Buying French Property for STR as a Foreigner 2026: Notaire, Compromis, Taxes 7-10%

Buying French Property for STR as a Foreigner 2026: Notaire, Compromis, Taxes 7-10%

Buying a French property as a UK or US non-resident is procedurally formal but legally welcoming: France imposes no nationality restriction on real estate purchase, the notaire (a public officer with mandatory escrow and authentication duties) protects both sides, and the 30-day reflection period (délai de rétractation) gives the buyer a unilateral exit option. This guide walks through the compromis de vente, the notaire's role, the fiscal cost stack of frais de notaire and droits de mutation around 7-8% on existing housing, the SCI (Société Civile Immobilière) versus direct ownership choice for non-residents and the post-purchase steps to enter STR.

French real estate transactions are governed by the Code Civil (art. 1582 and following), the Code de la Construction et de l'Habitation (CCH) and the Code Général des Impôts (CGI). The notaire is the gatekeeper at every stage: drafting the compromis, escrowing the deposit, running the title search, computing and remitting the droits de mutation, and signing the acte authentique de vente. There is no "title insurance" market in France because the notaire's authentication carries equivalent legal weight.

Step One: The Compromis de Vente or Promesse de Vente

The compromis de vente (sometimes called promesse synallagmatique) is the binding preliminary contract. Both parties commit: buyer to buy, seller to sell. The compromis lists the price, the property description, the suspensive conditions (loan, planning permission, no pre-emption), the deposit (typically 5 to 10%), and the target signing date for the acte authentique (usually 60 to 90 days later).

For a foreign buyer, the compromis can be signed remotely via electronic signature (qualified eIDAS signature) or by power of attorney to a French mandataire. The notaire receives the deposit by SEPA or international wire to the étude's escrow account.

The promesse unilatérale de vente is the alternative: only the seller commits, the buyer pays an indemnité d'immobilisation (typically 10%) for the option to buy within a defined period. This format is less common for residential STR purchases.

Step Two: The 10-Day Reflection Period (Délai de Rétractation)

Art. L271-1 CCH gives a non-professional buyer 10 calendar days from receipt of the signed compromis to withdraw without justification and without penalty. The deposit must be refunded in full. For a UK or US owner this is the moment to complete due diligence: structural survey (expertise du bâtiment), DPE confirmation, copropriété accounts review, urbanism note (note d'urbanisme from the mairie), tax history.

The reflection period starts only when the compromis is delivered with the full annexes: copropriété règlement, last 3 procès-verbaux d'assemblée générale, charges récap, DPE, état des servitudes, état des risques naturels et technologiques. Missing annex equals invalid delivery, so the 10 days have not started.

Step Three: Suspensive Conditions and the Loan Clause

Art. L313-41 Code de la Consommation makes the loan suspensive condition implicit in every compromis where the buyer finances any portion: if the loan is refused by the bank within the agreed period (usually 45 to 60 days), the deposit is refunded in full and the compromis is void. The buyer must apply to at least 2 banks to demonstrate good faith.

For a UK or US buyer financing in EUR via a French bank, the loan-to-value is typically capped at 70% for non-residents (vs 80 to 90% for residents), the rate is around 60 to 100 basis points above the resident rate, and the bank requires income proof translated into French (original PAYE/W-2 plus a certified translation). Cash purchases skip this clause entirely.

Step Four: The Notaire's Role and the Mandatory Escrow

The notaire is a public officer with a monopoly over authentication of real estate transfers. Either side can choose, by default the seller's notaire acts (à défaut, le notaire du vendeur instrumente). The buyer can name their own notaire to co-act at no extra cost: the notaires share the fee under the règle du tarif national.

The notaire's duties: title search at the Service de Publicité Foncière (the French land registry), pre-emption rights check (mairie SAFER, public bodies), DGFiP tax clearance, computation of droits de mutation, escrow of deposit and balance funds, draft and sign the acte authentique, register the deed at the SPF within 1 month, transmit the new title to the buyer.

Step Five: The Cost Stack on Top of the Purchase Price

Item	Existing housing	New housing (under 5 years)
Droits de mutation à titre onéreux	5.81% (typical département rate)	0.715% (réduit)
Émoluments du notaire (regulated fee)	Around 0.8 to 1.5% (regressive)	Same
Débours et frais administratifs	Around EUR 800 to 1,500	Same
TVA (only on new housing)	Not applicable	20% (often included in price)
Total frais de notaire (rough)	7 to 8% of price	2 to 3% of price (excluding TVA)

"Frais de notaire" is a loose term: most of the package is the droits de mutation paid to the département and the commune, only a minority is the notaire's actual fee. On a EUR 500,000 existing apartment, expect around EUR 37,000 in frais de notaire. The notaire's net émoluments are closer to EUR 5,500.

