MINI GLOSSARY OF FRENCH LEGAL TERMS
 
acompte - sum paid in advance (a certain percentage of the purchase price)

acte authentique - legal paper drawn up (with all due formalities), by a public officer empowered by law (e.g.a notaire) in the place where he officiates

acte sous seing privé - private agreement in writing with no witnesses (the pre-sale agreement)

acte de vente - a conveyance or transfer of land (sometimes referred to as acte d'achat)

arrhes - sum paid in advance by the purchaser, forfeited if purchaser withdraws or double the amount refunded if the vendor withdraws

banque de consignation - the bank where the notaire places the deposits, with no interest accruing to either party or the notaire

cadastre - local town planning register recording details of land-holdings

certificat d'urbanisme - zoning certificate (equivalent to a local authority search)

charges - maintenance charges on a property (e.g. water, electricity)

compromis de vente - contract for sale and purchase of land

condition suspensive - conditional terms stated in the pre-sale agreement (e.g. the acquiring of a loan, the gaining of a positive zoning certificate)

conseil syndical - the condominium committee elected by the owners to act as a "liaison" between the co - propiété and the Syndic.

conservation des hypothèques - mortgage/land registry

constructible - land which is designated for building under local planning scheme

contract de réservation - the purchase contract used for purchase "on plan" (sometimes called contract préliminaire)

co-Propriétairés - all of the apartment owners in the condominium facility.

droit de succession/donation - inheritance/gift tax

EDF/GDF - The state utilities: Electricité de France, Gaz de France

enregistrement (droits d') - registration of the title of ownership (following of which are the payment of transfer duties)

expédition- the certified copy of a notarial document showing the date of its registration and the registration duty paid

expert foncier - professional to check on the state and value of the property (usually an architect)

expertiser - to value a property

FNAIM - Federation Nationale des Agents Immobilier -national association of estate agents, providing a compensation fund for defaulting agents

géomètre - surveyor appointed by the notaire to certify the dimensions of the property according to the cadastre

HT - hors taxe - not including sales tax

hypothèque - mortgage -where the property is used as security for the loan

immobilière - real estate agent

indivision - joint-ownership

jouissance - right of possession, which must occur simultaneously with the transfer of ownership

les charge mensuel - the monthly payments paid by the owner for the operation and maintenance of the facility

loi scrivener - the law protecting borrowers from French lenders and sellers on French property purchases in all cases other than a purchase on plan

mandat de recherche - private agreement giving power to estate agent to look for property

offre d'achat/de vente - an offer to buy or sell property which is not itself a binding contract

parties communes - common parts of buildings

parties privatives - parts of the building restricted to the private use of the owner

permis de construire - planning permission

plan de financement - financing scheme

réservation - the deposit paid in a contract de réservation

sous seing privé - a negotiated agreement between the buyer and seller, if drawn up by a French Estate Agent, or a Compromis de Vente, if prepared by a Notaire

syndic - the managing agent who is responsible for managing the facility and is also the regulator of relationships between the owners, material and service suppliers, and the insurance company responsible for the 10-year "building defects liability insurance."

TTC - toutes taxes comprise - including sales tax

TVA - taxe sur la valeur ajoutée - value added tax

tantiéme - proportion of the common parts of a copropriété owned jointly with other apartment owners

taxe d'habitation - rate levied on the occupation of property

taxe fonciére - local tax on the ownership of property

testament - a will

tontine - joint ownership