Real Estate

No Letter, No Deadline: a SAFER Ruling for Buyers Who Lost the Land

A buyer whose registered letter from the SAFER could not be delivered is never out of time to challenge the pre-emption, the Cour de cassation ruled on 9 July 2026, whatever he knew from other sources. What that means for foreign buyers of French farmland, and how the SAFER's reach grew on 20 August.

A Flat for as Long as You Keep the Job: France’s New Housing Law for Public-Service Workers

Loi 2026-553 ties social housing to the job that justified it, hands public employers half the flats built on land they sell at a discount, and lets town halls override the local plan to build for nurses, police and transport staff. Nothing in it touches a private lease. Here is what it changes for the buildings around you.

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.

The Relance Logement Bill, Article by Article: What the Senate Passed and What the Assemblée Still Has to Decide

The Senate has rewritten the Relance Logement bill and the Assemblée nationale takes it up this autumn. All ten articles explained: the works-contract reprieve for F and G homes, summer comfort in copropriété votes, planning derogation zones, the loosened Jeanbrun, the island second-home surcharge, and what each one means for a foreign owner.

Loi de 1948 Rents in 2026: the 0.78% Decree, the €204 Ceiling, and Why a Cheap Paris Flat Can Be a Bad Deal

Décret 2026-712 lets landlords of loi de 1948 homes raise rents by 0.78 percent from 1 July 2026, up to a ceiling that can be a tenth of the market rent. What the regime is, how the increase differs from an IRL revision, how a landlord gets out, and what a buyer of a flat with a 1948 tenant is really buying.

The Foreign Owner’s Tax Map of France: What 47 Expat Towns Really Charge

Official 2025 rates for the 47 French towns where foreign buyers concentrate: a 3.3x spread, the 90% club in the Dordogne, eleven towns with 60% second-home surcharges, and Paris up 50% in five years.

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.

Anatomy of a French Tax Bill: the Avis de Taxe Foncière, Translated Line by Line

France's property-tax bill, decoded box by box on a real anonymised 2025 avis: what every line means in English, how the €1,016 total is built, what to check before paying, and how to contest it.

The €77,000 Letter: France’s Top Court Tightens the Fast Track for Unpaid Copropriété Charges

A co-owner €77,000 in arrears walked away from a fast-track judgment because the syndic's demand letter lumped the sums together. What the Cour de cassation's 18 June 2026 ruling means for every foreign co-owner in France.

The Jeanbrun Housing Bill (Relance Logement): What It Would Mean for Foreign Owners of French Property

France's Relance Logement bill would sweeten the Jeanbrun tax break and hand F and G homes a renovation-for-reprieve deal, but the Conseil d'Etat has filled the margins with warnings. Here is what foreign owners need to know.

LMNP Tax Calculator: Micro-BIC vs Régime Réel Break-Even (2026)

A free calculator that shows whether micro-BIC or régime réel leaves you with less taxable income on your French furnished rental, built on the verified 2026 allowances.