Buying a tenanted property in France

The lease continues with you

“The owner of a home let unfurnished may put it up for sale, even if it is occupied by a tenant” (service-public.gouv.fr, F35784). Once the sale is signed:

• you must give the tenant your contact details;
• the tenant stays in the property and the lease continues on the same terms;
• it is you who will return the security deposit when the tenant leaves;
• the commitment of the tenant’s guarantor (caution) remains, unless the guarantee deed provides otherwise (F35784).

You cannot change the contract without the tenant’s agreement (service-public.gouv.fr). While the property is on the market, viewings are limited to 2 hours a day, excluding Sundays and public holidays (F35784).

Before signing, ask for the lease, the move-in état des lieux (inventory of condition) and the amount of the security deposit: you take over the lease as it stands, and you will be the one returning the deposit. The rules of the lease are set out in our guide bail de location (residential lease).

The tenant has no priority if the home is sold with them in place

The tenant may buy the home, “but they have no priority to do so. They have no right of first refusal”, except in certain situations, for example when the whole building is put up for sale (F35784). Service-public.gouv.fr confirms this: if the home is sold occupied, the lease continues with the buyer, with no purchase priority (F31531).

Two rights of first refusal do exist, however (see our guide droit de préemption (right of first refusal)):

• the one attached to the congé pour vendre (notice to quit in order to sell), when the landlord sells the home vacant;
• the one attached to the first sale after a building is divided up, which service-public.gouv.fr mentions as an exception (“when the building is put up for sale”, F35784).

When can you recover the home?

For a home let unfurnished, the timing depends on the end date of the current lease on the day of the acte authentique (final deed of sale) (F35784):

Example from service-public.gouv.fr: purchase on 1 March 2026, lease ending on 31 May 2028. A notice to sell can free up the property only on 31 May 2031, the end of the 1st tacit extension.

Notice period. The notice letter must state the reason and reach the tenant at least 6 months before the end of an unfurnished lease, 3 months for a furnished one (F35784).

Protected tenants. Depending on their age and means, the tenant may be protected: the landlord then cannot give them notice, or only under specific conditions (F35784). Check this point before buying if you intend to have the home vacated.

If you later give notice in order to sell

For an unfurnished home, the notice to sell counts as an offer to sell to the tenant, valid for the first 2 months of the notice period (F35784; law of 6 July 1989, art. 15). If the tenant accepts, they have 2 months to sign the deed, 4 months if they take out a loan; if they accept within the deadline, any preliminary contract signed with another buyer is cancelled (F35784). A tenant who exercises this right pays no agency commission.

This right does not apply if the buyer is a relative up to the 3rd degree of the owner who will live in the home for at least 2 years (F35784).

Fraudulent notice. A tenant who proves that the owner had no intention of selling (an excessive price, for example) can take the matter to court; the owner faces a criminal fine of up to €6,000, €30,000 for a legal entity (F35784).

Which professional to consult

The notaire (the public official who drafts property deeds) checks the current lease, its expiry date and the security deposit being transferred, and drafts the deed. The agent immobilier (estate agent) organises viewings within the limit of 2 hours a day, excluding Sundays and public holidays (F35784), and can send you the current lease before you make an offer. The diagnostiqueur (property surveyor) carries out the surveys for the sale file; access to the home is arranged with the sitting tenant.