The French sale runs through a notaire: diagnostics, an avant-contrat, a 10-day cooling-off for the buyer, then the deed and the tax paid at closing. What a non-resident owner must prepare and how the proceeds reach your account.
In brief
As of 7 November 2026, a French sale by a non-resident runs through a notaire from the first contract to the payout. The buyer has a 10-day cooling-off after signing the avant-contrat, the seller must provide the mandatory diagnostics, and the gains tax (19% income tax plus 17.2% social levies, or 7.5% for some EU/EEA-affiliated sellers) is normally paid through the notary at the deed. No official statistic gives the time from listing to deed. As our own planning assumption, allow about three to four months from the avant-contrat to the deed. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
What is different for a non-resident seller
The mechanics of a French sale are the same for everyone: a mandate with an agent or a private sale, an avant-contrat, a period for the buyer's conditions, and the authentic deed (acte authentique) signed at a notary's office. What changes for you is three things: you may not be in France on the signing day, the tax is calculated and settled for you at closing with extra paperwork, and the proceeds must travel to a foreign account. Plan each of the three before you list the property.
Check your holding period first, because it decides the tax. Our guide to the French gains tax explains the allowances year by year; read it before you set a price: capital gains tax when selling in France.
Step 1: the mandate and the agent fee
You can sell through an agent or privately. If you use an agent, the mandate and the advert must state who pays the fee. French law does not say that the seller or the buyer has to pay; it is a matter of the mandate. In 2026 practice, one local agency page says the most common arrangement puts the fee on the seller, and other pages note that the buyer ends up paying in both cases because the fee is part of the price.
Ranges quoted by agencies and brokers are 3% to 10% of the price, or 3% to 8% with an average of about 5%. These are market ranges, not a tariff, and you can negotiate them. One practical effect: when the buyer pays the fee, the notary costs are calculated on the net price without it; when the seller pays it, it is included in the sale price and the buyer's notary base rises. Ask the agent to show both versions of the price.
Step 2: the mandatory diagnostics
Before the avant-contrat you must assemble the technical file (dossier de diagnostics techniques, DDT). It must be annexed to the compromis, or at the latest to the deed. The energy performance diagnostic (DPE) must be available from the advert and shown at viewings for an existing home. A DPE is valid for 10 years, with special rules for DPEs made before July 2021. Pages that aggregate the cost give an indicative EUR 400 to 700 for the whole set; the exact list depends on the age, location and type of the home, so ask a certified diagnostician what your home needs.
Do this early. A missing document can delay the signing, and French pages note that the buyer's cooling-off does not start until the mandatory documents are annexed.
Step 3: the avant-contrat and the 10-day cooling-off
The usual route is a compromis de vente (signed by both sides, often with an agent) or a promesse de vente (a unilateral promise, often at a notary's). Both open the same cooling-off for a non-professional buyer: 10 days, set by the law of 6 August 2015 (it was 7 days from the law of 2000). Sources disagree on when it starts, and one site speaks of working days while most say calendar days. Do not assume the sale is final on the signing day; the notary will tell you the exact date from which the buyer can no longer withdraw. A promise of sale lasting more than 18 months must be drawn up by a notary, according to one source.
The avant-contrat will contain the buyer's conditions, most often a loan condition, and these decide how long the closing takes. Ask the agent which conditions are in the draft before you sign.
Step 4: tax in brief and the fiscal representative
Official 2026 guidance puts the income tax on a non-resident's gain at 19%, with 17.2% social levies on top (36.2% before allowances); the levies are 7.5% for sellers affiliated to a social security scheme in an EU or EEA country or Switzerland. There are allowances for holding time: no income tax after 22 years of ownership and no social levies after 30 years. A surcharge of 2% to 6% applies to large gains above EUR 50,000. Details and the exemptions are in our tax article, which we do not repeat here: France capital gains tax on sale.
Two procedural points matter for a non-resident. First, the tax is normally calculated, declared and paid through the notary at the time of the deed. Second, a fiscal representative may be required. One source says an accredited representative is required when the seller is domiciled outside the EU or EEA and the price exceeds EUR 150,000; other sources present the duty more broadly. According to the official page, it can be an accredited company or another person domiciled for tax in France, notaries and lawyers excluded, and the representative is jointly liable for the tax. Ask the notary, before the avant-contrat, whether you need one, what it costs and how long accreditation takes.
Step 5: the deed and who can sign it
The deed is signed at the notary's office. If you cannot attend, a power of attorney (procuration) is the usual solution, and it must be drawn up in the form your notary accepts. This is general practice and not searched here: confirm with the notary how the document must be signed, notarised or legalised abroad, and in which language. A short checklist of the documents you should have ready is below.
Step 6: getting the money out
The notary settles the mortgage payoff and the tax from the price, and pays the rest to the account you indicated. Prepare that account early. Three practical points:
- Use an account in your own name. Third-party accounts raise questions at the notary and at your bank.
- Expect source-of-funds questions. A bank receiving a large sum may ask for the deed, the tax declaration and proof of how you originally bought the property. If you hold a Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh or Ukrainian passport, or the receiving bank is in the EU, the checks can be stricter and slower; read what banks ask Russian citizens living in the EU.
- Currency: the price arrives in euros. If your account is in another currency, compare the conversion rate before you instruct the notary; see repatriating money after selling property abroad.
Common mistakes
- Setting the price before checking the holding period and the allowances.
- Listing without the diagnostics and losing weeks at the avant-contrat.
- Assuming the buyer pays the agent fee because the advert says so; read the mandate.
- Learning at the notary that a fiscal representative is needed.
- Forgetting the tax treatment in your home country; a treaty decides who taxes the gain and who gives credit.
- Choosing an account for the payout after the deed date is fixed.
Step-by-step plan and rough timing
- Weeks 0-2: confirm the holding period and the tax with the notary; ask about the fiscal representative; choose the agent and the mandate; order the diagnostics.
- Weeks 2-8: market the property; negotiate; sign the avant-contrat; the buyer's 10 days start.
- Weeks 8-16 (our planning assumption, depends on the buyer's loan): conditions are fulfilled; the notary prepares the deed and the tax declaration.
- Deed day: sign (or by power of attorney); the notary settles the tax and the mortgage.
- After the deed: receive the funds; keep the deed, the tax declaration and the payout statement for your home-country filing.
If the property was a holiday home you also let, see how the numbers worked when you bought: buying costs in France and buy where you holiday, rent 11 months, live 1 month: France. If you moved to France and sell your home, the first 30 days checklist covers the registrations that affect your tax status.
FAQ
How long does a sale take in France? No official statistic was found. As a planning assumption, allow about three to four months from the avant-contrat to the deed, longer if the buyer needs a loan.
Can the buyer withdraw after signing? Yes, for 10 days after the avant-contrat; sources disagree on the exact starting point, so ask the notary for the date.
Who pays the agent fee? It is agreed in the mandate; neither the seller nor the buyer is required by law. In 2026 practice the seller often pays, but the cost is in the price either way.
Do I need a fiscal representative? One source says yes for sellers domiciled outside the EU or EEA when the price is above EUR 150,000; the duty is described differently elsewhere, so ask the notary early.
Can I sign by power of attorney? Usually yes, in the form the notary accepts; confirm the formalities for signing abroad with the notary.