Deposit When Buying a House in France: How Much, Who Holds It

The deposit when buying a house in France is normally 5 % to 10 % of the price, paid when you sign the preliminary contract (the compromis de vente), and held in escrow by the notaire until completion. It is not a legal requirement: French law does not fix any deposit for the purchase of an existing home. It is a market custom, strong enough that almost every compromis includes one. Service-Public describes it as a sum « generally called security deposit », usually 10 %, « collected and blocked » on the notaire's escrow account until the final deed.

Three numbers to keep in mind before you negotiate :

• 5 % is common on higher-value properties and whenever the buyer is paying cash and the seller is comfortable ; it is also the minimum that becomes mandatory on a unilateral promise to sell (promesse unilatérale) lasting more than 18 months.
• 10 % is the default most agents and notaires propose on a compromis for a standard resale.
• 0 % is possible. A compromis without a deposit is valid — sellers simply rarely accept it, because the deposit is their only practical security if you walk away after the cooling-off period.

The deposit is part of the price, not an extra cost : on completion it is deducted from what you owe. On a €250,000 house, a 10 % deposit means €25,000 into escrow at the compromis and €225,000 (plus notaire fees and taxes) on the day you get the keys.

For a new build bought off-plan (VEFA), the rules are different and capped by law : at most 5 % of the price if the final deed is due within a year, 2 % if within two years, nothing beyond — see the dedicated section below.

Most of the confusion in English-language forums (« how much deposit do you need to buy a house in France ? ») comes from one word covering two unrelated things. French has two words ; English has one.

The two overlap in practice : the compromis deposit counts towards your down payment, since both are part of the price. A buyer financing 80 % of a €250,000 purchase needs €50,000 of equity ; the €25,000 paid at the compromis is the first half of it. What the deposit does not cover is transaction costs — the 7-8 % of « notaire fees » on a resale, which banks almost never finance for non-residents. For the lender's side of the question (loan-to-value by residency, the 35 % rule, rates), read our French mortgage guide for non-residents.

French law is unusually protective here. Under article L271-2 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation, no payment of any kind may be demanded from a non-professional buyer before the end of the cooling-off period, except when the money is paid to a professional who holds a financial guarantee (garantie financière) and is mandated by the buyer to receive it. In practice that means two possible recipients :

• The notaire, on a dedicated escrow account (compte séquestre). This is the standard route and the one Service-Public describes. Notaires' client funds are deposited with the Caisse des Dépôts and covered by the profession's collective guarantee.
• An estate agent (agent immobilier) holding a carte professionnelle with a financial guarantee covering client funds. Many agencies no longer handle deposits at all and route them to the notaire.

Paying the seller directly, or a person without that guarantee, is not just risky : the professional who demands it faces a fine of up to €30,000. If you are asked to wire money to a private individual's account « to secure the house », refuse.

Two practical consequences for foreign buyers :

• Wire fraud is the real danger. The classic scam is an e-mail « from the notaire » with new bank details a few days before the deposit is due. Always confirm the IBAN by telephone with the notaire's office, using a number you looked up yourself. French notaires' escrow accounts are held at the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations — an IBAN at a retail bank is a red flag.
• Anti-money-laundering checks apply to the deposit. The notaire must document the origin of funds even for €15,000 ; have your bank statements, sale contract of a previous home or savings records ready before the compromis, not after.

The deposit earns no interest for you while in escrow. Our guide to notaire fees in France explains what the notaire actually charges for handling the transaction.

A French buyer's deposit is fully refundable in three situations. They are written into the law or into the contract, not left to the seller's goodwill.

1. The 10-day cooling-off period

Under article L271-1 CCH, a non-professional buyer of a home may withdraw from a signed compromis within ten days, without giving any reason. The clock starts the day after the signed contract is first presented to you by registered letter, or handed to you by the notaire or agent. Withdraw by registered letter (or any method giving a certain date) and the deposit must be returned within 21 days of the day after your withdrawal (L271-2). The seller has no equivalent right : once signed, the seller is bound.

2. A condition precedent fails

Almost every compromis contains conditions suspensives. If one is not met, the contract lapses and the deposit comes back in full :

• Mortgage refusal — the most frequent one. Service-Public notes that the deadline given to obtain a loan must be at least one month from signature. Make sure the clause states the amount, duration and maximum rate you are applying for, and apply to the banks within the period : a buyer who never applies, or applies for a different loan than the one in the clause, loses the protection.
• Pre-emption by the commune (droit de préemption urbain) or a tenant.
• Planning or title issues revealed by the notaire's searches, a servitude not disclosed, an adverse urban planning certificate.
• Anything else you negotiated : sale of your own home, a satisfactory survey, a building permit.

