Invest in France Real Estate
France is the second home market most Canadians picture before they have looked at a single listing. It is also one of the most buyer protected markets in Europe, with a notaire led process, a statutory cooling off period and a mandatory disclosure pack. The catch is not risk in the transaction. It is the carrying cost, the energy rules now reshaping the rental market, and the inheritance law that applies to your property whether or not your Canadian will says otherwise.
I am Mathew Toussaint, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty of Canada in Waterloo Region. I am licensed in Ontario and do not practise real estate in France. Through eXp's international network I can connect you with professionals who know their local French markets, and I can help you work the decision through from the Canadian side.
Can a Canadian buy property in France?
Yes, without restriction and without residency. Non-residents buy French property routinely and hold it in their own names. You will need a French bank account in practice, and identity and source of funds documentation for the notaire. Owning property does not give you a right to stay beyond the normal visitor limits in the Schengen area, so if the plan involves spending long periods there, look at the visa question separately and early.
How the French purchase process works
France is unusually structured, and the structure works in the buyer's favour.
- Offre d'achat. Your written offer. Once accepted, the parties move to contract.
- Compromis de vente. The binding preliminary contract, usually signed at the notaire's office, typically with a deposit of around ten percent held by the notaire. It sets out the suspensive conditions, the most common being obtaining a mortgage.
- Cooling off period. The buyer has a statutory withdrawal period after receiving the signed compromis, during which you can pull out and recover your deposit without giving a reason. The seller has no equivalent right.
- Searches and conditions. The notaire carries out title and planning checks, and any pre-emption right held by the commune or by SAFER on rural land is cleared.
- Acte de vente. The final deed, usually two to three months after the compromis, at which the balance is paid and keys change hands.
The notaire is a public officer, not your advocate. One notaire can act for both sides, but as a buyer you are entitled to appoint your own, and doing so does not increase the total fee because the notaires share it. For an overseas buyer, appointing your own is usually worth it.
What buying actually costs
The single number Canadians most often miss is the acquisition cost, referred to loosely as frais de notaire. On an existing property this is commonly in the region of seven to eight percent of the price, and most of it is transfer duty payable to the state and the department rather than the notaire's own fee. On new build or recently completed property the figure is much lower, typically two to three percent, because VAT is already included in the price. Confirm the current rates for the department you are buying in, because departmental rates can and do change.
Also budget for:
- Agency commission, which in France is usually included in the advertised price but should be confirmed in writing, along with which party is stated to pay it
- Taxe foncière, the annual land tax paid by the owner
- Taxe d'habitation on second homes, which many communes in high demand areas apply with a surcharge
- Co-ownership charges if you are buying an apartment in a copropriété, plus your share of any voted works
- Insurance, which is compulsory for co-owned property and strongly advisable otherwise
- The annual property wealth tax, which applies to net French real estate holdings above a threshold and catches more second home buyers than they expect
The energy rules that now shape rental investment
Every French property offered for sale or rent carries a DPE energy performance rating. France has been progressively prohibiting the letting of the worst rated homes, starting with the lowest band and moving up the scale over a series of deadlines. This is not a minor compliance detail. It has already taken stock off the rental market and it is a live factor in pricing, particularly for small apartments and older stone buildings.
If you are buying to let, the DPE rating is a primary screening criterion, not a footnote in the diagnostics pack. Ask what band the property is in, what the next applicable deadline is, and what the realistic cost of improving the rating would be. A cheap apartment with a poor rating may be cheap because it cannot legally be let for much longer without work.
Renting out a French property
Unfurnished long term letting and furnished letting are different regimes with different tax treatment, different minimum lease terms and different notice rules. Furnished letting is often more attractive on paper for a non-resident owner, but it carries its own registration and accounting requirements.
Short term tourist letting is where the rules have tightened most. Many communes require registration and the display of a registration number, cities with housing pressure operate change of use and compensation rules that can make short term letting of a main residence class property effectively impossible, and limits on the number of nights per year apply in some places. Paris and the larger southern cities are the strictest. As with Italy and Spain, the rules are local, so check the commune, not the country.
French source rental income is taxable in France for non-residents, and social levies apply on top of income tax. Canada and France have a tax treaty, so relief for French tax paid is generally available, but the mechanics depend on your situation. Canadian residents holding foreign property above a cost threshold also have an annual foreign property reporting obligation to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Inheritance law, and why it matters more in France than elsewhere
France applies forced heirship, meaning a defined share of the estate is reserved for children regardless of what a will says. European succession rules allow a person to elect, in their will, that the law of their nationality govern their estate, which can change the outcome for a Canadian owner. This is not something to leave to a standard Canadian will drafted without reference to the French property.
