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Abattement ≈ Tax Free Pay Allowance

This is the part of your heritage or tax revenue for which you do not have to pay taxes.

Accession  ≈ Accession

French ‘Accession’ Law authorises the owner of land to be by that very fact the owner of buildings and plantations built or planted on the land even if they are built or planted by a third party. ‘Accession’ is applied as defined by French Law.

Achat en indivision ≈ Joint Ownership

Joint Ownership, ‘achat en indivision’ in French, allows persons without blood ties to acquire a property together (such as couples who are living together and who are not married or in a civil union). The potential buyers sign an ‘Agreement of Indivision’ which defines each shared part, which does not have to be divided equally. Each person involved in the agreement, known as the ‘indivisaire’, can have mortgage on his or her part. A joint ownership is terminated if one of persons involved sales his or her part, or upon the death of one of the persons involved.

Achèvement de l’Immeuble ≈ Completed Works 

An ‘Achèvement de l’Immeuble’ or Completed Works is when a building is considered to be completed as soon as it is ready for occupancy, even if finishing work or secondary conversion is needed.

Acompte ≈ Deposit

This is a sum of money that is paid by the buyer after signing a preliminary sale contract. This contract commits the buyer definitely and the deposit usually runs at 10% of the property’s total price. If the sale is not carried out, the seller has the right to keep the deposit. However, there is one exception: if one of the suspending clauses is not carried out as agreed upon in the preliminary sale contract, the buyer can have his or her deposit refunded.

Acquets ≈ Acquest

This term is used to cover all the property that is acquired by a couple throughout their marriage.

Acte Authentique ≈ Notarised Deed, Title Deed

This is a contract that must be done by a notary so that it can be published in a mortgage office and so that is can become opposable or objected by anyone, even persons who are not  mentioned in the contract. The sale or exchange of a property in France must be done through a notarised deed or a title deed.

Acte de Nantissement ≈ Collateral Contract

This is a contract made between a borrower and a creditor in which the borrower gives to his or her creditor a property or portfolio titles, etc… as collateral for a loan. A ‘Collateral Contract’ must be signed by the proper authorities, such as a bailiff. However, the cost of a ‘Collateral Contract’ is inferior to the cost of mortgage.

Acte Sous Seing Privé ≈ Private Agreement, Simple Contract

This is a simple contract that is signed by the parties involved. For selling purposes, this contract can be used to prepare the finalisation of a business transaction. This contract is sometimes referred to as an ‘acte préabable’ or an ‘avant-contrat’ (both of which mean ‘pre-contract’ in French) because it will always be replaced by a definite contract. A Private Agreement or the ‘Acte Sous Seing Privé’ is common practise when renting properties.

ADIL (Association Départementale pour l’Information sur le Logement) ≈ The Departmental Association of Housing Information   

This association is subsidised by the French Minister of Housing and consists of 90 different information centres placed in 54 different French departments. Under the direction of A.N.I.L. (which is the national office of this association), each ADIL has the mission to inform the public, free of charge, on all questions that are judicially, financially or fiscally related to property.

Adjudication ≈ Auction Sale 

The act of a French public officer (a notary) putting a property up for tender and that is then auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Administrateur de Biens ≈ Estate Manager

This is a professional who supervises and manages property as defined with a written agreement or mandate. There is a difference between:

• managing jointly owned properties as the ‘syndic’ or ‘representative’, where the manager acts simply as the representative of all the owners,
• and account managing for the owners of a property, in which the manager takes care of the property management, such as: collecting rent, paying bills, maintenance and repairs…

Agence Immobilière ≈  Estate Agency

This term is used to designate a business (usually an entreprise) whose function is to offer it’s services, advice and negotiating methods for property, such as: selling and/or renting, purchase advising, valuating property…

Agent Commercial ≈ Marketing Agent

This is a freelance representative that does not have any ties of subordination nor guarantee to the name or the account of the person he or she represents. The status of a marketing agent is more flexible than that of a wage worker and is common practise in the domain of property negotiation.

