Estate agent fees in France: who pays and how much?

Unregulated fees, but on display

Service-public.gouv.fr puts it plainly: an estate agent’s fees “are not regulated”. They are set freely by the professional, who displays their maximum prices including VAT; clients can negotiate them down. The ANIL (Agence nationale pour l’information sur le logement, the national housing information agency) points out that only the notaire’s (notary’s) fees are regulated.

The arrêté of 10 January 2017, in force since 1 April 2017, governs the information provided:

• Maximum prices for each service (sale, letting, management), stating who pays (art. 2, I);
• Including all taxes (art. 2, II);
• if fees depend on the price, the display gives the amounts charged and the bands, and states in very prominent characters whether the bands are cumulative (art. 2, III);
• the display must be visible at the entrance to the agency, in the window from outside, on every advertising display outside the agency and on the professional’s website (art. 2, IV, version in force since 1 April 2022).

The ANIL specifies that fees may be flat-rate or proportional, but that price “ranges” are not allowed.

What a sale listing must show

For the sale of a specific property, whatever the medium, the listing states (arrêté of 10 January 2017, art. 3):

1. the sale price; if part of the fees is payable by the buyer, this price includes it and is shown both including and excluding fees, with the price including fees in larger characters;
2. who is responsible for paying the fees;
3. the amount including VAT of the fees payable by the buyer, as a percentage of the price excluding fees, preceded by the words “Honoraires :” (“Fees:”).

The displayed price may never include the share of fees payable by the seller. When the seller pays, the agency shows only the sale price (service-public.gouv.fr).

Who pays the agency fees?

The mandate decides. Article 6 of the loi Hoguet requires a written agreement setting out “the conditions for determining the remuneration, together with an indication of the party who will bear it”. The cost may therefore fall on the seller, on the buyer, or be shared; the listing must reflect that choice.

To be entitled to their commission, the agent must (service-public.gouv.fr):

• hold the professional card “transactions sur immeubles et fonds de commerce” (property and business transactions), known as the carte T;
• hold a written mandate signed before introducing seller and buyer;
• have fulfilled their mission.

If the seller has signed several mandats simples (non-exclusive mandates), only the agency through which the sale is concluded is paid. The bon de visite (viewing slip) does not have the force of a mandate and gives no entitlement to fees.

No payment before the sale

The rule is in the very wording of the loi Hoguet (art. 6): no sum “representing fees, search costs, steps taken, advertising or any intermediary service whatsoever” is due, nor may it be demanded or accepted, before one of the transactions […] has actually been concluded and recorded in a single written deed containing the parties’ commitment. Service-public.gouv.fr specifies that fees are paid after the final contract is signed before the notaire.

Exception: if the principal is acting in the course of their professional activities, an advance may be required under the conditions laid down by decree (art. 6).

The exclusive mandate: 3 months, then 15 days’ notice

The simple mandate lets you entrust the sale to several agencies and sell yourself; the semi-exclusif (semi-exclusive) mandate reserves the sale to one agency while still allowing the owner to sell; the exclusif (exclusive) mandate reserves the sale to a single agency (service-public.gouv.fr).

An exclusivity clause, a penalty clause or a clause making fees payable even if the sale takes place without the agency only applies if it appears expressly, in very prominent characters, in a mandate of which you have been given a copy. The sum due under such a clause may not exceed the fees provided for in the mandate. After three months from signature, this mandate may be terminated at any time by either party, with at least fifteen days’ notice by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (décret (decree) no. 72-678, art. 78).

All mandates are entered in a register of mandates kept by the agency, and the agent must inform you that their mission has ended within 8 days at the latest of the transaction (service-public.gouv.fr).

Which professional to consult

The agent immobilier (estate agent) holding a carte T is the only person who can sign a sale mandate and receive transaction fees; check their card, displayed in the agency together with the amount of their financial guarantee. The notaire, who drafts the deed of sale, records in it the amount of the fees and the party who pays them.