Property sale between private individuals

Selling an apartment or a house without going through an agency appeals to more and more owners, mainly to avoid fees that often amount to several thousand euros. But a property sale remains one of the most binding contracts in civil law: once the preliminary sale agreement (compromis de vente) is signed, seller and buyer are bound, and a procedural error can cost far more than the commission saved. This guide explains, step by step, how to secure a sale of property between private individuals, from putting the file together to signing the notarised deed (acte authentique), identifying the legal pitfalls that the absence of an intermediary places directly on the parties.

Selling without an agency: what really changes

Selling without an agency is perfectly lawful. No text requires the use of an estate agent to sell a property: a private individual may publish the advertisement, show the property, negotiate and sign the preliminary agreement personally. The only professional whose involvement is compulsory is the notary, for the signing of the notarised deed of sale.

Savings are not the only factor

Agency fees are frequently between 4 and 7% of the sale price depending on the mandates and the regions. On a property worth several hundred thousand euros, the financial stake is real. But these savings have a counterpart: all the tasks usually performed by the agent fall to the seller.

In practical terms, in a sale without an agency, the owner alone undertakes the price valuation, the drafting of the advertisement, the selection of candidates, the verification of their creditworthiness, the collection of the diagnostic reports and, often, the drafting of the preliminary agreement. Each of these steps engages the owner's liability.

The liability that no one bears in your place

An estate agent holding the professional card bears their own professional liability, in particular as to the completeness of the information and the regularity of the preliminary agreement. In a sale between private individuals, this safety net disappears. If material information is omitted, if a diagnostic report is missing or if a clause is badly drafted, the seller answers for it directly to the buyer. This is precisely why many sellers have the preliminary agreement drafted by a notary or a French lawyer while dispensing with an agency: they save the intermediary's fees without sacrificing legal certainty.

Assembling the mandatory file before putting the property on the market

Even before publishing an advertisement, the seller must gather a set of documents whose absence may block the sale or open the door to litigation. This is the most technical step in a sale between private individuals, and the one where omissions are most frequent.

The technical diagnostic file

The technical diagnostic file (dossier de diagnostic technique, DDT) brings together the diagnostic reports that the seller must annex to the promise or, failing that, to the notarised deed, pursuant to Article L271-4 of the French Construction and Housing Code. Depending on the age, location and nature of the property, it includes in particular:

• the energy performance diagnostic (DPE), now enforceable against the seller and decisive in informing the buyer about consumption and any renovation obligations;
• the lead exposure risk report for homes built before 1949;
• the statement of the presence or absence of asbestos;
• the condition of the internal gas and electrical installations where they are more than fifteen years old;
• the statement of risks (natural, mining, technological, seismic, radon, coastal erosion);
• the diagnostic relating to non-mains drainage, where applicable.

These diagnostics must be carried out by a certified diagnostician. Their period of validity varies: some are valid for several years, others must be less than six months old at the time of the sale. An expired diagnostic is, legally, equivalent to a missing one. The content of the technical diagnostic file and the sanctions for its absence are detailed in our article on the mandatory diagnostics in property sales.

Documents specific to co-ownership

Where the property sold is a co-ownership (copropriété) lot, the information obligations are reinforced. Article L721-2 of the French Construction and Housing Code requires a series of documents to be annexed to the promise of sale, intended to inform the buyer about the situation of the co-ownership:

The provisions of this article apply to the sale of a lot or part of a lot or to the transfer of a real right in immovable property relating to a lot or part of a lot of a built building.

In practice, the seller of an apartment in co-ownership must in particular provide the co-ownership rules (règlement de copropriété) and the descriptive statement of division, the minutes of the general meetings of recent years, the building's maintenance log, and financial information on the co-ownership association (current charges, works fund, any sums owed). The same Article L721-2 specifies that some of these documents are not required where the sale concerns an ancillary lot, such as a cellar or a parking space. To obtain these documents, the seller generally applies to the property manager (syndic), who prepares a dated statement (état daté) for a fee.

Failure to provide these documents has a direct consequence: the buyer's cooling-off period starts to run only from their actual delivery. An incomplete file therefore delays the securing of the sale.

Setting the price and writing an honest advertisement

Valuation is the most delicate exercise for a private individual selling without an agency. A price that is too high leaves the property unsold; a price that is too low is a pure loss. The seller may rely on the land values database (DVF) published by the tax authorities, which records the actual prices of past transactions, as well as on opinions of value requested from notaries. On consulting this database and the weight it may be given in a dispute, see our analysis of the legal value of DVF data.

The advertisement, for its part, must not be misleading. Stating an incorrect area or concealing a known defect may be characterised as fraudulent conduct (manœuvre dolosive) and later found a claim for annulment or reduction of the price. For a co-ownership lot, the private floor area known as the "Carrez law" area must be measured precisely: an area more than 5% smaller than the one advertised gives the buyer an action for a price reduction proportionate to the missing square metres.

