Buying off-plan (VEFA) without getting caught out

Check the seller’s licence and the development’s approval

Two approvals, not one. A seller of buildings to be constructed must obtain a ministerial licence, granted on criteria of competence, good character and solvency, and must have an identifiable registered office¹.

Each development, for its part, must have a technical approval before any advertising. To obtain it, the developer must hold at least a provisional concession order (arrêté de concession provisoire) on the land¹.

The ministry publishes the list of licensed property developers². An advert circulating on social media before the technical approval is, by definition, irregular.

Seller’s licence

Ministerial¹

Development approval

Technical, before any advertising¹

Insist on a VEFA or forward-sale contract, as a notarial deed

The Code recognises only two arrangements for selling a home yet to be built: the VEFA (vente en l’état futur d’achèvement, off-plan purchase), where the seller immediately transfers their rights over the land to you and you pay as the work progresses, and the forward sale (vente à terme). Any other arrangement is void, and the nullity is absolute¹.

Both the VEFA contract and the forward-sale contract are notarial deeds¹. A contract signed at the developer’s office, between you and them, takes neither of these two forms.

Form

Notarial deed¹

Outside these two contracts

Absolutely void¹

Read the mandatory clauses, starting with the ACD

Among other things, the contract must state where the seller’s rights over the land come from, the description of the property, the reference of the building permit, the price, the payment terms, the delivery date, and the commitment to hand you the ACD (Arrêté de Concession Définitive, final concession order)¹.

That last clause is the one that matters most to you from abroad: without it, you are buying a home without knowing when, or even whether, a title will be issued in your name.

Look for this first

The commitment to hand over the ACD¹

Check this too

The building permit reference¹

Have the reference home visited

The seller must let you visit a reference home built on the site¹. This is an obligation, not a sales courtesy.

You are abroad: send someone who was not chosen by the developer, and ask for dated photos of the building site itself, not just of the show home.

Obligation

Reference home on the site¹

From a distance

A visitor the seller did not choose

Pay nothing beyond what the law allows

No payment is due before the sale contract is signed. There are only two exceptions: the security deposit under a reservation contract, and developments covered by a guarantee of repayment of deposits issued by a bank, a financial institution or an insurer¹.

The reservation deposit is capped: 10% of the price if the sale is due within the year, 5% between one and two years, and nothing at all beyond two years¹.

Without a repayment guarantee, the money goes into a special account opened in your name, which cannot be transferred or seized¹. It is not the developer’s cash flow.

Sale within the year

10% maximum¹

Between 1 and 2 years

5% maximum¹

Beyond 2 years

No payment¹

Use the month to think it over, then pay through the notary

The draft notarial deed must be sent to you at least one month before signing¹. That month is there to be used: have the draft read, compare it with the mandatory clauses, and put your questions in writing.

Then pay through the notary. They must deposit the funds received into a dedicated bank account, keep separate accounts for each client, and are covered by a collective guarantee fund³.

Draft deed

Sent one month before¹

Who receives the money

The notary, into a dedicated account³