REAL ESTATE LAW · ADVISORY & LITIGATION

Real Estate Lawyers in France

Law that rises to your ambitions.

Buying, selling, letting, co-ownership, building: French property law is as technical as it is contentious. Our English-speaking lawyers act throughout France — from Lyon to the Alps and the Geneva area.

Your first consultation, refunded*
+33 9 83 68 80 80 (standard rate)
* The first consultation costs a flat €69 excl. VAT (€82.80 incl. VAT). If you then entrust your case to MUSE, it is automatically credited against your first invoice. For a one-off consultation, you receive clear oral advice and/or a written summary, depending on how we meet.
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The collective in real estate law

A collective of independent real estate lawyers in Lyon

We are a collective of independent lawyers, skilled across many fields and united around a fully independent online platform. You get the expertise you are looking for, real-time follow-up of your case, and direct contact with your lawyer — no intermediaries.

Independence Expertise Confidentiality
10 years
of builder's liability (decennial warranty) after handover
€250 incl. VAT
MUSE's flat fee to bid for you at a French property auction
2 months
to challenge a co-owners' general meeting decision
What we handle

From construction to sale, leases to neighbours

Construction law

Defects and disorders, statutory warranties (decennial, biennial, perfect completion), expert proceedings, off-plan purchases (VEFA), expropriation and planning.

Co-ownership law

Unpaid service charges, challenging general meeting decisions, disputes between co-owners and with the managing agent.

Commercial & residential leases

Tailor-made drafting, unpaid rent, service charges, rent setting and uncapping, damage, eviction.

Neighbour disputes

Recurring nuisance, disturbance from neighbouring businesses, building works, abnormal disturbances.

Property sales

Preliminary contracts, conditions precedent, disclosure duties, plot divisions, easements, sales to developers.

Property auctions

An all-in flat fee — €250 incl. VAT — to represent you at the auction hearing.

Decisions we've obtained

Proof in the rulings: see the decisions obtained by the collective in property cases — co-ownership, rent control, abandoned building works.

Defects, disorders, expert proceedings

Construction law

Defects have surfaced after works at your property? Or you are being blamed for disorders following your own work? We assist you through amicable or court proceedings — and through the crucial expert-appraisal phase.

We also act in expropriation matters, on public and private land, together with planning and land-use law.

The collective's advice

Handover starts the warranties running — perfect completion (1 year), biennial (2 years), decennial (10 years). Never sign the handover report without recording your reservations: a visible defect left unreserved becomes hard to invoke.

Charges, meetings, managing agent

Co-ownership law

Trouble inside your co-owned building — unpaid service charges, or a dispute born of a contested general meeting? We advise you, represent you in the dispute, and help you find the best route: recovering charges, challenging an irregular decision, or holding the managing agent (syndic) to account.

The collective's advice

Hurt by a general meeting decision? You have only two months from notification of the minutes to challenge it in court: after that, it becomes final.

Landlords & tenants, at every stage

Commercial & residential leases

Commercial leases

The collective advises you at the outset, drafting a tailor-made commercial lease that fits your building or your business, and throughout its life: recovering unpaid rent, service-charge disputes, setting or uncapping the renewed rent, change-of-use requests. The law here shifts constantly — we keep ahead of it for you.

Residential leases

Landlord or tenant, a residential lease can breed conflict: unpaid rent, neighbour disturbances, tenant damage, an unscrupulous landlord… We are there at every stage of the contract — drafting it, advising you on your rights, or resolving the dispute.

An all-in flat fee of €250.00 incl. VAT

Property auctions

Bidding at a French property auction — the adjudication hearing — can only be done through a lawyer before the civil court (Tribunal Judiciaire). Auctions are part of our regular practice: we advise you beforehand, bid for you on the day, then steer you through the complex administrative steps if you win. Our fee for this work is flat and fixed in advance: €250.00 incl. VAT.

The auction process
01Advice & checks beforehand
02Representation at the hearing
03Award & overbid
04Post-sale formalities
When dialogue breaks down

Neighbour disputes

Neighbourly relations are not always peaceful: poor communication and entrenched positions often end in deadlock. The collective is here to discuss your issues — neighbour disturbances, building works, abnormal nuisance — and see them resolved for good, from formal demand and bailiff's report through to expert appraisal and court action.

