Our practical sheets

Our practical sheets

The deed of sale

Legal documents in a real estate sale

The sale is a contract which is formed by the exchange of consents between the seller and the buyer, both on the property sold and on the price. To ensure the legal security of the buyer, and to allow him to oppose to everyone his right of ownership on the property, it is necessary to publish the sale in the real estate file, held by the service in charge of the land registration.

This publication can only be carried out if the deed is drawn up in the authentic form, by a ministerial officer: the notary. Thus, once the preliminary sales agreement has been drawn up, the notary will carry out all the formalities required to draw up thedeed of sale.

The notary who draws up thenotarial deed of sale first carries out a certain number of checks:

  • - identity, capacity, marital status of the seller and the buyer
  • - the situation of the property with regard to town planning regulations, the land registry, mortgages and the origin of the property.

The notary also carries out the formalities that may be necessary to purge the pre-emptive rights of the municipality(Sheet 12-1: Urban pre-emptive rights), of a local authority, and of the tenant(Sheet 12-2: Tenantpre-emptive rights).

When all the conditions are met, the notary has the seller and the buyer sign thedeed of sale. He then carries out the publicity measures with the real estate file and pays the taxes relating to the sale(transfer duties, capital gains, etc.).