The preliminary sale agreement between private individuals

The preliminary sale agreement (compromis de vente), legally called a bilateral promise of sale (promesse synallagmatique de vente), is the heart of the transaction. It is what binds the parties definitively, well before the signing at the notary's office.

Compromis or unilateral promise: a decisive distinction

Two preliminary contracts coexist and do not have the same effects.

The compromis de vente binds both parties reciprocally: the seller undertakes to sell and the buyer to buy. Article 1589 of the French Civil Code lays down this principle: a promise of sale is equivalent to a sale where there is reciprocal consent of both parties on the thing and on the price. In other words, from the signing of the compromis, the sale is legally formed, the notarised deed merely recording it and organising the transfer of ownership.

The unilateral promise of sale (promesse unilatérale de vente), by contrast, binds only the seller, who reserves the property for a beneficiary for a fixed period in return for an immobilisation indemnity. The buyer remains free to exercise the option or not.

In a sale between private individuals, the compromis is by far the most widely used. Its scope must be appreciated: signing a compromis de vente between individuals is not a mere preparatory formality, but a firm commitment from which one can withdraw only in the cases provided for by law or by the contract.

The essential provisions

A complete compromis de vente identifies the parties and the property precisely (cadastral description, co-ownership lots, shares of the common parts), fixes the price and its terms of payment, and sets the timetable up to the notarised deed. It must also include:

• the origin of title to the property;
• any easements (servitudes) and the mortgage position;
• the technical diagnostics annexed;
• for co-ownership, the documents under Article L721-2;
• the conditions precedent;
• the amount and fate of the deposit;
• the final date for signing the definitive deed.

Drafting this deed oneself is possible, but risky. A badly worded condition precedent, an imprecise date or an unbalanced penalty clause may backfire on the person who thought they were protecting themselves. Having the compromis secured by a notary or a French lawyer remains the most prudent choice for a sale without an agency.

The buyer's cooling-off period

A non-professional buyer has a mandatory right of withdrawal under Article L271-1 of the French Construction and Housing Code. After the signing of the compromis and the notification of the deed by registered letter or delivery against receipt, the buyer has ten days to withdraw, without giving a reason and without penalty. If the buyer exercises this right within the period, they recover all the sums already paid.

This right belongs to the buyer alone. The seller is bound from signing and has no equivalent period of withdrawal. This asymmetry is essential to understand: a seller who changes their mind after the compromis risks being compelled to sell or having to pay damages.

The deposit

On signing the compromis, the buyer generally pays a deposit, the amount of which is usually around 5 to 10% of the price. This payment is not mandatory in law, but it shows the seriousness of the commitment. In a sale between private individuals, this deposit must never be handed directly to the seller: it is held in escrow by the notary in charge of the sale. Entrusting this sum to the seller personally entails a risk that it will be difficult to recover if the sale does not go through for a legitimate reason, for example the operation of a condition precedent.

Conditions precedent: the buyer's real protection

A condition precedent makes the final completion of the sale subject to a future event. If the condition is not fulfilled, the sale is extinguished and the sums paid are returned. This is the central mechanism for securing the preliminary agreement.

The most common condition precedent is the obtaining of a mortgage loan. Where the buyer finances the purchase with credit, the compromis must, for residential property, include this condition: if the bank refuses the financing on the terms provided for, the buyer recovers the deposit. The compromis must specify the amount borrowed, the maximum rate and the term, so that the failure of the loan can be objectively established.

Other conditions precedent are common: the absence of a planning easement making the property unfit for its purpose, the absence of pre-emption by the municipality or by another holder of a pre-emption right, or the obtaining of an administrative authorisation. A well-informed seller checks the wording of each condition, because a clause that is too broad may allow the buyer to withdraw easily, while a clause that is too narrow may trap the buyer.

From signing the compromis to the notarised deed

A period of two to three months generally elapses between the compromis and the definitive deed. This period allows pre-emption rights to be cleared, financing to be obtained and the necessary documents to be gathered.

The indispensable role of the notary

The transfer of ownership of a property becomes enforceable against third parties only by a notarised deed received by a notary and published at the land registry (service de la publicité foncière). Even in a sale between private individuals without an agency, attending the notary is therefore compulsory. The notary checks the capacity of the parties, the mortgage position of the property, the absence of any pre-emption right, the regularity of the diagnostics and the consistency of the file as a whole. Both parties may use a single notary, or each may use their own at no extra cost, the two notaries then sharing the fee.

Costs and taxation

The so-called "notary fees", borne by the buyer unless otherwise agreed, essentially comprise the registration duties collected by the State and local authorities, the notary's regulated remuneration and various disbursements. They represent a significant part of the price for existing property.

