French Real Estate Glossary: Legal Terms, and Others You Should Know

Here is a comprehensive glossary of the most commonly used terms youll come across while navigating the property buying process, classied by whether the word pertains to the actual process, or the property. Its your #1 resource for conquering the language barrier when buying real estate in France.

WORD Acte de vente

DEFINITION
The nal purchase agreement, or deed of sale, for a property. The contract is drawn up by a notaire, who oversees the signing and the administrative formalities of registering the sale. Real estate agent Old, former. In real estate, usually refers to period buildings, in contrast to modern constructions. The property needs renovation. Paris is divided into 20 subdivisions, known as arrondissements, each with its own mairie, or mayor, overseeing many of the particular needs of that subdivision including permit issues, schools, etc. The 1st arrondissement is in the city center; they spiral out to the right from there, a design that gave rise to Paris' nickname l'escargot, or the snail. Elevator

TYPE
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Agent immobilier Ancien

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A rnover Arrondissement

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Ascenseur

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Assemble gnrale de coproprit

General assembly of the coowner association in a building. The syndic mails out the agenda several weeks before the meeting to all the co-owners, and voting is strictly limited to the issues listed in that notice. Items include building management fees, approval of the syndics management contract, proposed building works, as well as requests by individual owners that require co-owner approval. [new paragraph] The votes are recorded in the ordre du jour, or meeting minutes, which is mailed to each of the co-owners after the meeting. Absent owners can vote by proxy or give a power of attorney to a third party to attend and vote on their behalf. Strict laws govern the number of votes and the number of co-owners who must be present for certain changes to be made to the building. [New paragraph] This is generally an annual meeting, with extraordinary meetings if pressing issues arise or if a co-owner wants to call a vote on an issue and does not want to wait until the next scheduled meeting. Real property Pantry

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Bien immobilier Buanderie

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Carte professionnelle

Real estate professional license, required to represent buyers or sellers in a real estate transaction. An agent without this card is operating illegally; their fees cannot be included in the sale contract and those fees will not be deductible from capital gains on sale. Cellar Bedroom Maid's room, usually small rooms (about 10m2 or less) on the top oor of period buildings. That oor is often one above the last elevator oor, or reachable only by a service stairwell or elevator. They can have water hookups, or simply a communal toilet on the oor. Two or more chambres de bonne are often combined to make a larger apartment. If it is at least 9m2, an owner has the right to rent it out as a residence, or sell it separately from the underlying apartment.

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Cave Chambre Chambre de bonne

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Charges

Building fees for the management of the building, maintenance of common areas, building insurance, concierge, renovation works and other amenities in the building.The syndic sends out an itemized statement, usually on a quarterly basis, to each of the co-owners. The fees for each owner are calculated based on the size of the lot owned, so bigger apartments will owe a proportionately larger share of the total building fees. Fireplace The initial purchase and sale agreement signed by the seller and buyer of a property. This pre-contract documents the agreed price and conditions of sale. A compromis can be signed either directly between the private parties, or with the assistance of a real estate agent, unlike a promesse de vente, which is the corresponding document when signed under the supervision of a notaire. The buyer will ordinarily pay a 10% good faith deposit into escrow within 7 days after signing the compromis, which the buyer will lose if he pulls out of the purchase without cause.

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Chemine Compromis de vente

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French Real Estate Glossary

Concierge

Building superintendent. Can also be called a guardienne. The concierge manages small maintenance and coownership needs including collecting the mail. A live-in concierge has a ground oor apartment in the building for free, plus a small salary. They will often do housework on the side for one or more of the owners in the building. A Christmas bonus is usual and welcome. Conditional clauses contained in a promesse de vente or compromis de vente that suspend the required execution of the contract. A conditional clause may concern the buyer obtaining a satisfactory loan, or the seller obtaining required planning or building permission. A valid conditional clause must not depend on pure chance or on the will of one of the parties to the sale.

