4. Contract Conditions when Buying Property in France

1. 4.1. Conditional Clauses
2. 4.2. Cooling Off Period
3. 4.3. Options to Buy
4. 4.4. Deposit
5. 4.5. Statutory Disclosures
6. 4.6. Local Rates
7. 4.7. Fixtures/Fittings

4.3. Option to Buy Additional Land/Buildings

It may well be that you are interested in other land or buildings owned by the seller, which is not being sold with the main property.

This may well occur, for instance, where other land is being retained for farming use, or there is an adjoining property occupied by a tenant.

The seller may also be holding on to other land in the hope that they may be able to obtain planning permission and later sell it with planning consent.

In France, as elsewhere, you would be wise to obtain control of as much land around you as is possible.

Planning permission is generally easier to obtain in France than in the UK and, unless you control the land around you, there is always the risk that you will later end up with an unexpected neighbour!

If the seller is unwilling to sell at the present time or you are interested in the later purchase of this property, then you can ask that a right of first refusal is granted to you as part of the sale of the main property.

The terms of such an option to buy are for negotiation between you and the seller, but they will include the price (or formula) that will be payable for the property and the duration of the option. Normally, no fee is payable for the option itself.

Whilst the inclusion of an option to buy is useful, it is important to note that this right is subservient to the statutory right of first refusal of sitting tenants and, in certain circumstances, the local Council and the national land agency called 'SAFER' - Société d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural.

Accordingly, if the owner later decides to sell the property, but there is a tenant farmer on the land, or a sitting tenant in the property, then they will have the right of first refusal.

This right of first refusal of a sitting tenant only exists at the same price as that offered by the prospective purchaser, but public authorities have the right to purchase at a lower price, if the asking price is considered above the market value.

However, even if a tenant does not take up their right of first refusal, this does not affect their tenancy, so you would buy the property with a tenancy on it.

Tenants have very strong rights of occupation in France (particularly tenant farmers), so you should not too readily assume you will later be able to get freehold possession of the property.