Act of Sale of Isolated Building Land

Verified 23 February 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You're going to sign the deed of sale of an isolated building site?

It's a authentic instrument signed before a notary.

We take stock of its content, form and signature.

The notary checks the legal status of the seller, the buyer and the property.

Legal status of persons

Before writing the bill of sale, the notary check obligatory next points :

  • Identity of the 2 parts, by requesting a birth certificate and a supporting document including a photo and the signature (national identity card or passport for example)
  • Capacity of the 2 parties to sign the deed (a minor or a protected major must be assisted or represented by an authorized person who will sign the document with or on behalf of him)
  • Compliance of power of attorney given to a third party by the buyer or seller absent on the day of signature of the deed
  • Buyer's criminal record to ensure that he is not prohibited from purchasing residential real estate

Legal status of the property

The notary check in particular the next points :

  • Mortgage Statement to attest to the seller's right to property and his ability to dispose freely of the goods and to know the mortgage registrations
  • City planning Rules city planning certificate applicable (request from a
  • Cadastral location
  • Right of pre-emption the Business for Land Management and Rural Settlement (Safer) for Agricultural Land
  • Right of pre-emption of local and regional authorities (urban, commercial, right of pre-emption of sensitive natural areas)
  • Right of pre-emption of joint-partners when there is division
  • Seller's ownership origin

The bill of sale shall contain the following information:

  • Seller and Buyer Contact Information
  • Detailed description of the land and its exact surface
  • Sales prices and payment methods (with or without the help of a mortgage)
  • Existence or non-existence of bounding of the land
  • Existence or not of mortgage and bondage on the ground
  • Amount of the fees of the seller or supplier and persons liable to pay such fees

Documents shall be annexed to the bill of sale:

L'authentic instrument of sale is obligatorily signed by the buyer, seller and notary.

The seller and the buyer can choose the same notary or each have their own. In this case, the costs are shared between the 2 notaries.

Who shall I contact

The bill of sale is signed on paper or on electronic media. Regardless of the medium, the notary reads the bill of sale aloud before the buyer and seller sign it.

On paper

The notary shall be required to include the following information on the document:

  • Date in all letters and place where the act was performed
  • Name and place of establishment of the notary receiving the document
  • Names, forenames and domicile of the parties and of all the signatories to the act
  • Numbering of each page and total number indicated at the end of the act
  • Mention that the document has been read by the parties or that it has been read to them
  • Number of blanks crossed out and the words and numbers crossed out

The document must be written without overloading, line spacing, or addition.

The documents annexed to the deed must be signed by the notary.

If the parties declare that they do not know or cannot sign, the instrument must state that fact.

The notary who wrote the deed keeps one original called the minute. It is kept in the archives of the notarial study for 75 years, then transferred to the public archives.

FYI  

On the day of the signature of the deed, the notary gives the buyer a proof of ownership.

On electronic media

The bill of sale can be signed in electronic form: we are talking about a authentic instrument electronic (PPA).

The notary shall be required to include the following information on the document:

  • Date in all letters and place where the act was performed
  • Name and place of establishment of the notary receiving the document
  • Names, forenames and domicile of the parties and of all the signatories to the act
  • Mention that the document has been read by the parties or that it has been read to them

The document must be written without overloading, line spacing, or addition.

The notary uses an information processing system approved by the Supreme Council of the notary (CSN). It guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of the content of the dematerialized act.

The EFA shall be sent to the central electronic minutier of notaries of France (MICEN) where the document, its annexes and the signatures of all parties are kept.

FYI  

On the day of the signature of the deed, the notary gives the buyer a proof of ownership.

The notary may issue a copy of a dematerialized act in paper or electronic form. He shall include the date, his secure electronic signature and the image of his seal.

Dematerialized copies may be transmitted electronically by the notary.

On the day of the signature of the deed of sale, the buyer must pay the full price of the sale and the notary's fees.

The selling price is paid by wire transfer if it is greater than or equal to €3,000.

The notary issues a receipt to the buyer. It transfers the amount of the transaction to the seller after the registration of the deed with the land advertising service.

In principle, the transfer period does not exceed 1 month.

If there are funds remaining to the buyer's credit after registration, the notary sends him a check or a transfer with the detailed statement of fees and fees.

If not, he shall request the additional provision before sending him his title.

Please note

If a promise of sale has been signed, a capital allowance has been paid by the buyer. It is paid in return for the seller's commitment to sell his real estate exclusively to the designated purchaser. This fixed asset allowance is deducted from the sale price.

The notarial fees are at the expense of the buyer. The seller and the buyer can decide otherwise.

These fees consist of:

  • Fees and taxes collected by the notary and remitted to the public treasury (registration fee, land advertising tax or value added tax)
  • Remuneration of the notary (drafting of the bill of sale, consultations, expertise...)
  • Costs incurred on behalf of the seller and the buyer (e.g. cadastre extract)

The amount of notarized fees remains the same when the seller and the buyer each have their notary. The costs are then shared between the 2 notaries.

The amount of these costs can be estimated using a simulator:

Calculate the amount of the costs of acquiring a property

The title of ownership is transmitted to the buyer in a average time of 6 months after signing the bill of sale.

The buyer becomes the owner of the land when the bill of sale is signed. This transfer of ownership becomes enforceable to third parties after publication of the act in land advertising service.

The notary must ensure the land advertising by recording the deed of sale in the real estate file of the land advertising service on which the land depends.

Who shall I contact

Please note

in the departments of Haut-Rhin, of Lower Rhine and the Moselle, the deed is published in the land register.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    • accès

      For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.

      Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.

    • horaires
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

    • Request a call

      coût Service free
    • service

      The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.

  • Departmental Agency for Housing Information (Adil)
  • Notary