Guides

The Agent’s Licence: How to Check a French Estate Agent, and Who Pays When They Get It Wrong

Every French estate agent operates behind a licence, a financial guarantee and compulsory insurance. How to verify the carte professionnelle in two minutes, what protects your deposit, and the case law making agents answer for the deals they touch.

The Agent’s Commission: What You Owe a French Estate Agent, and When You Owe Nothing

France hangs an agent’s entire right to payment on a written mandate, a register number and a completed sale. When the commission is owed, who owes it, and the five decades of case law on agents who tried to get paid anyway.

Beyond 90 Days: the Long-Stay Visitor Visa for French Second-Home Owners (2026)

Owning a French home gives you zero right to stay past 90 days. The visitor visa fixes that: VLS-T vs VLS-TS, what the consulate wants to see, the real 2026 costs, and the two clocks - Schengen and tax - that owners most often confuse.

How to Raise the Rent on a French Property: A Landlord’s Guide to Revising a Residential Rent

A landlord's guide to the three legal routes for raising a French residential rent: the annual IRL revision, increases after improvement works, and re-pricing an under-valued rent at renewal.

SCI or Your Own Name? The Decision Guide to Holding French Property

SCI or your own name? The 2026 decision guide for foreign buyers of French property: what an SCI really changes when you buy, hold, sell and pass it on - and the five questions that settle it.

How to Change the Statutes of a French SCI: A Complete Guide for Investors

You have done it. The Société Civile Immobilière (SCI) is set up. The property is bought. The keys are in your pocket. You might think the...

The English Investor Guide: How to Create a Société Civile in France

For many British investors looking across the Channel, the dream of owning French property—whether a Parisian apartment or a farmhouse in Dordogne—often leads to...

How to Continue Trading on Interactive Brokers After a PDT Flag (Even If You’ve Used Your One-Time Reset)

TL;DR (April 2026) — You've used your one-time IBKR PDT reset and you're stuck. The three workarounds that actually keep you trading: (1) switch...

How to Airbnb in France: The Ultimate Guide for UK Property Investors (2026)

Last Updated: June 2026 (originally July 2025) â€“ Thinking of investing in short-term rentals (à la Airbnb) in France? You’re not alone. But be warned: France has...

How to claim EIS and SEIS tax relief

A 2026 refresh of our EIS and SEIS guide: the doubled SEIS limits, the schemes now running to 2035, the April 2026 expansion of EIS company thresholds, and the four ways to actually claim the relief.