Buyer's due diligence checklist for France
Buyer's due diligence checklistVérifications avant la signature de l'avant-contrat
The documents and checks a buyer of an existing home in France should get before signing the compromis or promesse de vente: title and seller capacity, mortgages and easements, planning, the mandatory diagnostics file, copropriété documents, taxes and occupation.
Use it from the first visit until you sign the preliminary contract. The seller must hand over the diagnostics file and, for a flat, the copropriété documents by the date of signature. The notary collects the title, the mortgage search, the planning information and the pre-emption waiver between the compromis and the deed. Check each item, and ask the notary for anything missing before you sign.
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Key facts
- Applies to
- Whole country (in Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle the land register is the livre foncier)
- Energy performance certificate (DPE)
- Mandatory for every sale. Valid 10 years, but a DPE made before 1 July 2021 is no longer valid.
- DPE electricity factor
- Since 1 January 2026 a new factor (1.9 instead of 2.3) can improve the class of an electrically heated home.
- Energy audit
- Required to sell a house or a single-owner building rated E, F or G. Rated D from 1 January 2034.
- Risk report (état des risques)
- Valid 6 months. Given at the first visit and annexed to the promise (Code de l'environnement art. L125-5).
- Termites / gas / electricity
- Termites 6 months (in listed zones). Gas and electricity 3 years, if the installation is over 15 years old.
- Lead report
- For homes built before 1 January 1949. Valid 1 year if it finds lead above the legal threshold, with no time limit otherwise.
- Copropriété minutes
- General meeting minutes for the last 3 years (CCH art. L721-2).
- Carrez area tolerance
- More than 1/20 smaller than stated: pro rata price cut, claim within 1 year of the deed.
- Pre-emption
- The town has 2 months from the notary's notice to buy first. Silence means it waives the right.
The checklist
Seller, title and ownership
Copy of the seller's title deedTitre de propriété
It proves the seller owns the property and shows its legal description, easements and conditions from the previous sale.
Seller's identity, marital status and capacityPièce d'identité, contrat de mariage ou convention de Pacs
Every owner must sign. A spouse may need to consent to the sale of the family home. A seller under guardianship needs authorisation.
For a company seller, its registration extract and articlesExtrait Kbis et statuts
They show the company exists and who may sign for it.
Leases in force, or proof that former tenants have leftBail en cours, congé du locataire
A buyer takes over a current lease. Vacant possession needs proof that the lease ended lawfully.
Land register, mortgages and easements
Mortgage and charges search, requested by the notaryÉtat hypothécaire (état hors formalité)
Cadastral plan and parcel referencesExtrait cadastral
It identifies the parcels sold and their boundaries. Compare it with the land you visited.
Easements and shared wallsServitudes, mitoyenneté
Rights of way, views or shared walls limit how you can use or alter the property.
For a house in a housing estate, its rules and the owners' association statutesCahier des charges du lotissement, statuts de l'ASL
They set building rules and shared costs for roads and green spaces.
Planning and building works
Planning certificate or planning information noteCertificat d'urbanisme, note de renseignements d'urbanisme
It states the planning rules, public easements and pre-emption rights that apply to the parcel.
Building permits, completion declarations and certificates of conformity for past worksPermis de construire, déclaration attestant l'achèvement et la conformité des travaux
They show that extensions and conversions were authorised.
Building damage insurance policy for works less than 10 years oldAssurance dommages-ouvrage
It pays for major structural defects within 10 years of completion, and passes to the buyer.
Pre-emption waiverDéclaration d'intention d'aliéner (DIA)
Technical diagnostics file
Energy performance certificate, and the energy audit where requiredDiagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE), audit énergétique
Lead exposure reportConstat de risque d'exposition au plomb (CREP)
Required for homes built before 1 January 1949. Old paint can contain lead.
Asbestos reportÉtat amiante
Required for buildings whose permit predates 1 July 1997. Asbestos removal is costly.
