Before you sign a French property compromis,
get the dossier the seller won't hand you.

Yes — France has no nationality restriction on residential real estate. Any non-resident may buy as freely as a French citizen. You will need a French notaire (mandatory by law for the deed) and typically a French bank account or international transfer. Mortgages are available to non-residents from BNP International, HSBC France and a handful of brokers, but require 20-35% down and proof of income. Cash buyers face the lowest friction.

The DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique) is France's mandatory energy rating from A (best) to G (worst). On 1 January 2026 the calculation method changed: the electricity-to-primary-energy coefficient dropped from 2.3 to 1.9 (arrêté of 13 August 2025). This mechanically lifts about 850,000 electric-heated homes by one class — without any renovation. The reform matters because class G is already banned from new rentals (since 1 January 2025), class F is banned from 2028, class E from 2034. A property that was G under the old rules may now be F — saving you from a rental ban. Our report computes the new class for your specific address.

In 9 designated agglomerations the préfecture sets a maximum rent (€/m²) by neighbourhood, building age and apartment type. Renting above the cap exposes you to administrative fines (up to €5,000, €15,000 for legal entities) and 3-year retroactive refund obligations. The 9 areas in 2026: Paris, Lille (+Hellemmes, Lomme), Lyon (+Villeurbanne), Plaine Commune (Saint-Denis area), Est Ensemble (Montreuil/Bagnolet area), Bordeaux, Montpellier, Pays Basque (24 communes), and Grenoble-Alpes Métropole (24 communes). Lyon's framework was briefly contested in October 2025 but reinstated by a new prefectural decree on 1 November 2025.

For an existing property (>5 years old): about 7-8% of the purchase price, split between the departmental transfer-tax share (DMTO, raised to 5.00% in 83 of the 96 metropolitan départements since 1 June 2025 — Loi de finances 2025 art. 116), the communal share (1.20%), state assessment fees (~0.12%), notary émoluments on a regressive scale (~0.8-3% depending on price, +20% VAT), disbursements (~€1,200), and the property security contribution (0.10%). New-build (<5 years, "VEFA") is much cheaper at ~2-3% because the reduced 0.715% departmental rate applies (VAT 20% is already included in the developer's price — it is NOT added by the notary). Indre département and Mayotte kept the lower 3.80% departmental rate; the four DOM (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Réunion) generally apply 4.50%. A first-time buyer of a primary residence retains the 4.50% rate (CGI art. 1594 F septies + CCH L.31-10-3 + décret 2025-946 of 8 September 2025, 5-year residence engagement, no price cap). Our report runs the precise calculation for your specific transaction.

For Belgian, Swiss, Luxembourg or Quebec buyers we recommend our French-language Variant A (€14.90) — destination-specific landing pages cover convention-fiscale FR-BE, LEX KOLLER, French-LU patrimony declaration. The English Variant F (€19.90) is for UK, US, Irish, Australian and other non-French-speaking buyers. Currency converted to EUR (with GBP/USD/CHF reference rates from ECB), French regulatory landscape explained in plain English, "things foreign buyers commonly miss" sidebar, cultural context for notaire process and 14-day cooling-off period.

Annual taxes include taxe foncière (property tax, ~0.5-2% of "valeur locative cadastrale" depending on commune — typically €500-3,000/year for a €300k apartment), taxe d'habitation (abolished on primary residences in 2023 but kept on secondary residences ~€400-2,500/year), and if rented out: rental income tax (BIC if furnished, foncier if unfurnished) + 18.6% social charges on furnished rental income (LFSS 2026 raised CSG from 9.2 to 10.6% on LMNP rental income and dividends — unfurnished rental and real-estate capital gains stay at 17.2%). For non-residents: rental income is taxable in France first (treaty applies), then declared in your home country with relief. Our LMNP investor report (Variant G, €24.90 — French only) walks through the optimisation.

Estate agents in France are paid by the seller (3-7% commission) — they have no incentive to flag risks that might kill the sale. Our report is paid by you, the buyer; we have no incentive other than accuracy. We pull from 10+ official open-government datasets (DGFiP, ADEME, IGN, Géorisques, INSEE, ARCEP, ANFR) and synthesise into a 15-page actionable dossier. The €19.90 covers our database hosting, ETL pipelines, and the PDF rendering pool. We deliver in under a minute by email — no sales call, no follow-up spam, no data resold.

No — and we are very clear about this. The report is "indicatif" (indicative): a synthesis of public-government data to help your due-diligence process, not a legal opinion or certified expert valuation. For binding decisions, consult: notaire (transaction), expert-comptable (taxation if renting out), avocat (legal disputes), certified diagnostiqueur (official DPE), licensed expert (NF X 50-110 valuation for divorce/succession). Our report tells you what questions to ask them.