What should you check before buying a house in France?
Check before the compromis de vente, not after: once signed, it binds you, subject to the 10-day cooling-off period and the conditions precedent. Eight blocks matter: the seller’s documents, the diagnostics file (DDT), the planning rules, the hazards, the co-ownership or housing estate, the easements, what may change around the house and the total cost of the purchase.
Why before the compromis
The compromis de vente, a mutually binding preliminary agreement, commits both seller and buyer. A non-professional buyer of a home has a 10-day cooling-off period (art. L271-1 of the Construction and Housing Code), and the compromis may contain conditions precedent, such as obtaining a mortgage. Outside those two exits, pulling out normally costs you the deposit, often around 10 % of the price. That is why your questions carry most weight before you sign: you can still ask for a document, negotiate or have a condition added.
Before you sign, other checks matter too, such as surveyor, expert or architect and the questions before the compromis. For one address, the free ScanAdresse preview shows for free what the registers say.
The seller’s documents and the diagnostics file
Ask early for a copy of the title deed, the cadastral references, the building permits and works declarations with their declaration of completion and compliance, any documents mentioning easements and, for a house with a septic tank, the drainage inspection. The seller must attach the diagnostics file (dossier de diagnostic technique) to the compromis (art. L271-4 CCH). For a house, it may include:
- the DPE (energy performance) and the energy audit if the rating is E, F or G;
- the lead report if the house predates 1949, the asbestos report if the permit predates 1 July 1997;
- the state of electricity and gas installations over 15 years old, termites in affected areas, non-mains drainage;
- the hazards statement (ERP), less than 6 months old, and the noise report near an airport.
What the diagnostics file does not say
Planning, hazards and easements
The diagnostics file describes the building, not the rules that apply to the land. Read the zone and the regulations of the local plan (PLU, plan local d’urbanisme) on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme, the public easements, any listed-monument surroundings and the right of pre-emption. A certificat d’urbanisme d’information, free of charge, brings these rules together for one parcel; the mairie (town hall) has one month to issue it. For hazards, Géorisques shows flooding, clay shrink-swell, radon, seismicity and natural-disaster orders at an address for free.
Private easements (right of way, views, a neighbour’s pipe) appear in the deeds: ask the notaire (notary) to list them from the seller’s title.
Co-ownership, housing estates and neighbours
In a co-ownership building, read the rules, the minutes of the last three general meetings, the maintenance log and the multi-year works plan if there is one: they reveal works already voted and the service charges. On a housing estate, ask for the estate regulations and the cahier des charges. Around the house, look at displayed permits, vacant plots and the commune’s projects: a permit granted next door can change the view or the sunlight, and a third party can only challenge a permit within two months of it first being displayed on the site.
The total cost of the purchase
On top of the price come the transfer duties (DMTO): in most départements, a 5.00 % departmental rate for a deed signed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028 (4.50 % for a first-time buyer’s main home) and a 1.20 % municipal rate; then the notary’s fees and expenses. After the purchase come the property tax (taxe foncière), whose rate varies widely between communes, and any works required by a DPE rating of F or G if you plan to let.
For one address, ScanAdresse brings together in one dossier what the public registers say: the parcel, the PLU zone and regulations with their articles, the public easements, the Géorisques hazards, recent permits in the cadastral section, the address’s DPE and nearby sales, with for each register the status found, not found or source unreachable; €29 including VAT, free preview.
Frequently asked questions
Should you check everything before making an offer?
Not necessarily, but before the compromis, yes. An accepted offer can already bind the parties if it covers the property and the price, so it is wise to state that the purchase remains subject to reviewing the documents.
Does the notary check the planning rules?
The notary gathers planning information for the deed, but it often arrives after the compromis. Nothing stops you reading it earlier on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme or at the mairie.
Who pays for the diagnostics?
The seller: it is the seller who must provide the diagnostics file and attach it to the promesse or compromis.
What if a document is missing?
Ask for it before signing, or have a condition depending on it added to the compromis. The notary or a lawyer will tell you what is possible in your case.
Sources
- Service-public: promesse de vente and compromis
- Service-public: property diagnostics to provide
- Service-public: buying a flat in co-ownership
- Construction and Housing Code, art. L271-1 and L271-4
- Géorisques
ScanAdresse is a private service by SRI Group BV (VAT BE1037052239), not connected to any public authority: it brings together public data, with the source and date of every item.
Updated on