Guides

Short-Term or Long-Term? The First Question Every Owner of a French Flat Has to Answer

Before the SCI, the tax regime or the case law, one decision shapes everything: who lives in your French flat and for how long. The rules of a meublé de tourisme, a furnished lease and an unfurnished lease, the 2026 figures, and the five questions that decide between them.

Buying Off-Plan in France: the VEFA, and Why the Mud Is Already Yours

How a French off-plan purchase (VEFA) actually works for a foreign buyer: the 5% deposit, the 35/70/95 payment grid, the completion guarantee, delivery day and the thirteen-month clock, with the case law and the tax layer.

Guarantor for a Student in France: What a Parent Abroad Signs

Your child has a place in Paris or Lyon and the agent wants your signature on an acte de cautionnement by Friday. What you are guaranteeing, what an agency may and may not ask a parent abroad for, the free State guarantee that can replace you, and the legal ceilings on deposit and fees, from the finance ministry's student guide and the texts behind it.

Who Pays the Copropriété Charges in the Year You Sell?

French law does not split copropriété charges by days when a flat changes hands. The owner on the due date pays the whole call, the owner on the accounts-approval date takes the whole adjustment, and the works fund is never refunded. What each rule means for a foreign seller or buyer.

Ma Prime Logement Décent: the French Grant That Pays up to 90% of a Wreck’s Repairs, and Who Actually Gets It

France’s Anah pays 60 to 90 percent of heavy works on a degraded home, up to €70,000, for modest households who live in it. Who qualifies (residents, not holiday-home owners), the five ways a house qualifies, the strings, the sister aid for landlords with no income test, and how to apply in the right order.

Spotted a Mistake on Your French Tax Return? How to Correct It in 2026

Spotted an error on your French tax return after filing? You can still fix it. Here is the 2026 timetable for the online correction service, the réclamation route, and the deadlines that matter.

Renting Your Own French Home Short-Term: The Rules for a Primary Residence in 2026

Letting your own French home for a few weeks a year is legal, but tightly framed. Here are the 2026 rules: the 120-day cap, the new nationwide registration, and the tax that follows.

Compromis vs Promesse de Vente: Which Pre-Sale Contract Foreign Buyers Actually Want in 2026

What's the difference between a compromis de vente and a promesse de vente? Here's the structural map for foreign buyers — the 10-day rétractation, the loi Scrivener financing condition, séquestre vs indemnité d'immobilisation, and remote signing via apostille.

How to File Your French Non-Resident Tax Return in 2026: The Foreign-Owner’s Checklist

If you own French property and live abroad, you owe a French tax return by 21 May 2026 — even with zero rental income. Here is the box-by-box walkthrough, deadlines, and the five mistakes foreign owners make every year.

Bail à Vie at French Auction: A 2010 Ruling British Buyers Must Know

In 2004, two buyers won a French house at auction — only to discover the existing tenant had a lifetime clause they'd inherited. The 2010 Cour de Cassation ruling every British investor must know.

French Capital Gains Tax for Non-Residents: A British Investor’s 2026 Guide

Selling French property as a UK resident? A precise 2026 guide to plus-value immobilière: the 19% + 17.2% rate, the 22- and 30-year abattement schedules, the de Ruyter UK national-insurance carve-out giving a 26.5% effective rate, the représentant fiscal threshold, and the loi de finances 2026 LMP update.