Guides

Déficit Foncier: How French Landlords Turn Renovation Bills Into a Tax Deduction, and Why It Works Differently From Abroad

Let a French home unfurnished and spend more on it than it earns, and up to €10,700 a year (€21,400 for energy works until 2027) can come off your other income. How the déficit foncier is calculated, the three-year trap, and what it is really worth to an owner living in the UK.

Inheriting French Property From Abroad: What the Notaire Really Charges in 2026

The 2026 succession tariff run on a €300,000 flat: the three acts you cannot avoid, the partage that triples the bill, the 20 per cent discount nobody mentions, and what changes when the deceased lived in the UK.

Your Tenant Is the Neighbours’ Problem, Which Makes It Yours: What a Landlord Abroad Must Do When the Complaint Arrives

When a tenant disturbs the neighbours, French law holds the owner answerable and expects a precise sequence: evidence, a formal notice, a free conciliation, then termination or non-renewal. The steps, the 1996 ruling that your letters do not shield you, the 2025 law that lets the préfet force your hand, and why the lease’s termination clause only bites after a court has already ruled.

LMP or LMNP When You Sell: the Year of the Sale Decides, With One Tolerance and Two Traps

Is professional furnished-letting status (LMP) judged on the year of the sale or the year before? The year of the sale, says the tax administration, with a filing tolerance for last year's status, an annualisation rule when the sale ends your letting, and a worldwide-income test for non-residents from 2026. Every rule linked to its source.

Buying French Property at a Notarial Auction: the Candle, the Cahier des Charges and the Two Protections You Lose

The notarial auction has no cooling-off period, no loan condition and no negotiation. How the candle works, what the cahier des charges decides, what a bidder from abroad needs on the day, and when immo-interactif is the better room.

Taxe d’Habitation on a French Second Home: the 2026 Guide (and the 60% Surcharge)

France scrapped the taxe d'habitation on main homes but kept it on second homes - and 1,628 communes now pile on a surcharge of up to 60%. What foreign owners actually pay in 2026, and how to lighten it.

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.

Spotting a Fake French Tax Notice: How to Verify a Tenant’s Income Proof (2026)

Fake tax notices are a common rental-application scam. France gives landlords two free, official ways to check a tenant's avis d'imposition is genuine - the 2D-Doc barcode and the SVAIR online tool.

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.