Guides for buying a house
ScanAdresse guides for buying a house in France: what to check before the compromis, planning, hazards, neighbours, costs and the cadastre. Every guide answers first, then cites its public sources.
Checks before buying
What should you check before buying a house in France?
The full list of checks to make before you sign the preliminary sale agreement.
What does the diagnostics file (DDT) not tell you?
What the diagnostics file covers, and everything it leaves out.
Which questions should you ask before signing the compromis?
The questions for the seller, the notary and the town hall, before signing.
How does the cooling-off period after the compromis work?
Ten days to change your mind: when the clock starts, the letter and what is left to check.
Certificat d’urbanisme, notary, mairie, Géorisques or a ScanAdresse dossier: who provides what before buying?
A neutral comparison of the information sources before buying a house.
Diagnostics surveyor, pre-purchase expert, architect or address report: which help for which need?
Four kinds of help before buying, their role and when to call on them.
Planning and the PLU
How do you find the PLU that applies to an address?
Finding the planning document for an address and reading its zone and rules.
What do the U, AU, A and N zones of a PLU mean?
The four families of PLU zones and what they mean for a house.
Do you need a prior declaration or a permit to extend a house?
The thresholds between a prior declaration and a building permit.
What is a certificat d’urbanisme for before buying?
The two planning certificates, their time limits and what they guarantee.
How do you find a house’s easements before buying?
Public and private easements, and where to find them before signing.
Hazards and nuisances
How can you tell whether a house is in a flood zone before buying?
The maps to consult, what they are worth and what a prevention plan can require of a house.
Clay shrink-swell: what should you check before buying a house?
The exposure map, the cracks to look at, the soil survey and drought recognised as a natural disaster.
Radon, cavities, earthquakes: how do you read Géorisques for an address?
The three Géorisques ratings that come up most often, and how to read them calmly.
Airport, road or railway noise: what should you check before buying?
The three public noise documents and what each one changes for a house.
The state-of-risks report: what is in it, when do you get it and what does it leave out?
The seller’s risk document: its content, its timing and its blind spots.
Neighbours and projects
Where can you see the neighbours' building permits?
The three places where permits granted around a house can be seen.
What can be built on the land next to a house?
Reading the rules that govern a project on the neighbouring parcel.
How do you know if a ZAC or a reserved site affects a house?
Spotting the public projects planned around an address before the compromis.
Can you challenge a neighbour’s building permit?
The general time limits and conditions for challenging a neighbour’s permission.
Prices and costs
How are notary fees worked out in France in 2026?
What notary fees contain for older and new homes, with a worked example.
How can you find out a house’s property tax before buying it?
The formula, the documents to ask the seller for and what can change the amount.
How do you find the real price per m² of a neighbourhood with DVF?
What public sales data can tell you about a price, and what they cannot.
How do you negotiate a house price before the compromis?
Verifiable arguments, the written offer and the clauses that protect the buyer.
Buying a house rated F or G on the DPE: what does it change?
The rules that affect an energy sieve, whether you live in it, let it or sell it on.
Cadastre and land
How do you find the cadastral parcel of an address in France?
Section, number and cadastral map: tracing the parcel of a house.
Does the cadastre prove ownership and a plot’s boundaries?
Why the cadastral map is not enough, and what really proves ownership.
How do you divide a plot to sell part of it?
Surveyor, permission, PLU and notary: the steps of dividing land.
What should you check in a housing estate’s regulations and cahier des charges?
The two documents of a housing estate, how long they last and what to read.
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