French agents work under the Hoguet law and must hold a professional card. How to read the card number, the mandate and the fee notice.
France has one of the more formal systems for estate agents in Europe, and a foreign buyer can use it. Every agent who mediates a sale must hold a professional card, and the card number must be visible. This guide is informational and is not legal advice, and details change, so confirm them with the issuing body.
Is the profession regulated?
Yes. The framework is Law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, known as the Hoguet law, and its decree of 20 July 1972. To work as an agent in sales ("transaction"), a person or company needs a professional card, the carte professionnelle, issued by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and valid for three years. The card is granted after checks of professional aptitude, civil liability insurance, a financial guarantee when the agent will hold clients' money, and the absence of a bar to practising. Commercial guides say that practising without a card is a criminal offence, with a prison sentence and a fine of 7,500 euros; I could not confirm the figures in an official text, so treat them as indicative.
The card number is usually described as the prefix CPI, the department, the year, a sequence number and a letter, for example T for transaction. It must be displayed in the agency, on the website and on documents. Collaborators who negotiate for an agent need a collaborator certificate from the CCI, so ask whether the person in front of you holds a card or acts for a card holder.
Where to check
- Ask for the card number and the name of the issuing CCI. A CCI document refers to a file of real estate professionals in which the current data of a professional can be checked; find it through your local CCI, because I did not open an official page and cannot give a link.
- Check that the company named on the card is the company on the mandate and the invoice.
- If the agent holds clients' deposits, ask for the financial guarantee certificate, which names the guarantor.
- For a person who says they are a "negotiator", ask for the collaborator certificate and the name of the agency.
- Check the company in the French business register (SIREN number) through a local lawyer or notary.
The mandate and the fees
An agent acts under a written mandate with the seller. The mandate states the fee and who bears it. There is no legal cap on fees; one consumer guide gives a typical range of 4 to 10 percent of the price, often lower for higher prices. Commercial guides report that the rules require the agent to display fees (with the calculation) in the agency window and on its website, and that every advertisement should show the price including the fee, labelled FAI (frais d'agence inclus), together with the split between seller and buyer; they also say that fees are due only after the sale is concluded, not when a promise is signed, and that the agent may not take payment before the notarial deed. These come from commercial sites and I could not confirm them in an official text, so check the display and the mandate wording yourself.
What to do:
- Ask whether the fee is paid by the seller (the price is then shown FAI) or by the buyer (the price is shown net of the seller with the fee added). Compare the total.
- If you are a buyer who has hired a buyer-side agent (a chasseur), that contract is a separate document.
- Do not sign a promise of sale (compromis) until you have the energy rating, the co-ownership documents and the seller's title. The notary who prepares the deed acts for the deed, not as your adviser.
See who pays the estate agent and whose side they are on and contracts and forms that bind you.
Red flags
- No card number on the agency, the website or the documents.
- A card number from another company than the one asking for money.
- A deposit requested to an account of a private person, or without saying who holds it and under which guarantee.
- A price that omits the fee or leaves unclear who pays it.
- Pressure to sign a promise of sale the same day.
- An agent who says "no need for a lawyer, the notary will handle it". See lawyer recommended by the agent or developer.
General patterns: property scams abroad: the most common schemes.
What an independent adviser adds
The card tells you who may sell. It does not tell you whether the property is sound. A lawyer who is not paid by the agent can review the compromis and its conditions, the co-ownership accounts and planned works, the urban-planning situation and the title. See notary or lawyer: who do you need abroad and the France resale checklist.
How we help
D.H. Realting is a Warsaw-based independent consultant that vets local lawyers and agents before introducing them. This text is informational and is not legal, tax or investment advice.