The moment an offer is accepted on a French property, the first cash call arrives. It is not the notaire’s fees and it is not the down payment on the mortgage. It is the séquestre — the security deposit lodged when the preliminary contract is signed.

Buyers arriving from other markets often find this stage unsettling. A significant sum leaves your account months before you own anything, and the legal vocabulary around it is unfamiliar. In practice, French law protects this money unusually well. Here is what to expect.

How much is required?

The market convention is 5% to 10% of the purchase price, most commonly 10% on a promesse de vente and 5% on a compromis de vente. On a €600,000 property that means €30,000 to €60,000 committed at signature.

There is one point that surprises almost everyone: no French law requires a deposit at all. Case law simply holds that it must be less than the sale price. The percentage is commercial custom, not statute — which has an important practical consequence, addressed below.

The deposit is not an additional cost. It is an advance on the purchase price and is credited in full at completion. On that €600,000 purchase with a €60,000 deposit, you transfer €540,000 plus fees on the day of signing the acte de vente.

Is it negotiable?

Yes — more often than buyers assume, because the deposit exists to serve the seller’s interests rather than to satisfy a legal requirement.

The seller is being asked to take the property off the market for two to three months while you arrange finance. The deposit is their compensation for that risk, and it is a proxy for how serious you are. Anything that reduces the seller’s perceived risk therefore strengthens your case for reducing the deposit.

In practice, three arguments carry weight. A mortgage pre-approval or accord de principe already in hand demonstrates that your financing condition is a formality rather than a gamble. A short, well-defined completion timetable limits the period the seller is exposed. And in a calmer local market, a seller with few competing offers has less leverage.

We regularly see deposits negotiated to 5% on a promesse, and occasionally to 2% or 3% on higher-value transactions or where the buyer’s file is exceptionally strong. It is always worth raising through the agent before the contract is drafted — not afterwards.

Non-resident buyers should flag their situation early: international transfers take time, and anti-money-laundering checks on funds arriving from outside the SEPA zone can add days.

Where does the money actually go?

Not to the seller. The deposit is held in escrow, and where it is held matters.

The safer route, and the one we recommend, is the notaire’s regulated escrow account. Notaires are public officers holding client funds in supervised accounts, and the money can only be released in accordance with the terms of the contract.

The alternative is escrow with the estate agent, who must hold a specific financial guarantee under the loi Hoguet. This is legitimate but less common on higher-value transactions, and it is entirely reasonable to insist on the notaire.

One security point deserves emphasis. Fraudsters routinely intercept email and substitute their own bank details for the notaire’s. Never wire funds on the strength of an emailed attachment alone. Telephone the notaire’s office on a number you have sourced independently and confirm the IBAN character by character before releasing anything.

When do you get it back?

This is where French law becomes genuinely protective of the buyer. There are three principal routes to recovering the deposit in full.

The cooling-off period. Every non-professional buyer has an unconditional right of withdrawal for ten calendar days after receiving the signed preliminary contract. No reason is required and no penalty applies. The deposit must be returned within 21 days of written notice of withdrawal.

Failure of a condition suspensive. The preliminary contract will contain suspensive conditions — most importantly the mortgage condition. If your loan application is properly pursued and refused within the agreed period, the contract falls away and the deposit is returned in full, without deduction, on the same 21-day timeline. Other conditions commonly cover the commune’s pre-emption right, planning searches, servitudes and the absence of undisclosed charges over the title.

Seller default. If the seller withdraws, you recover the deposit and may have a claim for damages besides.

The critical caveat: you must pursue the loan application in good faith. A buyer who fails to apply, or who deliberately submits an application designed to be refused, risks losing the protection of the condition.

Compromis or promesse — the difference matters

The two preliminary contracts allocate risk differently, and the deposit behaves differently under each.

A compromis de vente is a mutual undertaking: both parties commit to the sale, subject to the conditions. A promesse unilatérale de vente is a one-sided option — the seller commits, and you buy the right to decide. Under a promesse, the sum lodged is technically an indemnité d’immobilisation, typically 10%, and it compensates the seller for holding the property. If you walk away after the cooling-off period for a reason not covered by a suspensive condition, that sum is generally forfeit.

Under both contracts the ten-day withdrawal right and the protection of the suspensive conditions apply. The difference bites only when a buyer changes their mind for reasons the contract does not cover.

Before you sign

Read the mortgage condition twice. Check the amount, the rate ceiling and the maximum term it specifies — if you later need to borrow more, or for longer, than the clause permits, a refusal may not trigger your protection. Check the deadline, which by law must be at least one month and in practice should be 45 to 60 days. And never accept pressure to waive the loan condition without independent advice.

Talk to BlueSky

Blue Sky Finance helps international buyers arrive at the negotiating table with financing already in hand — which is frequently what makes a lower deposit and a tighter mortgage condition achievable. We can provide an early indication of borrowing capacity before you make an offer, and work with your notaire to make sure the suspensive conditions in your contract match the loan you will actually be arranging. Contact our team to get started.