- Article 4
See emoluments and fees.
- Commercial lease
Lease for a building in which the tenant runs a business or skilled trade of which it is the owner. Commercial leases are governed by a very specific legal system (decree dated 30 September 1953), according to which trader-tenants are entitled to renew their leases.
- Deposit
A sum which, according to law, the notaire must request before any instruments are signed. The sums must be sufficient to cover any costs, dues, disbursements and basic fees as they become due for payment.
- Emoluments
There are two ways of paying notaires :
• Emoluments are compulsory payments on a set scale that ministerial officers receive for their work.
• Fees are payments for services and formalities (consultations for example) and instruments for which there is no set scale (for work in competitive sectors). The fees may vary and a prior agreement must be made between the notaire and client (rules set by article 4 of the decree dated 8 March 1978).
- Fees
There are two ways of paying notaires :
• Emoluments are compulsory payments on a set scale that ministerial officers receive for their work.
• Fees are payments for services and formalities (consultations for example) and instruments for which there is no set scale (for work in competitive sectors). The fees may vary and a prior agreement must be made between the notaire and client (rules set by article 4 of the decree dated 8 March 1978).
- Formalities
All the operations before and after an instrument is signed.
- Gift
Agreement according to which a person transfers to another his/her right of ownership (or only part of the right of ownership) over an asset or assets, free of charge. The person who gives is the donor, the person who receives the donee.
- Instrument
A written document establishing an agreement between one or more people. There is a distinction between:
• Private instruments: instruments that co-contractors establish by their signature alone but which can easily be disputed because each party can deny having signed them.
• Authentic instrument: instruments drawn up and recorded by a person with public authority. The persons include the administrative authorities (ministers, prefects, mayors), legal authorities, registrars, public officers such as court officials, clerks of the court and notaires. The prerogatives of authentic instruments mean they are outside the scope of ordinary law. They are authentic in themselves (probative value) and may be executed without legal recognition (enforceability). In the field of private instruments, the notarised instrument is the main authentic instrument.
- Marriage
A contracted union between two spouses.
The sum paid to Notaires, which is commonly and mistakenly referred to as “Notaire’s costs”, actually comprises :
- taxes that go to the State and local authorities (approximately 8/10ths of the costs): these are sums that the Notaire must collect and pay to the State on behalf of their clients. They vary according to the type of instrument and property.
- expenses (1/10th): sums that the Notaire disburses on behalf of their clients to pay the various parties in the transaction and/or the cost of the various documents, and to settle one-off expenses incurred at the clients’ request (e.g. certain travel costs).
- The Notaire's actual remuneration (1/10th).
Since the Notaire acts in public interest, his remuneration is strictly controlled and is governed by regulated fees.
The fees was set by the decree dated 8 March 1978 and has since been modified twice: decree dated 16 May 2006 and decree dated 21 March 2007.
In this respect, it is worth noting that 71% of French people consider that fixing of Notaires' fees by the State is “a good thing because it ensures equality between citizens” (CSA – Notaires de France survey, January 2007).
It is also worth noting that the monies that the clients leave with the Notaire for the completion of their file, and which more often than not constitute provisions, are deposited at the Caisse des Dépôts (Deposit and Consignment Office) and are inspected on a regular basis.
It should also be pointed out that these funds do not earn interest and that the Notaire is paid only when all the formalities are completed.
It is therefore not in the Notaire's interest to let a matter “drag on”.
Strictly speaking, the fees therefore comprise of :
- proportional and fixed emoluments (fixed by decree) for all the instruments and formalities to which the public authorities have decided it applies (e.g. marriage contracts, gifts, etc.),
- fees for all instruments for which the decree provides that payment is freely agreed between the Notaire and his client (e.g. commercial leases, articles of association, etc.).
EMOLUMENTS
Fixed emoluments are charged for instruments for which no proportional fee is payable and are calculated using an accounting unit called a “unit of value” (U.V.). (SINCE THE DECREE OF 16 MAY 2006, THE U.V. IS € 3.65 EXCLUDING VAT). This fee is set by decree and varies according to the type of instrument.
Examples :
- Gifts between spouses (during the marriage) : 30 U.V. i.e. €109.50 (excl. VAT).
- Drawing up a posthumous power-of-attorney : 30 U.V. i.e. €109.50 (excl. VAT)
- Initial or amended PACS (Pacte Civil de Solidarité ≈ civil union) document: 50 U.V. i.e. €182.50 (excl. VAT).
The formality emoluments often charged for the completion of an instrument are also evaluated in UVs depending on the type of instrument.
Examples :
- authenticated copy : 0.3 U.V. i.e. €1.09 (excl. VAT)
- plain-paper copy : 0.1 U.V. i.e. €0.36 (excl. VAT)
Proportional emoluments are calculated by applying a percentage (rate) to the value specified in the instrument. The rate is on a sliding scale and applies to a coefficient depending on the legal nature of the instrument. These instruments are categorised in the decree.
Emoluments for specific instruments :
- Negotiating fees for Notaire acting as negotiator.
- These are in proportion to the value of the property: 5% up to €45,735 and 2.5% thereafter.
- Settlement fees for "contracts ending a dispute or preventing a future dispute": the emolument payable is doubled for the agreement to which it leads to.
FEES
Fees paid directly to the Notaire apply to instruments of which article 4 of the decree stipulates that the payment is agreed freely between the Notaire and his client.
Example of instruments : sale of businesses, legal advice.
Clients must be notified beforehand in writing of the sum to be paid or the method used to calculate it, and give their approval to the Notaire.
