Deferred-payment home sale in France: how it works

The principle: a fixed price, deferred effects

Under the general law, a sale is complete as soon as the parties agree: ownership passes to the buyer “as soon as the thing and the price have been agreed, even though the thing has not yet been delivered nor the price paid” (Civil Code, art. 1583) (our translation). Article 1196 sets the same rule for any contract transferring ownership, but adds that this transfer may be deferred by the will of the parties.

The vente à terme makes use of this freedom. ANIL describes it as a transaction in which the parties set the price in advance but postpone payment and taking possession to an agreed date; the buyer therefore does not move in when the acte authentique (notarial deed) is signed. According to ANIL, it can be used for cash-flow management or tax planning. ANIL also gives a warning: as the effects of the contract are postponed, the parties’ personal circumstances and the economic or banking climate may change and make the contract unsuitable.

Watch the terminology. In new-build property, the term “vente à terme” also refers to a contract in the regulated sector where the buyer only becomes the owner once the building is completed (ANIL). This guide deals with the sale of an existing home.

Vente à terme or viager: what changes

Sources: ANIL; service-public.gouv.fr (viager).

In a viager, the seller’s death ends the payments: the buyer takes possession of the property without any formalities (service-public.gouv.fr). In a vente à terme, nothing of the sort: the claim to the balance of the price forms part of the seller’s estate, and “The heirs designated by law are vested by operation of law with the property, rights and actions of the deceased” (Civil Code, art. 724). The buyer therefore carries on paying, to the heirs.

Vacant or occupied home

Vacant. The home is handed over to the buyer on the date agreed in the deed. Until that date, the seller remains in the property or uses it as the contract provides.

Occupied. Where the seller is to go on living in the home after the sale, the deed must organise this occupation. For an occupied viager, service-public.gouv.fr describes two forms: usufruit (usufruct), which allows the holder to live in or let the property and collect the rent, and droit d’usage (right of use), which only allows them to live there. In an occupied viager, unless otherwise agreed, the seller pays for routine maintenance and the taxe foncière (property tax), and the buyer for major repairs (service-public.gouv.fr): in a vente à terme, it is best to set out this split in black and white.

Selling to a child while keeping occupation. If the home is sold to a direct-line heir with the usufruct reserved, its full-ownership value is charged against the quotité disponible (the freely disposable portion of the estate) and any excess is subject to reduction, unless the other direct-line heirs agree (Civil Code, art. 918). See the guide succession et immobilier (inheritance and property).

Safeguards for seller and buyer

For the seller, who has handed over the property or committed before being paid:

• the special statutory mortgage: the claim for the sale price of a property is secured on that property (Civil Code, art. 2402, 1°);
• cancellation: “If the buyer does not pay the price, the seller may apply for the cancellation of the sale” (art. 1654). For a viager, service-public.gouv.fr also recommends including a clause résolutoire (termination clause) allowing the seller to take back the property if several annuity payments are missed;
• postponing the transfer of ownership until full payment, as permitted by article 1196.

For the buyer, the risk is the reverse: paying for years for a property they will only be able to use, or even own, at the end of the term. Hence the value of setting in the deed both the date the keys are handed over and the date ownership is transferred.

Basic tax

Transfer duties (buyer). These depend on the date ownership is transferred and on the form of the contract. In a vente à terme (forward sale), ANIL states that duties are due on the deed that transfers ownership, on the stipulated price. In a sale subject to the condition precedent of full payment of the price, ANIL states that duties are assessed on the day the condition is met, on the value of the property on that date and not on the original price. For an existing home, the taxe de publicité foncière (land registration tax) reaches at most 6.32% in total between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028, with a first-time buyer purchasing a main residence keeping the département rate voted before the increase, generally 4.50%, lower in a few départements (impots.gouv.fr; see hausse des droits de mutation (transfer duty increase)).

Capital gain (seller). The sale falls under the plus-values immobilières (property capital gains) regime, with the possible main-residence exemption. Tax is assessed in full for the year of the sale, “whatever the payment arrangements” (service-public.gouv.fr): spreading payment over several years does not spread the tax. The calculateur de plus-value (capital gains calculator) gives a rough figure.

Which professional to consult

The notaire (notary) executes the acte authentique: they draft the payment schedule, the date of transfer of ownership, the termination clause and the occupation arrangements, and register the deed. The agent immobilier (estate agent) helps set a price in line with the market, the starting point for any negotiation on spreading payments.