To buy a house in France
Practical advice
When you move to France and buy a house, a whole new world opens up – not only of beautiful landscapes and French culture, but also of practical systems and rules that work differently than those we know from Denmark.
We have been through the process ourselves and have spent many hours finding information, understanding the public system, and getting a handle on everything from property taxes to insurance. It has been an educational journey – and we would like to share that knowledge with you.
On this page you will find our experiences, tips and guides, which hopefully can make your transition a little easier and save you some of the legwork we have gone through ourselves. We hope you find inspiration and help – and maybe even the courage to take the leap yourself.
Welcome – and happy reading!
Current
When taking over a home in France, the new owner is responsible for signing up for electricity supply. This is not something that happens automatically when the property is transferred.
How to do it:
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The primary electricity supplier in France is EDF (Électricité de France), which is state-owned and covers most of the country.
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You can create an account with EDF online via their website edf.fr or contact them by phone, and the great thing is that they have a phone line where they speak English.
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You will need:
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Address of the property
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Date of acquisition
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Meter number (numéro de compteur) – found on the electricity meter - 14 digit number
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Meter reading if it is not an electronic meter that automatically sends a message to the electricity company
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A bank account number and it can be a Danish SEPA account to set up a payment service.
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Forsikring
When you take over a house in France, it is important to be aware that you must bring documentation that the house is insured – already when you hand over the keys. This is not something that is automatically arranged, as you may know from Denmark.
We contacted both a French insurance company and a Danish insurance broker based in France. The price was pretty much the same, but the experience was very different. With the French company, everything was done in French, and it was difficult to get clarity on what the insurance actually covered. The Danish insurance broker, on the other hand, was able to explain to us exactly how we were covered in relation to French rules and what we should pay particular attention to.
It gave us both security and overview – and we highly recommend using an insurance broker who knows both the Danish and French systems.
Bank account
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Mange banker kræver, at du er bosiddende i Frankrig, før du kan åbne en konto.
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Det kan derfor være vanskeligt at få en konto før skødet er underskrevet, hvilket skaber en klassisk “hønen og ægget”-situation, især når du skal have forsikring og betale regninger.
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Digitale banker som Wise eller Revolut kan være et alternativ, da de ofte tillader oprettelse uden lokal adresse og tilbyder SEPA-kompatible eurokonti.
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Start med en SEPA-overførselsløsning fra din danske bank, indtil du er officielt bosiddende.
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Når du er bosiddende, kan du vælge mellem store franske banker som BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole eller La Banque Postale, men alligevel kan det godt være noget bøvl. Du kan bl.a. blive mødt med at skulle deponere et beløb. Vi endte med at bruge "Monabanq", som er en on-line bank og som også har en app.
