Buying your HLM home in France: conditions and price

Who can buy their social housing

“An occupied home may only be sold to its tenant, if they have occupied the home for at least two years” (CCH, art. L443-11). The tenant may also ask for the home to be sold to their spouse or, if they do not have sufficient means, to their ascendants or descendants (parents, grandparents, children, etc.), who may buy jointly (art. L443-11; service-public.gouv.fr).

The purchase request is sent to the landlord by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. “The body’s reply must be reasoned and sent to the person concerned within two months of the request” (art. L443-11). The landlord may refuse: the tenant’s request does not create any obligation to sell (service-public.gouv.fr).

Which homes can be sold

According to service-public.gouv.fr, the home must meet two conditions:

1. comply with minimum standards of habitability and energy performance (annex to article R443-11 of the CCH and décret (decree) no. 2015-1812 of 28 December 2015);
2. have been bought or built by a social landlord more than 10 years ago, save for particular economic or social circumstances and a reasoned decision by the préfet de département (the State’s representative in the département) or the president of the conseil de la métropole (metropolitan council).

The price: no discount set by law

Since the loi Elan (Elan Act, the 2018 housing law), the sale price of an occupied home is set “by the owning body, taking as its basis the price of a comparable home, vacant where the home is vacant, or occupied where the home is occupied” (CCH, art. L443-11, IV). Service-public.gouv.fr specifies that the landlord sets the price “taking into account the valuation carried out beforehand by the State’s services”.

No text we read sets a percentage discount: simply bear in mind that the basis for comparison is an occupied home, and that the body may sell to you below its asking price. In that case, conditions apply in return (see below).

Financing. Buying your social home can be financed in part by a prêt à taux zéro (zero-rate loan, subject to income conditions), a prêt d’accession sociale (social home-ownership loan) or an Action Logement loan (from the employer-funded housing body); the landlord may also offer the sale as location-accession (rent-to-buy) or as a sale of a building to be renovated (service-public.gouv.fr).

What the landlord must give you before the sale

In writing, before the sale (service-public.gouv.fr):

• the amount of service charges for the last 2 years (and co-ownership charges if any);
• the list of works carried out during the last 5 years;
• the list of planned improvement works to the common parts, with an estimate of their cost and of the share payable by you;
• a document reminding you that you will pay taxe foncière (property tax) every year from the 1st year following the sale;
• in a copropriété (building in co-ownership), the état descriptif de division (schedule of lots) and the règlement de copropriété (building regulations).

The landlord must also inform you that you can use a consumer mediator free of charge.

Resale, letting and buy-back clause

Resale within 5 years. If you resell within 5 years, you must inform the landlord, which may step in as a priority buyer (art. L443-12-1). If you bought below the asking price and resell for more, you pay the body the difference between the resale price and the purchase price, up to the gap between the initial asking price and your purchase price (art. L443-12-1). After 5 years, resale is unrestricted (service-public.gouv.fr).

Letting within 5 years. If you bought at a price below the asking price, you may only let at a rent not exceeding a ceiling set by the préfet; after 5 years, letting is unrestricted (service-public.gouv.fr).

These conditions must appear in the sale contract, failing which it is void (service-public.gouv.fr).

Buy-back clause. The landlord is required to include in the contract a clause obliging it to buy back the home within 10 years of the sale if the buyer suffers job loss of more than one year, a death (of the buyer, their spouse or a child living in the household), a divorce or the end of a Pacs (civil partnership), or disability (service-public.gouv.fr).

Which professional to consult

The notaire (notary) checks that the contract includes the compulsory clauses (buy-back, resale and letting within 5 years), failing which the sale is not valid (service-public.gouv.fr). A courtier en crédit (mortgage broker) puts together the PTZ, PAS and Action Logement loan. To judge the price offered, an agent immobilier (estate agent) can tell you the price of comparable homes in the area. The ADIL (departmental housing information agency) for your département gives free advice.