The firm’s journal

French law in practice

Practical guides to French property and business law for readers dealing with French notaries, landlords, companies or courts from abroad, and analysis of current legal news.

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Property

Drought and Clay Subsidence in France: Legal Protection for Foreign Property Buyers in 2026

Drought and Clay Subsidence in France: Legal Protection for Foreign Property Buyers in 2026 France is living through its most severe drought on record. In July 2026, groundwater levels were …

Property

France’s New Standard Lease Contract from 1 October 2026: What Foreign Landlords Must Know

Thousands of foreign owners in France rent out a flat or a house under a long-term residential lease governed by the law of 6 July 1989, a statute whose protection of tenants is so …

Property

Adverse Possession in France: How Property Can Be Lost or Gained Through Prescription (Usucapion)

Every buyer of French property assumes that what they purchase matches exactly what appears in the titre de propriété (deed of ownership). The boundary is where the cadastral plan says it is …

Property

Estate Agent Commissions in France: What Foreign Buyers Must Know Before Buying Directly

Buying a property in France through an estate agent feels familiar to buyers from the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia: an agent advertises a house, arranges a viewing, and is …

Co-ownership and neighbours

French Co-Ownership General Meetings: A Foreign Owner’s Guide to Voting Rights, Proxies, and Challenging Decisions

How foreign property owners can participate in French copropriété general meetings, use proxy voting, and challenge irregular decisions within the two-month statutory deadline — with the lat …

Co-ownership and neighbours

Neighbourhood Disturbances in France: Troubles Anormaux du Voisinage Explained for Foreign Property Owners

Buying a property in France often comes with a romanticised image of peaceful countryside living or quiet city elegance. The reality can be different. Noise from a neighbouring restaurant's …

Property

The French Resolutory Clause (clause résolutoire): New Lease Rules from October 2026 and What Foreign Property Owners Need to Know

The French Resolutory Clause (clause résolutoire): New Lease Rules from October 2026 and What Foreign Property Owners Need to Know For property buyers and owners from the United Kingdom, the …

Co-ownership and neighbours

French Property Easements and Servitudes: A Guide for Foreign Buyers and Owners

When you buy a property in France, you acquire more than just walls and a roof. You also acquire—or become bound by—legal rights attached to the land itself that may allow a neighbour to …

Property

Building Permits and Planning Permission in France: What Foreign Property Buyers Must Know Before Renovating

Foreign buyers drawn to France by the promise of a stone farmhouse in the Dordogne or a Haussmann apartment in the 7th arrondissement often share a common blind spot: planning permission. Th …

Planning and construction

French Construction Contracts and Renovation Disputes: Legal Protections for Foreign Property Buyers

Renovating a property in France is a dream for many foreign buyers. The stone farmhouse in the Dordogne, the Haussmann apartment in Paris, the Provençal mas — each carries the promise of a l …

Property

What French Property Sellers Must Tell You — and What Happens When They Don’t

Buying property in France is exciting. It is also the single largest transaction most people will ever make. And the hardest part for a foreign buyer is often not the price or the location …

Property

Hidden Defects in French Property: A Foreign Buyer’s Guide to the Garantie des Vices Cachés

Hidden Defects in French Property: A Foreign Buyer's Guide to the Garantie des Vices Cachés Buying a property in France is a dream for many foreign nationals, but discovering a serious flaw …

Maître Reda Kohen

Maître Reda Kohen

Partner, member of the Paris Bar, 11 rue Margueritte, 75017 Paris. Author of the analyses published in this journal. About