Glossary · 36 terms
French property valuation glossary
Plain-English definitions of the legal and technical terms you will encounter when buying, selling, inheriting or disputing French property. The French equivalent is given in italics for use with notaries and counsel.
A 3 terms
- Abattement — abattement
- A tax allowance or reduction applied to the taxable base before calculating tax owed. In inheritance and gift tax, each heir benefits from a personal abattement (e.g., €100,000 for a child from each parent).
- Acte authentique — acte authentique
- A deed signed before a French notary, which gives it full legal force and enforceability. The standard instrument for transferring French property title.
- Amicable expert — expert amiable
- An independent valuation expert instructed directly by one or both parties — as opposed to a court-appointed expert designated by a judge. See also: sworn appraisal.
B 2 terms
- Bail commercial — bail commercial
- A commercial lease governed by the French Commercial Code, typically for a nine-year term with tenant renewal rights. Rental value disputes under bail commercial are a common trigger for independent valuations.
- Bien propre — bien propre
- An asset belonging exclusively to one spouse, outside the matrimonial community regime — typically inherited or owned before marriage. Its value must be established independently in a divorce.
C 8 terms
- Cadastre — cadastre
- The French land registry, recording the boundaries, area and ownership of every parcel of land. Cadastral extracts are standard annexes to a valuation report.
- Capital gains tax — plus-value immobilière
- Tax levied on the gain realised on the sale of French property. Residents pay 19% income tax + 17.2% social charges; non-residents pay 19% + variable social charges. Taper relief applies after five years. [See the calculator](/en/outils/capital-gains).
- Charte de l'expertise — Charte de l'Expertise en Évaluation Immobilière
- The professional standard governing French property valuation methodology. Adherence to the Charte is the benchmark for a defensible expert report.
- Communauté réduite aux acquêts — communauté réduite aux acquêts
- The default matrimonial property regime in France for couples married without a prenuptial agreement. Assets acquired during the marriage are jointly owned; assets owned before marriage or inherited remain separate.
- Comparables — références de mutation / termes de comparaison
- Documented sales of similar properties used as the primary evidence base for a valuation. Drawn from official sources: DVF, Cerema, notarial databases.
- Compromis de vente — compromis de vente
- A preliminary sale agreement binding both buyer and seller to a transaction, subject to conditions (suspensive conditions, or conditions suspensives). Signed before the acte authentique.
- Contradictory valuation — expertise contradictoire
- A valuation conducted in the presence of both parties and their advisers — standard procedure in divorce and joint ownership disputes.
- Court-appointed expert — expert judiciaire
- A valuation expert formally designated by a French court. Distinct from an amicable expert (instructed by the parties). Court-appointed experts in the Aix-en-Provence jurisdiction are listed in the Cour d'appel d'Aix-en-Provence's official directory.
D 4 terms
- DGFP / DGFIP — Direction Générale des Finances Publiques
- The French tax authority, responsible for administering income tax, inheritance tax (DMTG), IFI, capital gains tax and property-related taxes.
- DMTG — droits de mutation à titre gratuit
- Inheritance and gift tax in France. Applies to free transfers of property — whether on death or by gift. The taxable base is the open market value at the date of transfer.
- Droits de mutation — droits de mutation à titre onéreux
- Transfer taxes payable on the sale of French property. Predominantly collected by the département; for most older properties, around 5.09% of the purchase price. See the [transfer tax calculator](/en/outils/property-transfer-tax).
- DVF — Demandes de Valeurs Foncières
- The French government's public database of all property transactions registered by notaries, updated twice yearly. The primary official source for comparable sales data in a French valuation.
E 3 terms
- Engagement letter — lettre de mission
- The written agreement between the client and the valuation expert, setting out scope, purpose, valuation date, documentary basis, fee and timeline. Signed by both parties before work begins. No valid expert report can be produced without one.
- Eviction indemnity — indemnité d'éviction
- Compensation payable by a commercial landlord to a tenant when a commercial lease is not renewed. The amount is based on the value of the business's right to occupy (droit au bail) and the goodwill attributable to the location.
- Expert en valeur vénale — expert en valeur vénale immobilière
- A specialist who produces sworn valuations of real-estate assets at their open market value. Not to be confused with an estate agent (agent immobilier) or a court expert (expert judiciaire, a specific procedural designation).
F 1 term
- Frais de notaire — frais de notaire
- Colloquially, the total closing costs payable by the buyer of French property. In practice, approximately 80% are taxes collected by the notaire on behalf of the state; the notaire's own fee is a small regulated portion.
I 2 terms
- IFI — Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière
- French annual wealth tax on the net market value of real-estate assets above €1.3 million. Applies to French residents on worldwide real estate; to non-residents on French assets only. [See the IFI estimator](/en/outils/ifi-estimator).
- Indivision — indivision
- Joint ownership of a property by two or more parties without partition. Common following inheritance or relationship breakdown. Each co-owner (indivisaire) owns a fractional share; exit from indivision requires agreement or a court order.
L 1 term
- Lettre de mission
- See Engagement letter.
O 1 term
- Open market value — valeur vénale
- The price at which a property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller in a competitive market, both acting without compulsion and with full knowledge of relevant facts. The standard basis for French valuation.
P 2 terms
- PLU — Plan Local d'Urbanisme
- The local planning document governing land use, density, height and permitted development in a French commune. A key input to any property valuation: PLU constraints affect what can be built and therefore what a property is worth.
- Plus-value
- See Capital gains tax.
R 3 terms
- Rapport d'expertise — rapport d'expertise
- The formal written valuation report produced by the expert. For a sworn valuation, it contains: property description, comparables, methodology, assumptions, and value conclusion. Admissible as evidence in French courts and before the tax authority.
- RICS — Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- An international professional body for property professionals. RICS valuation standards (Red Book) are widely recognised in cross-border mandates. Anne-Cécile Judais applies French professional standards (Charte de l'expertise); RICS alignment is available on request for international mandates.
- Régime matrimonial — régime matrimonial
- The matrimonial property regime governing the financial relationship between spouses. Determines which assets are jointly owned and which are separate — critical to any divorce valuation.
S 4 terms
- SCI — Société Civile Immobilière
- A French civil property company, commonly used to hold real estate for investment, succession planning or family management. SCI shares may be subject to different valuation and tax rules than direct property ownership.
- Servitude — servitude
- A legal encumbrance on a property — such as a right of way, a utility easement, or a view restriction — that may affect its value and must be disclosed in a valuation report.
- Succession — succession
- The legal process of transferring a deceased person's assets to their heirs under French law. French real estate is always governed by French law regardless of the deceased's nationality or the heir's residence.
- Sworn appraisal / sworn valuation — expertise en valeur vénale opposable
- A property valuation produced by an independent expert to professional standards, capable of being relied upon in legal proceedings and before tax authorities. The English equivalent of "expertise opposable."
V 2 terms
- Valeur locative — valeur locative
- The rental value of a property — what a tenant would pay in an open market lease. Distinct from open market (capital) value. Relevant in commercial lease renewals, eviction indemnities, and some tax calculations.
- Valeur vénale
- See Open market value.