Step Six: The Acte Authentique de Vente

Sixty to ninety days after the compromis (or longer if conditions are not lifted), the parties meet at the étude for the signing. Remote signing via qualified electronic signature is fully accepted since Decree 2020-1422. The notaire reads the acte aloud (in French), the buyer pays the balance, the notaire releases funds to the seller, the title transfers, the keys change hands.

The notaire's copie authentique (the registered title) follows by mail within 4 to 8 weeks. Until then the buyer has the attestation de propriété, valid for opening utility accounts, applying for the numéro d'enregistrement and dealing with the copropriété.

Step Seven: Annual Property Taxes Once You Own

• Taxe foncière: annual property tax payable by the owner, billed in October, based on the cadastral rental value. For a EUR 500,000 Provence apartment, expect EUR 1,200 to 2,500 per year depending on commune.
• Taxe d'habitation sur les résidences secondaires: still applies to second homes (abolished only on residence principale in 2023). For non-resident owners, the property is by default a residence secondaire. Expect EUR 600 to 2,000 per year, sometimes with a 20 to 60% surcharge in tension zones (taxe d'habitation majorée).
• Taxe de séjour: per night per guest, collected from the guest, remitted to the commune. Airbnb collects and remits in most municipalities.
• IFI (Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière): for non-residents, applies only to French real estate above EUR 1.3 million net. Rates 0.5 to 1.5% per year on the slab over the threshold.

SCI versus Direct Ownership for a Non-Resident

The SCI (Société Civile Immobilière) is a French civil real estate company often used for ownership structuring. Pros for a non-resident: succession planning (clear share transfer rather than indivision deadlock), access for multiple co-investors via parts sociales, one tax point for charges. Cons: SCI cannot directly carry out STR activity in BIC without losing its civil-society regime (you must opt for IS taxation at 25%, losing micro-BIC), administrative cost EUR 1,200 to 2,000 setup plus EUR 800 to 1,500 per year accounting.

For a UK or US buyer with one Côte d'Azur villa intended for personal use 60 days a year and STR the rest, direct ownership in indivision (if co-bought with a spouse) is usually simpler and cheaper. The SCI à l'IS makes sense from EUR 800,000+ portfolios or for inheritance planning where direct succession would be complicated by foreign forced-heirship rules.

Post-Purchase Checklist for STR Setup

1. Open a French bank account or activate a Wise EUR account for taxe de séjour and copropriété charges.
2. Apply for the SIRET via INPI under LMNP (see our dedicated registration article).
3. File the numéro d'enregistrement with the mairie if the commune enforces it.
4. Order or update the DPE if the existing one is older than 10 years or the renovation changed the rating.
5. Read the copropriété règlement for STR-restrictive clauses and recent procès-verbaux for any STR-banning resolution.
6. Subscribe an assurance multirisque habitation PNO (Propriétaire Non-Occupant) covering STR activity.
7. Plan the first CERFA 2042 NR for the partial-year 2026 rental income.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a UK or US citizen buy property in France without restriction?

Yes. France imposes no nationality test on real estate purchases. The only restriction is that some communes enforce a pre-emption right (DPU, Droit de Préemption Urbain) that lets the mairie buy the property at the agreed price. This is rare and procedural, not nationality-based.

How long does the full purchase process take?

From compromis to acte authentique typically 90 days for cash purchases, 120 days when financing is involved. Adding lender processing for a non-resident loan extends the timeline by another 30 to 60 days.

Do I need to be in France for the signing?

No. The signing can be done remotely via qualified electronic signature or by power of attorney to a French mandataire (often a notaire's clerk). The procuration must be authenticated at a French consulate in your country or at a French notaire.

What is the average frais de notaire on a EUR 800,000 Côte d'Azur villa?

For an existing villa, plan around EUR 60,000 in frais de notaire (7.5%). For a new-build villa under 5 years old, around EUR 22,000 (2.75%) excluding the embedded TVA on the price.

Is title insurance available in France?

No. French law does not have a title insurance market because the notaire's authentication carries equivalent legal weight, and the notaire's professional liability covers reasonable defects. Some title insurers offer cross-border policies for institutional buyers, retail buyers do not need them.

Should I buy in my own name or via a SCI?

For a single property under EUR 800,000 used part personally and part STR, direct ownership is usually simpler and cheaper. SCI is recommended for multi-property portfolios, multi-investor structures or complex inheritance planning where forced-heirship rules in the buyer's home country would clash with French succession law.

For an end-to-end purchase coordination including notaire choice, compromis review and post-closing STR setup, see the Standard Package HostReady (France) which bundles document review, SIRET filing, numéro d'enregistrement and the first CERFA 2042 NR.