Completion Time Frame: 3 days (simultaneous with procedures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Completion Costs: €12 per demand for 5 lots of land + €2 for each supplementary lot of land + €2 for postage
Points to Note:
The notary obtains from the relevant Land Registry a non-encumbrance certificate and a 30-year search on the property at the Real Estate Office (one document) (hereafter the “Land Registry Search”) using the Tele@ctes system.
The Land Registry Search must be obtained before completion of the transaction. It is valid only for a set period and then it has to be updated. The Land Registry Search contains the following information: all transfers of ownership, mortgages, charges, and easements, on the property registered since 1956.

Step 2: Obtain copies of all transfer deeds over a 30-year period

Completion Time Frame: 5-10 days (simultaneous with procedures 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Completion Costs: € 15 (+ € 2 for postage) per document if requested to the Land Registry and 0.5 € per pages copied if requested to the notary
Points to Note:
The notary obtains copies of all transfer deeds over a 30-year period. Search shows all transactions in the last 30 years, the notary must obtain a copy of each of the previous deeds of sale for the last 30 years from the Land Registry. Alternatively, the notary can request the same information from the notaries who executed the deed of sale in each previous transaction. It will take between 1 and 5 days and it will cost € 0.5 per page copied.

Step 3: Obtain a cadastral certificate

Completion Time Frame: 1 days (simultaneous with procedures 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6)
Completion Costs: no cost
Points to Note:
The notary obtains a cadastral certificate showing the reference of the property at the Cadastral Registry. This certificate is obtained by the notary immediately on the internet.

Step 4: Obtain planning certificates

Completion Time Frame: 15 days (simultaneous with procedures 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6)
Completion Costs: no cost (internet) [or 120 € when the demand is made by a surveyor]
Points to Note:
The notary obtains planning certificate from the Municipality. The request can be fulfilled on the Internet in some cities like Paris.

Step 5: Seller obtains mandatory environmental reports

Completion Time Frame: 15 – 30 days (simultaneous with procedures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6)
Completion Costs: About EUR 800
Points to Note:
The Seller obtains mandatory environmental reports (3 in total) mentioning the presence or absence of termites and asbestos. Without these reports the seller would remain liable towards the purchaser if termites or asbestos were found in the future. Termites Certificate was made mandatory by the Law 99-471 du 8 juin 1999, decrét 2000-613 du 3 juillet 2000, arreté du 10 aout 2000). Asbestos certificate is mandatory by décret 96-97 du 7 février 1996 modifié et appliqueé depuis le 1er janvier 2002) and the certificate for natural disaster and technological risks
As a result of the implementation of the Power Performance Diagnostic (“Diagnostic de performance énergétique”), is only for information.

Step 6: Obtain the waiver of preemption rights from the Municipality

Completion Time Frame: 60 days (simultaneous with procedures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)
Completion Costs: no cost
Points to Note:
The notary writes to the city mayor to obtain the waiver of the city’s preemption rights on the property. The notary informs about the transaction and the conditions agreed among the parties.
It is common that many properties are subject to these requirements, since the Municipality may have the right to buy the property at the same price that it was agreed on the sale agreement. If the city does not answer in 2 months, then the preemption rights have been waived. It may be the case that the city informs the notary before the 2 months. There are some exemptions: if the building has been completed in the last 10 years or if the lot sold (used for residential purpose) is in a building where the co-ownership rules have been published at the land registry more than 10 years ago.

Step 7: Notaries prepare the draft of the deed of sale

Completion Time Frame: 7 -10 days

Completion Costs: Fees are due at the signing of the deed in Step 8
Points to Note:
By law, notaries are charged with administering nearly all aspects of the transaction: preparation, signing and execution of the final deed.
The purchaser’s notary with the assistance of the vendor’s notary prepares the draft of the deed of sale. The deed of sale contains two parts:
The first part is a standardized one and is the one sent to the Land Registry. It contains all relevant information for registration purposes. The manner in which this part is drafted is compulsory, failing which the Land Registry refuses registration of the deed of sale.
The first part of the deed of sale contains the following information:

• Details (full name, address, extrait CABIS) of the vendor and of the purchaser
• Description of the property which must refer to the cadastral reference
• Origin of title (provided by the seller)
• Sale price
• Taxes payable upon the sale: stamp duty normally due by the purchaser and capital gains tax due by the vendor

The second part of the deed can be freely drafted and contains basically a summary of the information/documents collected during the due diligence phase described previously:

• Information, representation, warranties on legal, technical, regulatory, planning, existing contracts relating to the property, environmental aspects of the property;
• Conditions of the sale;
• Information on the title to the property, i.e. a description of the transfer of title over the 30-year period;
• Information on easements.

Although some of the information described in the 2nd part of the transfer deed is not compulsory for the Real Estate Registry it is compulsory under other legislation failing which the purchaser could seek termination of the sale after it has been completed, for misinformation.
The notary of the vendor collects and provides the notary of the purchaser with the following documents:

• Land Registry Search (obtained in Step 1)
• Copies of all transfer deeds over a 30-year period (obtained in Step 2)
• Cadastral certificate showing the reference of the property at the Cadastral Registry (obtained in Step 3)
• Planning certificates (obtained in Step 4)
• Environmental reports (obtained in Step 5)
• Waiver of Municipality’s preemption rights (obtained in Step 6)
• The buyer and seller both have to provide the notary with personal information such as their name, occupation, date and place of birth, address and marital status.

Step 8: The deed of sale is executed by a notary.

Completion Time Frame: 1 day
Completion Costs: 0.825% of purchase price (notary’s fees) + 5.09% of purchase price (Registration Fee)
Points to Note:
Once the notary has completed the necessary searches and inspections, acquired the necessary information from the local authorities and the bank (if there’s to be a mortgage), and prepares the final deed of sale, the parties meet once again with him for the execution of the deed of sale.
The deed of sale must be executed before a notary, failing which it cannot be registered at the relevant Land Registry. The notary is required to read the deed through completely, aloud, to both the seller and buyer and make any relevant amendments, and assure that they both understand the terms. Registration fees and notaries’ fees are payable up-front.
The buyer has full ownership of the property immediately after the deed of sale has been signed before the notary. He can dispose of the property as he wishes by selling, leasing, mortgaging it, etc. though in practice, only after procedure 9 will a third party be willing to buy it and a bank grant a loan based on it.

Step 9: Apply for registration of the deed of sale at the relevant Land Registry

Completion Time Frame: 50 days ( Land Registry registers the deed of sale)
Completion Costs: EUR 25 + 0.1% of property value (for the salary of the registrar)
Points to Note:

The notary must apply for registration of the deed of sale at the relevant Land Registry within 2 months maximum of the date of execution of the deed of sale. It can be done immediately after the signature of the deed in Step 8. Through Tele@ctes, the notary send the documents to the Land Registry. Simultaneously, the notary pays to the Land Registry the publicity tax and the salary of the registrar on behalf of the purchaser (the value added tax is paid by the company directly). The original deed of sale (called the “minutes”) remains with the notary for 100 years.

The Land Registry will proceed with another encumbrance check (sur formalité) to check if between the first request (hors formalité) and the final transfer (Sur formalité), no encumbrances had been registered on this property. It takes about two months for the Land Registry to register the final transfer. The transfer of property is opposable to third parties after registration of the deed by the land registry office.

A Publicity tax (Taxe de Publicité Foncière) equal to 25 EUR is paid for the publication of the transfer, together with an additional 0.1% of the property value for the salary of the registrar.

On completion the vendor’s creditors if any, must execute a deed of discharge or release of the existing mortgages benefiting to them.