A long process, many players

Property sales

Buying or selling property in France is a long, technical process, and every player carries duties — disclosure, advice, warning. Several aspects deserve particular care:

  • Public land, notably on sales to developers: public bodies, the rights of local authorities (zoning plans), the valuation of public assets;
  • Private land, where a plot division or the creation of easements is contemplated.

Disputes often flare between seller and buyer once a preliminary contract is signed — above all around conditions precedent (planning permission, mortgage approval). We clarify your rights and, if needed, act to protect them. We regularly assist international buyers — a chalet in Chamonix or Megève, a second home by Lake Annecy, Geneva-based owners of French property — from the Alps to the Geneva area, with every exchange in English.

Frequently asked questions

Your French property law questions

Do I need a French lawyer to buy property in France?
For an ordinary sale, there is no legal obligation — the notaire drafts the deed. But the notaire does not negotiate for you, and rarely flags what a buyer's counsel would: traps in the preliminary contract, conditions precedent, easements, co-ownership charges, tax exposure. For property auctions, a French lawyer is mandatory. Having an English-speaking lawyer review before you sign is inexpensive insurance — especially when buying from abroad.
Perfect completion, biennial, decennial: what do the French building warranties cover, and for how long?
Three warranties run from handover. The perfect-completion warranty (1 year) covers every disorder noted at handover or arising in the first year. The biennial warranty (2 years) covers detachable equipment (shutters, water heaters…). The decennial warranty (10 years) covers disorders that compromise the structure or make the building unfit for its purpose. Identifying the right warranty determines both the deadline to act and the person liable.
How long do I have to challenge a co-owners' general meeting decision?
Two months from notification of the minutes — and only co-owners who opposed the decision or were absent may act. The deadline is strict: once it passes, the decision becomes final, even if irregular. Hence the importance of having the notice, the majorities and the minutes checked quickly.
My tenant has stopped paying — how do I obtain eviction?
The usual route is the termination clause in the lease: a formal demand to pay is served by a bailiff; failing payment within the statutory period, the judge records the termination and orders eviction. Enforcement then follows its own steps (order to vacate, police assistance), and the winter truce suspends evictions. A well-built file, from the first missed payment, shortens the procedure considerably.
Why is a lawyer mandatory for a French property auction?
Because auctions take place at the bar of the civil court, where only a lawyer may bid on your behalf. The collective advises you beforehand (checking the conditions of sale, the property, the financing), represents you at the hearing and assists you after the award. Our fee is flat: €250.00 incl. VAT.
What can I do about abnormal neighbour disturbance?
First, secure evidence of the disturbance and of its abnormal character (recurrence, intensity, duration): a bailiff's report, witness statements, measurements. A formal demand may be enough; failing that, the judge can order the disturbance to stop, if need be under penalty, and award damages. The doctrine of abnormal neighbour disturbance allows action even where the neighbour is not at fault.
As a buyer, what cooling-off period do I have — and what if my mortgage is refused?
A non-professional buyer has ten days from notification of the preliminary contract to withdraw, no reasons required. Beyond that, the sale is governed by its conditions precedent: if the mortgage is refused on the terms set out, the condition fails and the buyer recovers the deposit. Provided, of course, the loan applications matched what the contract required — a point that is often disputed.
I discovered a hidden defect after buying — what are my remedies?
A hidden-defects claim must be brought within two years of discovering the defect. It requires a defect that was concealed, predates the sale, and makes the property unfit for its use. Depending on the case, the buyer can obtain cancellation of the sale or a price reduction, plus damages if the seller knew of the defect. An expert appraisal is almost always needed, and warranty-exclusion clauses deserve close scrutiny.
Does rent control apply in Lyon?
Lyon and Villeurbanne are rent-control zones: residential rent must stay within a reference ceiling set by prefectoral order, unless a justified supplement applies. A tenant can sue to reduce the rent, and a landlord can secure the lease upstream — but the action follows precise conditions and deadlines, on pain of inadmissibility. Every lease deserves a check against the rules in force.
Can you assist with a purchase in the Alps — Chamonix, Megève, Courchevel — or near Geneva?
Yes. We regularly advise English-speaking buyers and owners across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the Geneva area: chalets in Chamonix, Megève or Courchevel, apartments by Lake Annecy, second homes and rental investments. Distance changes nothing — document reviews, video conferences and electronic signature keep the whole process in English, wherever you are.

A French property issue to resolve?

Our lawyers reply promptly — and in English.

+33 9 83 68 80 80
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