Real Estate

In France you can’t lift a sitting tenant’s rent to market whenever you like: the law sets the timetable, and in tight-market zones even a new tenant’s rent is capped. We run the numbers on when keeping a good tenant beats chasing the market.

Every step of selling a French property while you live abroad, in order: the reports, the agent, the preliminary contract, signing remotely, the French tax the notaire takes, and the UK side.

A French court can order an owner to soundproof a flat when the noise from it is abnormal, even where a new floor meets the national standard. We explain the rules, two key rulings, the four steps from complaint to court order, and what tenants can and can’t demand.

French home prices fell 0.8% in the year to mid-2026, with houses down 1.3% and flats almost unchanged. We break down the notaires’ figures by city, explain why the 4% mortgage line matters, and what it all means if you sell or buy from abroad.