still change the number. Once accepted in writing it is fixed, and once the compromis is signed you own the price whether or not it was the right one. If you are looking at a flat from London or New York and comparing it with portal averages, an independent valuation of the apartment before you make an offer (opens in a new window), built from comparable transactions and the characteristics of the specific lot, is the cheapest insurance in the whole process. Paris rewards buyers who arrive with a number, not a feeling.

What Taxes Do Foreign Property Owners Need to Consider?

A foreign owner meets French tax at three moments: when buying, every year while owning, and again when selling, with a separate wealth tax for larger holdings.

Taxes at purchase

These are the transfer taxes covered in the cost section above, about 6.3% in Paris on an older apartment in 2026. They are paid once, through the notaire, at completion.

Taxes while you own the property

Taxe foncière is the annual property tax, owed by whoever owns the property on 1 January regardless of where they live. The amount depends on the cadastral value and the local rate; for a Paris apartment it runs from a few hundred euros to several thousand a year.

If the property is not your main home, you also pay the taxe d'habitation on second homes, and here Paris is expensive. Councils in high-pressure housing zones may add a surcharge of 5 to 60% on the communal share, and Paris applies the maximum 60%. In practice that adds roughly €1,000 to €4,000 a year to a central pied-à-terre, on top of the taxe foncière. If you let the flat, rental income is taxable in France at a minimum rate for non-residents, and how it is taxed depends on whether the let is furnished or unfurnished.

IFI for higher-value property holdings

The impôt sur la fortune immobilière applies when net real-estate wealth exceeds €1.3 million on 1 January. Residents are assessed on their worldwide property; non-residents only on their French property, but the threshold is the same. Debt secured on the property is deductible, which is one reason financing decisions and tax decisions belong in the same conversation.

Tax when you sell

A non-resident who sells at a gain pays the 19% levy described on the tax authority's page on capital gains for non-resident sellers (opens in a new window), plus social levies, and the two taper with time: the income tax disappears after 22 years of ownership and the social levies after 30. Sellers affiliated to an EU, EEA or Swiss social security scheme pay a reduced 7.5% levy; others pay the full 17.2% rate, and a surcharge of 2 to 6% applies to net gains above €50,000. If the sale price exceeds €150,000 and you live outside the EU or EEA, which covers American and, since Brexit, most British sellers, you must appoint an accredited tax representative (opens in a new window), who typically charges a fraction of a percent of the price. None of this is a reason not to buy. It is a reason to understand, on the way in, how a Paris sale is handled when the owner lives abroad (opens in a new window), so that the exit does not surprise you.

Estate in Paris is not a tax adviser. The figures above are 2026 rates and should be confirmed with your notaire or a fiscaliste for your own situation.

Should You Buy in Your Own Name or Through an SCI?

Decide this before the preliminary contract, because French inheritance rules attach to French property whatever your nationality, and changing the structure after completion means a second round of transfer tax.

Buying in your own name

This is the default and, for most couples buying a home they will use, the simplest route. Since the EU succession regulation of 2012, a foreign national can elect in a will that the law of their nationality governs their estate, which removes French forced-heirship rules from the question. French inheritance tax on the French property still applies, whatever law governs the estate.

When buyers consider an SCI

A société civile immobilière is a French property-holding company. Buyers consider it when several people will own together, when a couple has children from earlier relationships, or when they want to pass the property on in stages. It brings annual accounts, a second layer of reporting for Americans, and tax disadvantages if the flat will be let furnished. Whichever way you lean, raise it with the notaire at the offer stage and ask for a written note on the consequences for your family. Do not buy through a company set up outside France; the tax treatment is rarely favourable.

Can You Buy Property in France From Abroad?

Yes. You can search, negotiate, sign and complete a Paris purchase without leaving New York, London, Singapore or Dubai, provided a few things are verified locally by someone you trust.

Remote property search and viewings

Video viewings are now routine. What the camera cannot show you:

• The noise from the courtyard at 7 a.m.
• The smell of damp behind the wardrobe
• The water pressure on the fifth floor
• The state of the stairwell the camera did not pan across

A remote buyer needs someone to walk the building, not just the flat.

Signing by power of attorney

Both the compromis and the acte authentique can be signed by procuration. The notaire drafts the power of attorney; you sign it before a notary in your own country or at a French consulate, with an apostille where required. Funds must reach the notaire's escrow account, held at the Caisse des Dépôts, before the signing date, and a large transfer from a US or UK account can take several business days.

Working across languages and time zones

The contract is in French. The notaire is required to make sure you understand it, but "understand" in a 40-page compromis read at speed on a video call is a low bar. Have the document reviewed by someone acting for you before you sign, and set the review meeting at a time that works in your time zone, not only the notaire's.

What still requires local verification

Three things, and you can delegate all of them but skip none:

• The physical condition of the lot and the building
• The copropriété file
• The price against real comparable sales

How Estate in Paris Supports International Buyers

Estate in Paris works on the buyer's side at the three points where non-resident buyers lose money: the price they offer, the contract they sign and the weeks after the keys are handed over.

Property search

The agency runs a buyer-side search for an apartment in Paris (opens in a new window) across agency mandates and private sales, so the shortlist reflects the market rather than one office's portfolio. Each lot is visited in person, including the building's common areas, before it reaches your shortlist.

Property evaluation before an offer

Before you make an offer, the lot is valued against recent comparable transactions and its own characteristics, floor, light, DPE, charges and voted works among them. The result is a price ceiling agreed with you, so the offer is a decision rather than a guess (this is the step covered in the Paris prices section above).

Coordination through the purchase

From accepted offer to completion, the agency reviews the diagnostic file and copropriété documents with you, coordinates with your own notaire, organises the power of attorney for remote signing and tracks the ten-day and financing deadlines across your time zone. How an engagement is scoped and what it covers is set out in the common questions about working with Estate in Paris (opens in a new window), and every scope is agreed in writing before work starts.

Relocation after the purchase

For families, diplomats and executives moving into the property, settling-in support for American and British families moving to Paris (opens in a new window) covers the practical start: schools, utilities, administration and the first weeks in the apartment. If your plan is to let the flat long term rather than live in it, tenant-finding and day-to-day management sit with the sister brand, Relocation in Paris, whose guide to managing a Paris property remotely as an overseas landlord (opens in a new window) is the right starting point for that side of the market.