3. The seller defaults

If the seller refuses to complete, you recover the deposit and can either enforce the sale in court — a promise to sell « is equivalent to a sale » once price and property are agreed (C. civ. art. 1589) — or claim the penalty the contract provides, usually the same 10 % the buyer would have forfeited.

Once the cooling-off period has passed and every condition is met, a buyer who refuses to sign the final deed is in breach. What happens to the deposit depends on how the compromis is drafted. Ask the notaire which of the three mechanisms your contract uses — they are not interchangeable.

Three points buyers underestimate :

• « I could not get the mortgage » protects you only if the loan you applied for matches the clause. Applying for a bigger loan, a shorter term or waiting until the deadline has passed is a classic way to lose €25,000.
• The deposit held by the notaire is not released automatically to either side when the sale fails. If buyer and seller disagree, the notaire keeps it in escrow until they agree in writing or a court decides.
• A seller who wants the house sold rather than compensated can sue for forced completion — you may end up owning a property you no longer want, plus costs. In practice sellers prefer the penalty and a quick resale, but the risk is real on falling markets.

Three realistic cases for a €250,000 resale house in rural France (agency fees included in the price, notaire fees and taxes around 7.5 %).

Buyer B is the one who needs the mortgage condition drafted carefully : if the loan is refused within the period, the €25,000 comes back ; if the bank says yes at a higher rate than the clause allows, the condition is also deemed failed. Buyer C should expect the bank to ask for proof of the full €100,000 of equity plus costs before issuing the offer, and some French banks decline US persons because of FATCA reporting.

Sterling and dollar buyers should also price the currency gap between compromis and completion — typically three months. A 4 % move on €250,000 is €10,000. Forward contracts from a currency broker lock the rate the day you sign ; the deposit itself is usually sent as a spot transfer. For current prices by city and region, see house prices in France in 2026.

Buying off-plan (vente en l'état futur d'achèvement) starts with a contrat de réservation, and here the deposit is regulated. The dépôt de garantie is capped at :

• 5 % of the price if the final deed of sale is due within one year of the reservation ;
• 2 % if it is due between one and two years ;
• nothing if completion of the deed is more than two years away.

The money must be paid into a special account opened in the buyer's name, at a bank or with a notaire — never to the developer. It is returned in full if the reservation contract's conditions are not met (the developer does not build, the price exceeds the agreed margin, the mortgage is refused), and in any case if you use the cooling-off period. The reservation contract must state the deposit amount and the conditions of its return ; omitting this exposes the developer to a fine of up to €15,000 (Service-Public, VEFA reservation contract).

Do not confuse this reservation deposit with the staged payments that follow the final deed : 35 % at foundations, 70 % when watertight, 95 % at completion, 100 % on delivery. Those are instalments of the price, not a deposit.

1. Read the compromis in a language you understand. You sign a French contract ; an English translation is a courtesy, not the legal text. Ask the notaire to walk you through the deposit clause, the penalty clause and every condition precedent.
2. Check who is receiving the money : notaire or agent with a financial guarantee only (L271-2). Confirm the IBAN by phone.
3. Do not pay before the cooling-off period has started. The deposit is normally due on signature, into escrow — that is allowed because the notaire is the recipient. A demand to pay before signing anything is not.
4. Get your mortgage clause right : amount, duration, maximum rate, deadline of at least one month and realistic (two to three months for non-residents). Apply to at least one bank promptly and keep written proof of refusals.
5. Prepare the origin-of-funds file before the compromis : statements, previous sale, savings history. The notaire cannot release the deed without it.
6. Budget the costs the deposit does not cover : 7-8 % notaire fees and taxes on a resale, currency margin, survey, translation.
7. Diary the dates : day 10 (end of cooling-off), mortgage deadline, pre-emption reply (two months), completion date. Deadlines in a compromis are counted in calendar days.

The deposit is only one step of the purchase. The full sequence — offer, compromis, searches, final deed — is in our guide to buying a house in France as a foreigner. If you are on the other side of the table, our guide to selling property in France as a non-resident covers what a seller can and cannot demand from a buyer, and the capital gains tax you will face on exit.