16 August 2026

Making an Offer on a House in France

When Are the Buyer and Seller Legally Bound?

You have finally found the house. The location is right, the view is beautiful and, after the viewing, you do not want to run the risk of someone else walking away with it. So you make an offer.

But what does such an offer actually mean in France? Is an offre d'achat non-binding? Can the seller still change their mind? And, as the buyer, can you still withdraw after acceptance? The answer is somewhat more nuanced than many buyers think.

When is a seller bound?

An offre d'achat in France is more than simply stating what you would be willing to pay for a property.

When a buyer submits a sufficiently clear and specific written offer and the seller expressly accepts that offer without reservation, a binding situation may already arise.

This follows from Article 1583 of the Code civil. In short, it provides that a sale between the parties is concluded as soon as there is agreement on the property and the price — even if the property has not yet been transferred and the price has not yet been paid. So, as soon as buyer and seller agree on what is being sold and for how much, the sale is, in principle, already “perfected” (vente parfaite) under French law, regardless of whether a compromis has already been signed.

The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) has repeatedly confirmed this principle in recent years. In a judgment of 16 March 2022, the Cour de cassation overturned a ruling of the Paris Court of Appeal, which had held that a bidding document signed by the sellers in acceptance was no more than a stage in the negotiations. According to the Supreme Court, that was incorrect: because the document identified the property and the price and had been countersigned by the sellers, there was indeed already a perfected sale. In a judgment of 22 June 2023, the Cour de cassation repeated this: a firm and definitive offer that is accepted by the seller without condition or reservation is sufficient to bring about a sale, once the parties agree on the property and the price.

The seller therefore cannot simply say:

“I have now received a higher offer, so I am going to sell to someone else after all.”

If that does happen, the buyer is not left without remedies. The buyer can bring proceedings against the seller and, depending on the circumstances, seek specific performance of the sale or claim damages for the wrongful termination of the transaction.

That is an important difference from what many foreign buyers assume, namely that nothing becomes definitive until the compromis / promesse de vente is signed.

But the compromis / promesse still has to be signed, doesn’t it?

Yes.

After agreement has been reached on the purchase, an avant-contrat is usually drawn up. This is generally a compromis de vente or a promesse de vente.

The transaction is set out in much greater detail in that document.

This includes the exact description of the property, the purchase price, the legal status of the property, the diagnostic reports, the intended completion date and any conditions suspensives (conditions precedent).

But this does not automatically mean that the seller remains free to proceed with another buyer until the moment of signature. In practice, the compromis is primarily intended to elaborate on and formally record a sale that has already been agreed — not necessarily to create the sale for the first time.

The precise wording of both the offer and the acceptance is important, however. To be binding, the offer must be firm and sufficiently specific and must contain the essential elements of the sale. The seller’s acceptance must also be unconditional, in other words without reservation. An offer may, for example, contain conditions or expressly state that the sale will only come into existence upon signature of a compromis / promesse de vente. In that case, acceptance of the offer alone does not yet result in a perfected sale. The actual documents must therefore always be examined.

And the buyer? Can the buyer still withdraw?

This is where it becomes interesting, because buyer and seller are not in the same position. A private individual purchasing a residential property enjoys special statutory protection in France.

Following formal notification of the avant-contrat, the buyer is in principle entitled to a statutory ten-day cooling-off period, the délai de rétractation. During that period, the buyer may withdraw from the purchase without having to give a reason.

The seller does not benefit from such a statutory cooling-off period.

And after those ten days?

Even after that period, there may still be circumstances in which the transaction does not proceed without the buyer automatically losing the deposit. This is where the conditions suspensives are important.

The best-known example is the financing condition: the condition suspensive d'obtention de prêt.

Depending on the property and the circumstances, other conditions may also be relevant. These may relate, for example, to permits, planning regulations, easements or certain works that have been carried out on the property.

If a properly drafted condition precedent is not satisfied, this may result in the sale not proceeding.

Do you already have to pay money when making the offer?

No. Be cautious if you are asked to transfer money immediately when making or accepting an offer.

Any deposit — often referred to as a dépôt de garantie — is generally arranged at the stage of the avant-contrat and paid through the appropriate professional account.

An offer is therefore not only about the price

When negotiating the purchase of a French property, attention understandably tends to focus first on one figure: the price. But what exactly is stated in the offer is at least as important.

Which property and related lots are being purchased? What price has been agreed? How long is the offer valid? Are any conditions included? Is financing required? And has the offer been made conditional upon the later signature of a compromis / promesse de vente?

These are not details to be dealt with later. In light of Article 1583 of the Code civil and the established case law of the Cour de cassation, they may help determine which rights and obligations already arise as soon as the seller writes:

“Offre acceptée.”

Anyone wishing to purchase a property in France should therefore think carefully not only about how much they offer, but also about exactly what they are signing.