Agent Immobilier ≈ Estate Agent

This is a professional who represents the owner, the buyer or the tenant during the sale or rent of apartments, buildings, individual homes, business leases, land…

Attention: the estate agent is not the owner of the properties that he or she is offering to sale or rent. The estate agent works only as the intermediary between the seller and the buyer or the rentor and the tenant; he or she also provides a quality of service that consists of finding a tenant or a potential buyer and providing financial and judicial guarantees as defined by the French ‘Hoguet’ law drawn on the 2nd of January 1970. By comparison, transactions affected between two private parties without an estate agent do not benefit from any sort of guarantee.

A.N.A.H. (Agence Nationale pour l’Amélioration de l’Habitat) ≈ The National Agency for Housing Improvement     

The A.N.A.H. subsidises renovation work for improving lodgings that are: located in buildings that are at least 15 years old and belong to private owners, rented out as main residences and are liable to additional lease taxes, or lodgings in buildings that are exonerated from additional lease taxes because of the amount of rent. For more information, please visit the official website at: http://www.anah.fr. (Website in French only).

Appel de Fonds ≈ Call for Funds

This is a sum of money that the Estate Manager (the ‘syndic’) can ask the owners of a property in order to pay property bills, works or any other expense that is relative to the maintenance and or up-keep of a building or a group of houses.   

Apport Personnel ≈ Personal Contribution

These are the funds contributed by the buyer. These funds can come from his or her savings, a loan covered by life insurance, etc…

Arrhes ≈ Earnest Money, Deposit

This is a sum paid to the seller by the buyer when the buyer wishes to have the possibility to be free of any obligation. If the buyer opts for this option, he then forfeits his earnest money. However, if the seller wishes to free his or herself from any obligation, he or she will have to refund the double of the amount of earnest money received to the buyer.

Assainissement ≈ Drainage

This is a draining network used to collect dirty water and/or rainwater.

Assurance Dommages Ouvrages ≈ 10 Year Building Insurance

This policy covers a building for ten years worth of construction risks. The constructer of the property must have subscribed to this insurance before beginning the worksite. The policy guarantees the repair of damages incurred before any sort of investigation for determining the cause.

Assemblée Générale de Copropriété ≈ Co-owners General Meeting

This is a general meeting that all of the owners of a property are required to attend. Questions are put forward, and decisions are adopted and recorded in the meeting’s minutes. Co-owners of properties are required to meet at least once per year.

Assurance Multirisques ≈ Multirisk Insurance

This is an insurance policy that guarantees a refund for property restoration after a fire, a storm or water damage. It is of your best interest to carefully study your policy to best understand how your refund works in case of an accident.

AssuranceRCP (Responsabilité Civile Professionnelle) ≈ Civil Responsibility Insurance for Professionals   

This is insurance for professionals for their line of work. Estate agents, estate managers, property vendors… all must be insured against the consequences of their mistakes or from causing damage to a third party.

Astreinte ≈ Penalty Payment

This is an amount of money that has been set either conventionally or by a judge and that will be paid term after term to the plaintiff by the faulting party until the faulting party fulfils it’s obligations. More specifically, this is a penalty sum of money that is paid by a constructing company for each day late until the worksite is completed.

Avenant ≈ Amendment

This is a contract that complements the already existing contract between two parties. It can either complete or modify the clauses of the initial contract.  

Avantage Fiscal ≈ Tax Advantage

The acquisition of a property, just like certain types of jobs, can qualify for revenue tax reduction, tax deductions or as tax free pay allowance (abattement). All of these dispositions are then recorded each year in a budget bill.

Ayant Droit ≈ Beneficiary

This term designates an eligible party who holds certain rights and who can pass on some of their rights onto other parties. For example, beneficiaries can benefit from their marital status or from another legal relationship to the person concerned. For example, children are the ‘ayant droits’ or the ‘beneficiaries’ of their deceased parents due to their family relationship.