Buying property in France as a foreigner

France is one of the simplest countries in Europe for a foreign buyer on paper: no permit, no quota, no residence requirement. The complexity is elsewhere, in the notaire’s process, a ten-day withdrawal right that surprises sellers, transfer taxes that vary by department, and local taxes on second homes that have risen sharply in the big cities. Here is what an agent must explain, as of October 2026.

The short version

1. Foreigners can buy property in France without any restriction or permit.
2. A notaire signs the final deed, the acte authentique, and collects the transfer taxes.
3. After signing the compromis, a non-professional buyer of a home has 10 days to withdraw without reason or penalty (Notaires de France).
4. Transfer taxes on a resale are 6.31% in most departments, including Paris, Rhône and Gironde, and 5.81% in the rest, including the Alpes-Maritimes (MesFraisNotaire, October 2026).
5. Total buyer costs on a resale are about 7.2% to 7.8% of the price, before the agency fee if the buyer pays it.
6. New builds are sold under VEFA, with capped stage payments and a compulsory completion guarantee.
7. Second homes in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice carry a 60% surcharge on the communal taxe d’habitation. Cannes has none.
8. Non-resident sellers pay 19% capital gains tax plus social levies, with full exemption after 30 years.

Who buys and where

Non-resident foreigners made about 1.8% of existing-home sales in metropolitan France in 2022, about 20,000 sales (MySweetimmo, citing notaires). The share is far higher on the Riviera: an older notaires study, with 2017 data, found about 7% of purchases in the Alpes-Maritimes made by non-resident foreigners, against 0.7% in Île-de-France, led by British, Belgian and German buyers (Journal de l’Agence). Use these as a ranking, since the data are old.

Price levels differ widely. MeilleursAgents estimates at 1 October 2026, for apartments: €9,630/m² in Paris, €5,245 in Nice, €4,714 in Lyon and €4,448 in Bordeaux.

Step 1: offer and compromis

The buyer makes a written offer. Once it is accepted, both sides sign a compromis or promesse de vente, privately, at the agency or before a notaire. It sets the price, the conditions, the deed date and any deposit. The agency must hold a written mandate, and its fee must be shown with who pays it.

Step 2: the 10-day withdrawal period

Notaires de France explains the rule, set by article L.271-1 of the Code de la construction et de l’habitation:

• It protects a non-professional buyer of a residential property.
• It lasts 10 calendar days, from the day after the registered letter notifying the signed compromis is first presented, or from the day after signing if it was signed before a notaire.
• The buyer withdraws by registered letter, with no reason and no penalty.
• Any deposit is refunded within 21 days.

Tell foreign buyers this protects them. Tell sellers the sale is not secure until the ten days have passed.

Step 3: loan, checks and the deed

The bank approves the loan. Broker averages in October 2026 were 3.50% over 15 years, 3.66% over 20 and 3.75% over 25, and rising (PAP.fr). The notaire checks the title and the file, then the parties sign the acte authentique. The notaire receives the funds and pays the taxes, and the buyer becomes owner.

Buyer costs on a resale

The 2025 finance law let departments raise their share of transfer tax (DMTO) from 4.50% to 5.00% between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028. MesFraisNotaire, checked against the DGFiP table of 1 June 2026:

Department	Total DMTO
Paris (75), Rhône (69), Gironde (33) and 86 others that raised the rate	6.31% (often rounded to 6.32%)
Alpes-Maritimes (06) and 10 others without the rise	5.81%
First-time buyers eligible in a raised department	5.81%

The same site’s FAQ is inconsistent on the Alpes-Maritimes, so confirm with the notaire.

Adding the notaire’s fees and disbursements, total buyer costs come to about 7.2% to 7.8% of the price.

Who pays the agency fee matters. About 70% of mandates put it on the seller (Agence Immobilière France, indicative). When the buyer pays it, transfer taxes are charged on the net seller price, which lowers them a little.

Worked examples

These use example prices. The notaire’s estimate is the one that counts.

Resale flat in Paris, €250,000. Total buyer costs in MesFraisNotaire’s example: 7.81%, about €19,525.

Resale flat in the Alpes-Maritimes, €340,000. Total buyer costs in MesFraisNotaire’s example: 7.19%, about €24,446.

Resale house in Gironde, €400,000 net seller, fee €20,000 TTC.

• Seller pays the fee, deed at €420,000: DMTO at 6.31% = €26,502.
• Buyer pays the fee, deed at €400,000: DMTO = €25,240, a saving of about €1,262 on tax.

New builds: VEFA

New homes are sold off plan under VEFA. Le Mag Juridique sets out the payment caps of article R.261-14 of the Code: at most 35% at foundations, 70% when watertight, 95% at completion, and the last 5% at handover. A reservation deposit is capped at 5% if the sale is signed within a year, 2% within two years and nothing beyond. Every residential VEFA needs a completion guarantee (GFA) from a bank or insurer. See How off-plan works in France.

After the purchase

Second-home tax. Communes in zone tendue may add 5% to 60% to the communal share of the taxe d’habitation on second homes. SeLoger (October 2026) lists Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice at the 60% maximum, among 688 communes. Cannes applies none. We did not find Antibes’s position.

IFI. The wealth tax on real estate applies above €1.3 million of net taxable property at 1 January, at 0.5% to 1.5%. Non-residents pay only on their French property (Fondation de France, October 2026).

Letting. Under the loi Climat et résilience, homes rated G on the DPE cannot be let on a new lease or renewal since 1 January 2025, F from 2028 and E from 2034, including furnished tourist lets (Hellio). Check the DPE before any investor offers.

Holiday lets. The loi Le Meur cut the micro-BIC allowance for unclassified furnished tourist lets to 30% up to €15,000 (classified: 50% up to €77,700), let mayors cap main-residence letting at 90 days a year and made a registration number compulsory in almost all communes (Optimhome).

When the client sells. David Notaires sets out the rules for non-residents:

• 19% income tax on the gain, plus 17.2% social levies, or 7.5% for sellers in an EEA or Swiss social security scheme.
• A 2% to 6% surtax on gains above €50,000.
• Allowances from year six: exempt from income tax after 22 years and from social levies after 30 years.
• EEA nationals who were French residents for at least two years can exempt up to €150,000 of gain once.
• A former main residence is exempt if sold by 31 December of the year after leaving France.
• A fiscal representative is needed if the seller lives outside the EEA, the price is above €150,000 and the property was held less than 30 years.

For furnished lets under the LMNP real regime, depreciation is added back to the gain for sales from 15 February 2025 (NBE Avocats).

What an agent must explain

• No permit is needed, but the notaire runs the process and the timing.
• The 10-day withdrawal right, and when it starts.
• The transfer tax for the department, and total costs of about 7% to 8% on a resale.
• Who pays the agency fee, and how that changes the taxes.
• The DPE class and what it means for letting.
• The second-home surcharge in the commune, and the IFI threshold.
• What the client will pay on a future sale as a non-resident.

France does not restrict foreign buyers, but taxes and rental rules changed in 2025 and 2026. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with Notaires de France, the CCI or any government body in France.

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