On the seller's side, the main tax question is that of capital gains on property. The sale of the main residence is exempt. For any other property, the gain is in principle taxable, with an allowance for length of ownership that gradually reduces the tax until complete exemption after several years of ownership. A seller disposing of a rental property or a second home has an interest in anticipating this calculation before fixing the net seller price.

Frequent pitfalls and the liability of the private seller

Selling without an agency concentrates on the seller risks that a professional could have absorbed. Several points deserve particular vigilance.

The duty of disclosure is the first source of disputes. The seller must reveal the defects known to them. Concealing water ingress, a recurrent claim or a neighbourhood dispute may be characterised as fraud (dol) and lead to annulment of the sale or a price reduction. The pre-contractual obligations that weigh on a professional seller are dealt with separately in our article on the legal pitfalls of property sales.

The warranty against hidden defects is the second major risk. Article 1641 of the French Civil Code requires the seller to guarantee the buyer against hidden defects in the thing sold which make it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or which so impair that use that the buyer would not have acquired it, or would have given a lower price for it, had they known of them. Compromis frequently contain a clause excluding this warranty in favour of a non-professional seller, but this clause is disregarded where the seller knew of the defect and concealed it. Bad faith deprives the seller of any contractual protection.

The handling of prospective buyers is another pitfall. With no agency to filter the profiles, the seller risks signing a compromis with a buyer whose financing is uncertain, and then losing several months if the loan is refused. Checking the financing capacity in advance, for example by requesting a bank certificate of feasibility, limits this risk.

Finally, the temptation to draft the compromis oneself to save even more is often counter-productive. An unbalanced or incomplete preliminary agreement is the leading cause of disputes in sales between private individuals. The agency saving never excuses a lack of legal rigour on the deed that binds the parties definitively.

Conclusion

Selling property between private individuals is not only lawful but often financially advantageous. It does not relieve the seller of any legal obligation: a complete diagnostics file, the co-ownership documents under Article L721-2, compliance with the cooling-off period under Article L271-1, properly drafted conditions precedent and the compulsory attendance at the notary for the notarised deed. The real gain is not in doing everything alone, but in removing the commercial intermediary while keeping strong legal control over the binding documents. The safest position is to handle the advertising, viewings and negotiation oneself, and then to entrust the drafting or review of the compromis de vente to a French lawyer or a notary. Before signing anything, have your draft compromis checked by a legal professional: this is the item where an error costs the most.

Frequently asked questions

Is it lawful to sell a property without an agency?

Yes. No text requires the use of an estate agent to sell. A private individual may publish the advertisement, show the property and negotiate personally. The only compulsory professional is the notary, who prepares the notarised deed of sale and publishes it at the land registry. Selling without an agency is therefore a common and perfectly valid practice.

Is a compromis de vente between private individuals valid without a notary?

Yes, a compromis de vente between individuals signed as a private agreement (sous seing privé) between seller and buyer is legally valid and binding. Under Article 1589 of the French Civil Code, the bilateral promise is equivalent to a sale once there is agreement on the thing and the price. However, prudence calls for having this preliminary agreement drafted or reviewed by a notary or a French lawyer, because its clauses bind the parties definitively.

How long can the buyer withdraw after the compromis?

A non-professional buyer has a cooling-off period of ten days, provided for by Article L271-1 of the French Construction and Housing Code. This period runs from the day after notification of the compromis. The buyer may withdraw without giving a reason and recovers the sums paid. The seller has no withdrawal period: they are bound from signing.

What documents must the seller provide for an apartment in co-ownership?

In addition to the technical diagnostics under Article L271-4 of the French Construction and Housing Code, Article L721-2 of the same code requires the following to be annexed to the compromis: the co-ownership rules, the descriptive statement of division, the minutes of the most recent general meetings, the maintenance log and the financial information on the co-ownership association. These documents are obtained from the property manager (syndic). Their delivery triggers the start of the buyer's cooling-off period.

Is the private seller liable for hidden defects?

Yes. Article 1641 of the French Civil Code requires every seller to guarantee the buyer against hidden defects that make the property unfit for its use. Compromis often provide for a clause excluding liability in favour of the non-professional seller, but this clause is disregarded if the seller knew of the defect and concealed it. Bad faith therefore deprives the seller of any protection.

Must a deposit be paid, and who should hold it?

The deposit is not mandatory but remains customary, often around 5 to 10% of the price. In a sale between private individuals, it must never be handed directly to the seller, but held in escrow by the notary. That way, if a condition precedent is not fulfilled or if the buyer withdraws within the ten days, the sum is returned without difficulty.

What taxes must the seller pay on the sale?

The sale of the main residence is exempt from capital gains tax on property. For any other property, the gain is in principle taxable, with a progressive allowance depending on the length of ownership leading to full exemption after a certain number of years. The calculation is carried out by the notary at the time of the sale, but it is advisable to anticipate it before fixing the net seller price.