Absolutely everything you want to know about buying a house in France.

I have been publishing my book, which is an A-Z on the subject, letter by letter....here we have all the Ds....

DECLARATION PRÉALABLE
Advance declaration of works. A simplified planning application for small projects such as new window and door openings, roof lights, balconies and roof terraces, covered terraces of less than 20 m2, new outbuildings of less than 20m2, conservatories of less than 20m2 and swimming pools.
You obtain the simple application form at the Mairie and fill it in, with brief details of the size type and style of project, materials to be used. The location and appearance of the project you indicate by supplying a photograph of the site of work with a tracing paper overlay outlining the effect of that work (eg new window opening). You also need to supply photos close up and distant to describe the setting and a copy of the cadastral plan. A plan showing the position of the buildings and their distances from boundaries will also be required. Deposit the complete dossier (make sure all requested info is given) at the Mairie and await final approval which is given by the Mairie itself usually within one month.

DEPARTMENTS
Metropolitan France is divided into 95 departments ( plus 6 overseas departments), numbered in alphabetical order according to their names, most of which are taken from the main rivers crossing their territory (e.g. Ain 1, Dordogne 24, Lot et Garonne 47, Paris 75, Val d’Oise 95).
Each department has an administrative centre known as the prefecture (or county town) e.g. Agen for Lot et Garonne. The prefecture is responsible for the administration of schools, highways, infrastructure, local taxation, car registry, residence permits etc. Decisions are made via the < conseil général> county council, which is an elected body.
The departments are grouped into 22 administrative regions e.g. Gironde is within the region of Aquitaine.

DAF
Département de l’Agriculture et de la Fôret. All issues to do with farming and forestry are dealt with here. The DAF is usually based at the Perfecture.

DDASS
Direction Départemental des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales
Working alongside the DDE they deal with all issues to do with drainage, sewage treatment and the sanitary condition of houses.

DDE
Direction Départemental de l’Équipment
This is the department’s town planning office. They deal with all planning applications, communal infrastructure, roads, new buildings, zoning for expansion.

DEPOSIT
When you enter into a contract to purchase a property, you will be asked to place a deposit towards the price of the house. This is set freely but traditionally is between 5% - 10% of the price and it is paid directly to the notaire, usually at the time of signing the first contract or at least within 15 days. You may pay by cheque if you already have a French bank account. I think it is preferable for all funds including deposit to be sent by interbank transfer to the notaire. There is a trace of your payment. The notaire must give you a receipt.
This deposit is a) a sign of your goodwill and b) at risk if you default on the contract. If you withdraw from the contract for any reason other than the contract conditions or suspensive clauses then you will lose your deposit (notaire will pay it to vendor). Bear in mind that the aggrieved vendor may also take you to court to force a sale. If the vendor defaults the same rules apply.
However if you withdraw within your 7 day cooling off period, or if one of the suspensive clauses is not met, then the notaire will refund you the deposit and annul the contract.

DEVIS
This is an estimate or quote for work. For example if you have asked a builder to prepare you a quote for renovation work, he will present you with a devis detailing that work and with a price against each item. He will have signed and dated it and when you are happy with it, you should sign and date it and give it back to him, keeping a copy. The quote will usually state the payment stages e.g. 30% on start, 50% when nearly complete, and balance of 20% when the job is fully complete.

Carl’s tips :
Study the devis carefully and ensure that is detailed enough, showing each item of work separately with a price against it and that it shows both supply and fit costs. If not detailed enough, get it re-done.
Ensure he has stamped it with his company stamp, showing SIRET number ( register at chamber of commerce) and detailing his professional indemnity insurance policy.
Ensure that the TVA rate is correct. At the time of writing, major building works to improve old properties is rated at only 5.5% TVA. Non renovation work such as decoration or complete home re-build will be charged at 19.6%
Do get a signed receipt for each stage payment and pay by cheque, writing the cheque number on the receipt.
Do not pay cash under any circumstances.
Do not pay more than the devis unless extra work has been agreed and done.
Never pay the balance until the work is finished to your satisfaction.
Do not sign a by-the-hour devis as you are signing an open cheque without any limits.

DIRECT DEBITING MANDATE (DDM)
UK term for automatic bank payments.
It is advisable even for permanent homes for you to set up DDMs for the payment of your essential services such as water, electricity, telephone. This will avoid problems if you forget to pay any invoices.
When you receive your first bills there will usually be an accompanying DDM . Fill this out with your address and bank account details, attach an RIB and return it to the issuer bearing in mind that the first bill must be accompanied by normal payment by cheque. Your future bills will be statements of your charges together with a date upon which those charges will be automatically debited from your bank account.
When you sell and move away from a property do remember to write to your bank cancelling all DDMs and giving your new address.


DIVORCE
Even if you were married in another country you may agree to divorce in France, under French Law if you are resident here. It is obviously preferable to undertake a divorce by mutual consent as agreeing this between yourselves will save you a lot of time and lawyer’s bills.
Get a recommendation for a solicitor/lawyer < avocat> and preferably one who speaks your language. Go and see the avocat together and take along a court authorised interpreter if needs be. Divorce by mutual consent is fairly straightforward here, and relatively inexpensive. If you are short of money the court may consent to legal aid via an application by the avocat. There is usually only one hearing before a judge at the Tribunal de Grande Instance at the Prefecture of your department. After this a final divorce will be pronounced with all the details with regards to money, property, parental responsibility etc. The whole process takes about six months.
Divorce by fault without mutual consent can be as long, costly and complicated as anywhere else.
An interpreter will help you be fully aware of the detail and meaning of what you are doing.
The governement intends to allow notaires to conduct divorces by mutual agreement as from 2008.