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Conditions suspensives

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French Real Estate Glossary

Conseil syndical

The co-owner associations advisory board. The board is comprised of co-owners, and the composition of the board is determined at the assemble gnrale. The board assists the syndic and generally supervises their management, and often manages some of the smaller details in the day-to-day running of the co-ownership property. Some buildings with fewer co-owners opt to do away with the syndic and manage the building themselves through the conseil syndical. The property owners (commercial or residential) in a building. Literally, love at rst sight. In a listing, it should be an apartment that is going to knock your socks off. Often times, that's exaggerated. A kitchen open to the living and/or dining room, not a separate room. Kitchen sold with the appliances (stove, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher)

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Copropritaires

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Coup de cur

Cuisine amricaine

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Cuisine quipe

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French Real Estate Glossary

Dpt de garantie

Good faith deposit, or earnest money, paid into escrow by a buyer at the signing of the compromis de vente or promesse de vente. Ordinarily the good faith deposit is 10% of the net purchase price of the property. If the conditions to sale have been met and the buyer refuses to complete the purchase, he will lose that money to the seller. Reports that the seller is required to provide to the buyer in a property sale. There are currently 7 reports: the loi carrez size, termites, lead, asbestos, natural gas installation, electrical wiring, natural risks (e.g., ood zones) and energy efciency. As of 2011, the energy efciency rating must be included in the sale listing, so now most of these tests are completed together before the property is listed. A new test relating to sanitation will be required of certain buildings - but few if any in Paris - starting in 2013. A building entry code system using a number pad An extra large living room, often made up of two rooms with French doors in the middle An apartment with a train car layout, where at least one room is accessible only by passing through one or more other rooms.

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Diagnostiques

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Digicode Double sjour

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Enlade

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Ensoleill tage

Sunny Floor or landing. Often abbreviated as "e" (e.g., Au 2e -- "On the second oor"). The ground oor in France is the rez-de-chausse or RDC, not the 1st oor; 1st oor is one oor up. Purchase costs associated with a real estate sale. In shorthand often referred to as notaire fees, which gives the mistaken impression that the notaire is collecting and keeping that money. Not so, although it does include the notaires own fee, about 1% of the purchase price. Other fees and taxes included are the taxes de publicit foncire (land registry taxes, or stamp duties), mortgage registration fees and miscellaneous fees associated with the requisite title search and administrative documents. In France, most residential property is subject to about 7% purchase costs; new-build property is subject to value added tax, or VAT, of just under 20%.

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Frais d'acquisition

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French Real Estate Glossary

Gardienne

Building superintendent or concierge, who manages small maintenance and coownership needs including collecting the mail. A live-in guardienne has a ground oor apartment in the building for free, plus a small salary. They will often do housework on the side for one or more of the owners in the building. A Christmas bonus is usual and welcome. Under Napoleon III in the late 19th century, Baron Haussmann lead the charge to tear down many of the old neighborhoods in Paris to clear the way for large boulevards lined with ornate stone buildings, now referred to as Haussmannien. These are the sought-after ornate, 6story residential buildings with balconies on the 2nd and 5th oors that line Paris' larger boulevards. Later pierre de taille buildings in similar style but often smaller are often also referred to as Haussmannien, but technically they are not. Ceiling height. Bel HSP means high ceilings, usually 3 meters (about 10 feet) or more. An intercom system in the lobby of a building for calling up to a tenant to gain access to the apartment.

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Haussmannien

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Hauteur sous plafond (HSP)

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Interphone

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Location meuble

Furnished rental. All residences rented with sufcient furniture for everyday life are considered "furnished rentals" and subject to a minimum oneyear rental term if rented to a Paris resident. Seasonal or short term rentals, often for a few days, a week or longer. Seasonal rentals are popular throughout Paris, but remain concentrated in high-tourist areas in the central arrondissements. The precise square meter size of the apartment, one of the required diagnostiques that must be reported as part of the sale. This gure must be included in the pre-contract to the sale. The buyer has one year to challenge this gure and, if the true size is 5+% less than the size reported, has the right to recover the proportionate value of the lost square meters. If a professional company made the measurement error, they are liable for this loss. [new paragraph] The code governing the measurement is very strict, excluding oor area with ceiling heights below 160cm, doorways and window bays, and terraces or balconies. Many top-oor apartments with slanted ceilings will have substantially different au sol (on the oor) and loi carrez measurements.

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Location saisonnire

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Loi carrez

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French Real Estate Glossary

Loi carrez (m2)

The square meter size of an apartment, measured in accordance with strict laws as to what is and is not included. Where the difference between the total size (m2 au sol) and the loi carrez are substantial, listings will often indicate the size au sol alongside the loi carrez measurement. One m2 equals 10.76 square feet. Slanted or cathedral ceilings found in top-oor apartments. An elevated loft space accessible by interior stairs, that usually serves as a workspace or sleeping area in apartments with high ceilings. Moldings, often in plaster of Paris, that are standard decor along with wood oors and replaces in period buildings.