Ownership structure interacts with this. Buying en indivision, in tontine, or through an SCI company each produce different succession and tax outcomes, and the Canadian tax treatment of a French SCI is a separate question that has caught Canadian owners out. Take advice on both sides before the compromis, because changing the structure afterwards is expensive.
Where Canadian buyers tend to look
Paris
Small units, high price per square metre, deep tenant demand and the tightest short term letting regulation in the country. A Paris apartment is usually a capital and lifestyle decision rather than a yield decision, and building charges and works assessments in old buildings deserve close attention.
Provence and the Côte d'Azur
The classic second home region, from village houses in the Luberon to apartments in Nice, Antibes and Cannes. Strong seasonal rental demand on the coast, high purchase prices in the prime communes, and real differences in water, access and planning constraints inland.
The Alps
Ski property with a genuine two season rental market in the larger resorts. Altitude, lift access and the resort's summer programme matter more to long run value than the apartment itself. New build in the Alps is often sold with a commercial leaseback style rental arrangement, which changes the VAT treatment and locks in the use of the property, so read that contract in full before treating it as a personal holiday home.
The southwest and the Dordogne
Long established English speaking communities, lower entry prices, larger properties and land. Rental demand is seasonal and thinner. Renovation costs and rural service constraints such as septic systems and broadband are the practical issues.
Brittany, Normandy and the Atlantic coast
The most affordable coastal property in the country, ferry and rail access to northern Europe, and a market driven more by domestic French buyers than by international ones. Weather shortens the rental season considerably compared with the south.
How I help Canadian buyers looking at France
Through eXp's international network, I can connect you with professionals who know their local markets and can help you understand which opportunities may be available to you as an international buyer. From here, I can:
- Cost the purchase properly, including acquisition duties, annual taxes and the wealth tax threshold, before you fall in love with a property
- Compare the real return against an Ontario investment property rather than against the brochure
- Help you build the question list for your notaire, your French tax adviser and your Canadian accountant
- Connect you with local professionals in the region you are considering
Also worth reading: international investing overview · Italy · Spain · Portugal · United Kingdom · talk to Mathew
Frequently asked questions about buying property in France
How long does a French purchase take?
Typically two to three months from the compromis de vente to the acte de vente, longer if a mortgage is involved or if a pre-emption right has to be cleared. The timeline is fairly predictable compared with Ontario, because the notaire controls it.
Can I change my mind after signing?
As the buyer, yes, within the statutory withdrawal period after you receive the signed compromis, with your deposit returned. After that, you are bound unless a suspensive condition in the contract fails, such as a mortgage refusal properly documented.
Can a Canadian get a French mortgage?
French banks do lend to non-residents, and rates have historically been attractive compared with many markets, but expect a lower loan to value, substantial documentation and a slower process. French lenders also apply debt service ratio limits strictly. Start with a broker who places non-resident files regularly.
Do I need to speak French?
The deed is in French. Notaires deal with foreign buyers routinely and will arrange for a translation or an interpreter where required, and many will correspond in English, but the binding document is the French text. Have someone you trust read it.
What is the property wealth tax and will it catch me?
France levies an annual tax on net real estate assets above a threshold, and for non-residents it is assessed on French property. A single high value second home can exceed the threshold once debt is accounted for. Ask your French tax adviser to model it before you buy at the upper end.
Is a leaseback ski apartment a good investment?
It can suit someone who wants a defined income and limited personal use, and it does not suit someone who wants a family chalet. The lease governs your access, the rent, the renewal terms and what happens at the end of the period, and exiting early is difficult. Read it as a commercial contract, because that is what it is.
Will French inheritance law override my Canadian will?
French forced heirship applies to French real estate by default. A properly drafted election of your national law in your will can change that outcome, but it has to be done deliberately and with advice. This is a question for a French notaire and a Canadian estate lawyer together, not for either one alone.
Mathew Toussaint is a REALTOR® licensed in Ontario with eXp Realty of Canada, Inc., Brokerage. This page is general information for Canadian buyers considering property in France. It is not legal, tax, estate or investment advice, and French tax rates, energy performance requirements and local rental rules change. Confirm current rules with a French notaire, a French tax adviser and a Canadian accountant before committing to a purchase.