Buying a new-build apartment in Aix-en-Provence: a guide for international buyers

To buy a new-build apartment in Aix-en-Provence before it is finished, you use a French sale known as VEFA (vente en l'état futur d'achèvement, or off-plan sale). The law frames each stage: an optional but recommended reservation contract with a capped deposit, a 10-day withdrawal period, a deed signed before a notary, payments tied to construction progress, then delivery and statutory warranties. This guide explains them in general terms for international buyers, from official and notarial sources consulted on 7 October 2026.

What VEFA is and what you are buying

Service-Public.fr, the French government's information portal, defines VEFA, also called a sale on plan, as a contract by which a buyer buys real estate that is to be built or is under construction. Under article 1601-3 of the Civil Code, the buyer acquires the rights over the land immediately, becomes owner of later works as they are carried out, and pays the price as they progress.

In practice you buy an apartment described by documents. The deed must describe the property, state the price, the payment terms and the delivery deadline, and include proof of the financial guarantee; plans, a descriptive notice and the co-ownership regulations are annexed to it (Service-Public.fr; Construction and Housing Code, CCH, article L261-11). Until the building is finished, they are your only reference.

“New” also has a tax meaning: according to notaires.fr, new housing is sold by the developer-builder before completion, or just completed and not yet inhabited. That status explains the lower acquisition costs described below.

How buying off-plan works, step by step

Service-Public.fr lists five stages: advance information, a reservation contract, notification of the draft deed, signature of the definitive deed, and delivery. The table adds the legal markers; the actual dates come from your contract.

The reservation contract, the deposit and the loan condition

The reservation contract is not mandatory, but Service-Public.fr recommends it because it sets the conditions of the sale and of the delivery. Under CCH article L261-15, the seller reserves a property for you in return for a deposit paid into a special account; the funds are unavailable, non-transferable and not attachable until the sale is concluded. The deposit is capped (art. R261-28) at 5% of the provisional price if the deed is expected within one year, 2% within two years, and nothing beyond: on an illustrative €100,000, at most €5,000 or €2,000. Article R261-31 returns the deposit in defined cases, including a sale not concluded in time by the seller, a final price more than 5% above the provisional price, or a planned loan not obtained or 10% short. Reimbursement is due within three months of a justified request.

A non-professional buyer may withdraw within ten days, counted from the day after the first presentation of the letter notifying the contract; a notarial source adds that the deposit is then refunded without penalty. If you borrow, the contract is concluded subject to obtaining the loan, a condition valid for at least one month from signature; if it fails, advance payments are immediately and fully refundable (Consumer Code, art. L313-41). Read the actual period in your contract.

The deed and the timeline

The seller must notify the draft deed at least one month before signing; the deed is signed before a notary, on paper or in electronic form (Service-Public.fr). There is no standard duration: the delivery deadline is set by the contract and written into the deed, and a notarial office gives 18 to 24 months of construction for an apartment building, as an indication only (publication of 1 July 2024). For 59 Cézanne, the delivery calendar is available on request. For a French-language walk-through, see our guide VEFA: steps and guarantees (in French).

Payments by construction stage

CCH article R261-14 caps payments and deposits, taken together, at 35% of the price when the foundations are complete, 70% when the building is weathertight, and 95% when it is completed. The balance is payable when the property is made available to the buyer, and may be placed in escrow if the buyer disputes its conformity with the contract.

These are ceilings, not a calendar: your contract sets the actual schedule, and no payment may precede a condition precedent. Because funds are called in instalments, settle currency and transfer arrangements with the notary and your bank in advance.

Buyer protections before and after delivery

During construction: the financial guarantee

Before the sale, the seller must provide either a financial guarantee of completion (GFA) or a financial guarantee of reimbursement of the payments made if the contract is terminated for failure to complete (CCH, art. L261-10-1). A buyer can invoke a completion guarantee if the seller lacks the funds to finish the building; the guarantor may then have an administrator appointed to have the works carried out. The guarantor is a bank, an authorised financial institution, an approved insurer or a mutual guarantee society (art. R261-17). The deed must include proof of the guarantee: ask which one applies, who the guarantor is, and request the attestation.

At delivery: handover and reservations

Delivery is the buyer taking possession, with a joint report that may record reservations about defects (Service-Public.fr). The 5% balance then becomes payable; if defects are recorded, the buyer may place it with a third party instead of paying the seller. If delivery is late, Service-Public.fr lists remedies depending on the case, from refusing to pay the balance to seeking cancellation of the sale or damages. Nothing can be promised in advance.