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Mansard

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Mezzanine

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Moulure

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Notaire

The notaire is a public ofcial with legal training (but different from a lawyer) who prepares and registers ofcial acts such as wills, marriage contracts, and property sales. A notaires primary role is to ensure that the transaction is legitimate and that the ofcial requirements have been met. A good notaire, of course, is also an advocate for his clients interests. Notaires enjoy a very privileged and highly respected position in French society. [new paragraph] One notaire can represent both parties in the transaction, or each party can have their own notaire. The notaires total fee on the transaction is set by law, and is simply divided between the notaires if each party is represented separately. Having your own notaire is ordinarily advisable, and will not cost more than sharing one with the other party. Hardwood oors, often oak. The cut and layout of the oors vary in terms of the construction period and/or the prestige of the property. Laminate wood ooring, often snap-together pieces. While they can be found in any property, they are not the original hardwood oors that are highly valued in the market.

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Parquet

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Parquetottant

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Particulier

Private person. In real estate sales, the equivalent of "for sale by owner." The living rooms in the apartment, not including kitchen, baths or a pantry. A "4 pices" can be an apartment with a living room and 3 bedrooms, a double sjour, a living room with 2 bedrooms and an ofce, etc. Buildings constructed of stacked, individual stone blocks, often with ornate balconies and classic interior features. The most classic of these are the Haussmannien buildings. Short for the classic Parisian apartment features of parquet, moulures, chemines: hardwood oors, moldings and replaces. A metal security door with locks, latches and levers that give the most security to the front door of your residential unit

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Pices

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Pierre de taille

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PMC

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Porte blinde

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French Real Estate Glossary

Promesse de vente

The promise to sell is a precontract for the purchase and sale of real estate drawn up by and signed before a notaire. The buyer will ordinarily pay a 10% good faith deposit into escrow within 7 days after signing the compromis, which the buyer will lose if he pulls out of the purchase without cause. [new paragraph] In contrast to a compromis de vente, the promesse is a unilateral engagement by the seller to sell; the buyer can pull out at will and will suffer only the loss of the good faith deposit the seller cannot force the buyer to purchase the property. Chimney sweeping -- must be performed certied annually for replaces that are in use. Storage spaces - often in short supply in Paris apartments Cleaning of the faade/ exterior of a building. The law requires that this be done every ten years on Paris buildings at the cost of the co-owners, but it is often done far less than that. Co-ownership building rgulations, laying out the rights and obligations of coowners in the building, the method for calculating building fees, and the allowed use of the common areas and the individual apartments.

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Ramonage

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Rangement

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Ravalement

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Rglement de coproprit

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Rez-de-chausse(RDC)

Ground oor (which is the "zero" oor in France). A rezde-chausse apartment is a ground oor apartment with at least some windows facing out to the street. Some rezde-chausse apartments will have private or semi-private use of the courtyard, which can be a big plus for the property. A ground oor apartment that lets out to a garden or interior courtyard, with no windows facing onto the street. Some rez-de-jardin apartments will have private or semi-private use of the courtyard, which can be a big plus for the property. Bathroom with a bathtub, with or without a toilet. Bathroom with a shower, with or without a toilet.

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Rez-de-jardin

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Salle de bains Salle de douche

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Socit civile immobilire (SCI)

A holding company specically structured for owning and managing properties in France. An SCI is pass-through entity, so its tax treatment is consistent with the residency and tax liability of its shareholders. [new paragraph] An SCI can be an interesting vehicle for property owned by a family or a group of unrelated persons, and facilitates the transfer of ownership over time. For non-resident buyers, an SCI allows them to ignore the forced inheritance laws in France, providing more exibility to determine who the property goes to upon death of the owner(s). An SCI must have at least two shareholders, individuals or companies. A building manager elected by the co-owners to oversee their interests, including the annual meeting of the coowners, accounting, building insurance, cleaning and concierge personnel, and building renovations. The property needs extensive renovation. An apartment layout that "runs through" from one end of the apartment to the other, usually with windows at each end. Elsewhere known as a "shotgun apartment."

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Syndic de coproprit (coownership property representative)

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Travaux prvoir Traversant

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Vis vis

Obstructed view, usually of another building very close, across a small street or courtyard. vaulted (ceilings) A view that is unobstructed and attractive. Toilet that is separate from the bath or shower room.

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Vote Vue degage WCsepare

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