Completion guarantee (GFA) for off-plan homes in France

What the GFA is for

In a VEFA, you pay in stages as the building work progresses, up to 95% of the price on completion of the building (CCH, art. R261-14). If the developer fails halfway through, you have already paid a large part of the price for an unfinished building. The garantie de bonne fin (guarantee of completion or refund) exists for this risk. Service-public.gouv.fr (sheet F39743, checked on 18 September 2026) describes it as follows: “The seller is required to provide the buyer with a garantie de bonne fin. It may be:

• either a guarantee of completion of the building, which makes it possible to finance the end of the works if the developer cannot finish them;
• or a guarantee of refund of the sums paid if the sale is cancelled because the building has not been completed.”

Sheet F2956 repeats these two forms under their acronyms: GFA, garantie financière d’achèvement des travaux (financial guarantee of completion of the works), and GFR, garantie financière de remboursement (financial refund guarantee).

A legal obligation, before signing

Article L261-10-1 of the CCH (version in force since 25 November 2018) requires the seller to take out, before the contract is concluded, “a financial guarantee of completion of the building or a financial guarantee of refund of the payments made if the contract is rescinded for failure to complete”.

The same article provides that the guarantor may have an administrateur ad hoc (court-appointed administrator) appointed, with the powers of the maître d’ouvrage (project owner), to see the building work through to the end. This administrator is deemed to be the builder.

What the deed of sale must contain. Article L261-11 requires a contract concluded by acte authentique (deed executed before a notary), which specifies in particular the description of the building, the price and payment terms, the delivery deadline and the certificate of the financial guarantee. Service-public.gouv.fr (sheet F2961) includes proof of the GFA or GFR among the compulsory particulars of the deed.

The penalty. Failure to comply with these rules makes the contract void. This nullity can only be invoked by the buyer and only before completion of the works (art. L261-11).

Who issues the guarantee, and in what form

Authorised guarantors. According to article R261-17 (version in force since 1 September 2019), the GFA “results from the involvement […] of a bank, a financial institution authorised to carry out property lending, an insurance company approved for this purpose or a mutual guarantee society”. The refund guarantee is given by the same bodies.

The end of the intrinsic guarantee. ANIL points out that “since 1 January 2015 (developments for which the planning permission application was filed on or after 1 January 2015), extrinsèques guarantees (that is, the guarantee provided by an outside body, for example a bank) are the only completion guarantees allowed”. The developer can therefore no longer guarantee itself on the strength of its own development.

Two legal forms (art. R261-21):

• an ouverture de crédit (credit facility): the guarantor “undertakes to advance to the seller, or to pay on its behalf, the sums needed for completion”;
• a convention de cautionnement (surety agreement): the guarantor undertakes directly towards the buyer.

The case of HLM. Where the seller is an organisme d’habitations à loyer modéré (HLM, social housing body), the refund and completion guarantees result from the guarantee granted by the guarantee company available to it (art. R261-24-1).

The development account. ANIL adds that “the sums paid by the buyer may only be paid into the single account specific to the development opened with a credit institution”.

When the guarantee ends

“The financial guarantee of completion or refund ends on completion of the building” (art. R261-24). Completion results from its formal recording, either by a person appointed under the conditions of article R261-2, or by an independent inspection body or a qualified professional.

What “completed” means. The building is deemed completed when “the works have been carried out and the items of equipment that are essential for its use have been installed” (art. R261-1). Non-substantial non-conformities and defects that do not make the works unfit for use do not prevent completion. That does not mean they are accepted: recording completion does not amount to waiving your rights.

Practical consequence: the GFA does not cover the réserves (snags noted at handover). These fall under the seller’s statutory guarantees (see our guide livraison en VEFA et réserves (off-plan handover and snagging)).

Which professional to consult

The notaire (notary) executes the authentic deed and must include the guarantee certificate in it: ask them for the name of the guarantor and the type of guarantee. The courtier en crédit (mortgage broker) arranges the loan drawdowns to match the capped calls for funds. For the off-plan buying process as a whole, see our guide VEFA (buying off plan).