After delivery: statutory warranties

Warranties run from the reception of the works, when the seller, as project owner, accepts them with or without reservations (Civil Code, art. 1792-6), not from the handover of the keys. The seller is bound by the obligations that builders owe under articles 1792 to 1792-3 (art. 1646-1).

Service-Public.fr also states that sellers and developers must take out construction-damage insurance (assurance dommages-ouvrage) before works start, that it passes to a new owner within ten years of reception, and that the deed must mention it. Before reserving, ask in writing for the guarantee attestation, plans, descriptive notice, co-ownership regulations, delivery deadline and payment schedule.

What it costs: notary fees, VAT and property tax

Notary fees. According to notaires.fr, the buyer pays taxes and fees on top of the price. For new housing they amount to 2 to 3% of the selling price, against approximately 7 or 8% for existing property (English page, 25 November 2025): when the seller is subject to VAT, the fees are limited to the cadastral taxes and the notary's emoluments. On an illustrative price of €100,000, 2 to 3% is €2,000 to €3,000; the notary calculates the exact figure.

VAT. For new housing bought from a professional, impots.gouv.fr gives the standard VAT rate as 20% (page modified 7 January 2026). A reduced rate of 5.5% can apply to a main residence in certain urban-renewal (ANRU) and priority-neighbourhood (QPV) areas, under income conditions.

Property tax. New buildings can be exempt from property tax on built property (taxe foncière) for the two years following completion, if declared within 90 days of the end of the works (impots.gouv.fr, pages modified 29 January and 17 July 2026). The commune or its intercommunal body can remove the exemption or reduce it to a rate between 40% and 90% (page modified 17 July 2026). We could not confirm the decision of Aix-en-Provence in an official source, so it should not be assumed. More detail in our guide notary fees, VAT and property tax on new-build (in French).

Buying as a non-resident

General information from notarial and tax-authority pages; a notary confirms what applies to your case.

The notary and the source of funds

A Notaires de France publication (4 January 2020) states that a foreign buyer of French property will need to consult a notary. The notary examines the buyer's nationality, country of residence, personal situation and matrimonial regime if married; French law governs the purchase of a property located in France (Notaires de France English page, updated 18 September 2023). Efficience (16 September 2025) adds that the notary asks whether you buy in your own name or through a company, and that transfers must be traceable and justified. Notaries must check the source of funds and may report serious doubts to TRACFIN, the French financial intelligence unit. The English page and Efficience both note that succession can follow the law of the buyer's country of residence: raise it early.

Signing from abroad

You can be represented under a power of attorney, and since 21 November 2020 a notary can receive an authentic one remotely, by video-conference (Notaires de France, page of 30 August 2024). These sources do not say which form suits a VEFA purchase or how the deed itself is signed: the notary in charge decides. Ask early how documents will be sent, in which language, and whether a translation is available.

Tax depends on how you use the property

The tax administration's page for non-residents who own property in France (modified 10 May 2023) notes that:

• local taxes, including property taxes, are handled by the tax office of the property's location, whatever the owner's country of residence, and occupancy is declared each year;
• income from property located in France is taxable in France, as property income or as industrial and commercial profits;
• subject to international conventions, net French real-estate assets above €1.3 million can bring the real-estate wealth tax (IFI).

A resale has its own procedures for non-residents: Service-Public.fr (page verified 15 April 2026) adds that a tax representative must be appointed when the gain is subject to tax, with exemptions in some cases. The tax administration advises owners living abroad to contact the tax authority of their country of residence about their obligations there. No rates are given here: personalised tax advice is necessary. French-language version: buying in Aix-en-Provence when you live abroad (in French).

Visa and residence

A notarial office (Barbieri, undated page) states that buying property in France requires no visa or residence permit and does not automatically give a right of residence. We found this on that page only; residence rules are a separate subject.

Financing a purchase from abroad

A notary-office publication (Poltorak Notaires, 27 August 2025) states that non-residents can obtain French mortgages; whether a bank lends to you, and on what terms, is for the bank to say. If you borrow, the loan condition and deposit-refund rules above apply. Questions to ask your bank before you reserve:

• Does it lend to non-resident buyers, and for what share of the price?
• In which currency are the loan and transfers made, and what exchange costs apply?
• Which proofs of income does it accept, and must they be translated?
• What security over the property does it require?
• How long will its answer take, compared with the loan-condition period in your reservation contract?

No rate or borrowing ceiling is quoted here: they depend on the lender and on your situation. See also financing a new-build apartment (in French).

See also: Luxury apartments in Aix-en-Provence: a buyer's guide.

General information, as at the date of writing (October 2026). It is not personalised legal, tax or financial advice: consult a notary, a tax adviser or a wealth-management adviser. English renderings of French legal texts are our own summaries, not official translations.