| Notaires de France

No. Where the tenant is a legal entity (company), the minimum term of the lease must be six years (Art. 10 of Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989).

In principle, no. The technical diagnostic report is mandatory when real property is sold (Art. L.271-4 of the French Construction and Housing Code). Nevertheless, so that your son has all the relevant information and can consent to the gift with full knowledge of the facts, it may be useful to…

Yes. A spouse may decide to contribute separate property to the community by means of a property contribution clause included in a marriage contract drawn up by a notary (French Civil Code, Art. 1497). As a matter of principle, this contribution does not give rise to a right to reimbursement…

Yes. A family loan may be granted without interest, but in all cases, it must be repaid. It is advisable to put it in writing (French Civil Code, Art. 1376) and, for greater legal and tax security, to have it drawn up by a notary. Please note when the total…

No. A PACS alone does not confer heir status on the surviving partner; for this to be the case, it is essential to make a will to that effect.

No. In the absence of descendants, a surviving spouse who is not divorced is entitled to a reserved share amounting to one-quarter of the estate of their deceased spouse (French Civil Code, Art. 914-1). In the absence of children, it is not possible to deprive the surviving spouse of this…

No. The law prohibits the landlord from requiring the tenant to use “an automatic debit order on the tenant’s current account” as the method of paying rent (Art. 4(c) of Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989).

Yes. The law provides that you may compel your neighbour to “contribute […] to the repairs of the boundary separating [your properties] […]” (Arts. 663 and 667 of the French Civil Code).

Yes. You may ask the judge (the family court judge) to revise or even terminate it, if you can demonstrate a “significant change in the resources or needs of either party” (French Civil Code, Art. 276-3).

Yes. “Any instrument or right must, in order to be subject to land registration formalities, result from an instrument executed in authentic form by a notary practising in France […]”. As the co-ownership regulations (or any amendments thereto) must be registered to be enforceable, they must therefore be drawn up…

I would like to rent out my unfurnished apartment to a company. Is the minimum term three years?

I am going to give the bare ownership of my house to my son. Do I need to have a technical diagnostic report prepared before going to the notary?

I am married under the community of acquisitions regime. My parents gave me a plot of land on which my wife and I are going to build our house. Can I make this land community property?

I would like to lend €2,500 to one of my children. Can I make the loan interest-free?

I have entered a Civil union (PACS) with my partner, and I would like to know whether he will be able to inherit my property when I die.

I do not have children and never will. I am considering getting married, but I would like to leave my estate to my nephews and nothing to my future wife. Is this possible?

I have just signed a residential lease. My landlord requires me to pay the rent by automatic debit from my bank account. Is the landlord entitled to do this?

The party wall separating my property from my neighbour’s is collapsing. However, my neighbour does not want to contribute to the cost of repairing the structure. Am I entitled to require them to contribute to these costs?

I am divorced and have to pay my ex-husband a compensatory allowance in the form of an annuity. Having accumulated debts, including rent arrears, can I ask for the amount of this allowance to be reduced?

We had our co-ownership regulations amended by a law firm. Are we required to use a notary to have them registered with the land registration service?