Termite report, and dry rot informationÉtat relatif à la présence de termites, information mérule
Required in zones listed by prefectoral order. Both attack wooden structures.
Gas and electricity installation reportsÉtat de l'installation intérieure de gaz et d'électricité
Required when the installation is over 15 years old. They list safety defects.
Natural, mining and technological risk reportÉtat des risques (ERP)
Sewage system inspection reportContrôle de l'assainissement non collectif
Required when the home has its own septic system. The report is valid 3 years.
Aircraft noise zone informationDiagnostic bruit
Required when the property is in an airport noise exposure zone.
Building safety or health orders, if anyArrêtés de police de la sécurité et de la salubrité des immeubles
Carrez area certificate for a copropriété lotMesurage loi Carrez
The contract must state it. A shortfall over 1/20 lets you claim a pro rata price cut.
Copropriété (flats and lots in a shared building)
Summary sheet, copropriété rules and division schedule with amendmentsFiche synthétique, règlement de copropriété, état descriptif de division
General meeting minutes for the last 3 yearsProcès-verbaux des assemblées générales
They show voted works, planned votes and disputes.
Charges paid by the seller over the last 2 financial years, sums you may owe, and the arrears in the buildingInformations financières, pré-état daté
They show your future costs and whether other owners fail to pay.
Works fund share and last contributionFonds de travaux
The share attached to the lot passes to you with the sale.
Maintenance log, global technical diagnosis and multi-year works planCarnet d'entretien, diagnostic technique global (DTG), plan pluriannuel de travaux
They show the building's condition and the works expected in the coming years.
Taxes and costs
Last property tax noticeAvis de taxe foncière
It shows the annual tax. The deed usually splits the current year between seller and buyer.
Estimate of notary fees and transfer taxesFrais d'acquisition
The buyer pays them on top of the price. Ask the notary for a written estimate before you sign.
Recent energy and water billsFactures d'énergie et d'eau
Compare them with the DPE cost estimate.
Formalities
A due diligence list is a checklist by nature. The notary, not the buyer, collects the official searches.
- You do not sign this checklist.
- The diagnostics file and the copropriété documents are annexes to the compromis or promesse.
- For copropriété documents in a private deed, you sign and date by hand a statement that you received them.
- The seller may send documents electronically only if you expressly accept it.
- If the risk report or the copropriété documents arrive after the compromis, your 10-day withdrawal period starts the day after you receive them.
Common mistakes
- Relying on the listing's DPE class. Read the certificate and check its date, address and estimated energy costs. A home rated G cannot be let under a new lease.
- Accepting diagnostics that will expire before the deed. The termite report and the risk report last only 6 months, so the seller may need to renew them.
- Skipping the general meeting minutes. They show voted works that you may have to pay and disputes in the building.
- Assuming an extension or a converted loft is legal. Ask for the permit and the completion declaration. Unauthorised works can complicate insurance and resale.
- Not checking who owns the property. A married seller, an estate in probate or a company seller may need extra signatures or a court authorisation.
- Ignoring a tenant in place. A sitting tenant stays when you buy, and the lease binds you.
Legal basis
- Code de la construction et de l'habitation, art. L271-4 (dossier de diagnostic technique)
- Code de la construction et de l'habitation, art. L721-2 (documents for the sale of a copropriété lot)
- Code de l'environnement, art. L125-5 (risk report at first visit)
- Loi n° 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965, art. 46 (Carrez area)
- Code de l'urbanisme, art. L213-2 (pre-emption: declaration and two-month period)
Sources
- Promesse de vente d'un logement existant : promesse unilatérale ou compromis
- Vente d'un logement en copropriété
- Audit énergétique en cas de vente d'un bien immobilier dit « passoire »
- Quels sont les diagnostics immobiliers à fournir en cas de vente d'un logement ?
- Diagnostic immobilier : diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE)
- Diagnostics techniques immobiliers