DOMICILE
Your domicile is your home. Your domicile fiscal is your officially recognised principal home. Your fiscal residence. It is not sufficient that you live in France in the only home you have in the world, to become fiscally domiciled (and hence not subject to capital gains tax on the profit of a sale). Since the abolition of the carte de séjour (residence permit) for Europeans we are passing through a period where the subject of residency is rather more vague. To put it most simply, you are fiscally domiciled at your principal residence, only when you are known by the inland revenue in France. Hence, for your home to be regarded as your principal residence you must simply make a declaration of your income at the local tax office CDI at your prefecture. You do this annually usually in April/May for income in the previous calendar year. The income declaration form looks complicated, so get help the first time. There is usually a helpful person at the CDI to advise you.
If you do not earn any money in France, then just put 0 in the relevant slot, sign and return it. You will eventually receive a tax return stating that you are not taxable but that you may be liable to income tax in another country for money earned abroad (eg. your state pension which you receive tax paid in your previous country of residence). Your tax office may at some stage ask you to declare your income earned abroad. If this income is within countries with a double taxation treaty with France, like the UK, then they will not tax you again, but will use the information as part of your Taxe d'Habitation calculation.
This avis d’imposition is a most valuable piece of paper as it proves that you are officially resident in France.
If you declare income in France then you will be subject to income tax following a calculation that would befuddle a nuclear physicist. If in doubt employ an accountant.

Note :
As of 2008 Europeans as well as all other nationals must show that they have sufficient resources to live on and provide evidence of social security or private health cover.


DONATION ENTRE EPOUX
Donation between spouses. One of the forms of donation that you can use to best arrange the inheritance laws relating to your property .
See Inheritance.

DRAINS
Most village and town properties will be connected to a mains drainage sewage system. A document from the Mairie appended to your purchase contract will attest to this. However do satisfy yourself that the property is physically connected to the drains and sewage system as it is not unknown for the Mairie to be incorrect. Many small villages are finally getting around to installing communal sewage treatment plants which will improve things for the environment.
Many overseas buyers are looking for a rural property in France and will come to know the delights of the septic tank drainage system . The contract must state if the property has its own septic tank system and whether the system is functioning and whether it has been inspected by the local authorities. 2006 saw the start of a nationwide campaign to check the standards of septic tank systems and to enforce improvements where necessary. In brief, waste waters from the house will flow into an underground holding tank, ferment and then release clean(er) water to a system of slit pipe drains underground or a in a filter bed.
See Septic Tank Drainage System.

DROIT
This word means law but the most common usage you will encounter is the term droit de….or right of ...

DROITS DE MUTATION.
In this case meaning taxation for the transfer of ownership. When you buy a property you pay the notaire’s costs which are in fact made up of droits de mutation, plus the notaire’s fee making a total averaging 6%-7% of the purchase price for properties over 180 000 €. The costs are more in percentage terms for cheaper properties. The droits de mutation on the purchase of all property over 5 years old in France is currently a set figure of 5.09% (2007) of the net house price. This innocent little figure is made up of several individual taxes which are sometimes detailed in the contract as follows:

% of net house price
Taxe départementale de pubilicité foncière 3.60%
Taxe d’état 0.20%
Taxe communale 1.20%
Frais de régie ( 2.5% of the taxe départementale) 0.09%
TOTAL 5.09%

The balance of your costs of approximately 1.3% is made up of the notaire’s emmoluments, plus stamp duty on the contract, cost of hypothèque, cost of cadastre plus TVA.



DROIT DE PASSAGE
A right of way (ROW) on your own land by a third party (passive) or a right of way that is conferred on you on another’s land (active). Under the heading servitudes in the contract, any rights of way must be fully detailed, showing who has them, where and under what conditions and for how long (usually in perpetuity). For example a contract may detail the droit de passage that a named neighbour has to cross a given portion (e.g. 5 metres wide) of your land using foot, horse or vehicular means of locomotion, at all times and without restriction. This may be to reach a field or well for example. You may also benefit from an active ROW to access your property.

Carl’s tips :
In signing the contract you are agreeing to perpetuate this ROW so be sure you are happy about it. Most ROW are inoffensive and you can accept them. Troublesome ROW have usually been dealt with in the past, but if one persists on your property to be, then see with the notaire if it can be cancelled or deviated.
Not all ROWs are fully documented in the contract, but a phrase may talk about all rights of way that may naturally exist. Check the cadastral plan and if you see a solid line bordered by a parallel dotted line this may denote the presence of a ROW. Ask the notaire to find out what it is before signing any contract.

DROIT D’EAU
Before the coming of the mains water supply (1960s in rural parts) properties were served by private or communal wells, springs, water tanks. Shared water supplies were quite common in villages. It may well be that you have such a former common water source on your property. This will often come with the accompanying droit d’eau meaning that specified people, usually neighbours, have the right to draw water from that source. If you feel that its existence may be troublesome, see if the notaire can get it cancelled as the advent of mains water rendered redundant most of these rights by mutual agreement with the beneficiary.

DROIT DE BAIL
This means literally the cost or rent of a lease or tenancy. Its terms will be detailed in a contract or lease .

DROIT D’ USAGE
A neighbour may have been given a right of usage of a plot of your land or an outbuilding either for an agreed annual sum or for free <à titre gratuit>. These rights are as strong as formal tenancies, and are usually only cancelled by mutual agreement (often with a sweetener, in time honoured fashion).