Compromis de Vente Cooling Off Period

You have just signed a compromis de vente, handed over a deposit of 5% to 10% of the purchase price, and committed to buying a property in France. The next ten days are the only window in which you can walk away without losing a single euro — no justification required, no penalty, full deposit refund within 21 days.

This 10-day cooling-off period (delai de retractation), established by the Loi SRU (Solidarite et Renouvellement Urbains) and extended from seven days by the Macron Law in August 2015, is one of the strongest buyer protections in European property law. But the rules governing when the clock starts, how it runs, and how you exercise it are precise. Foreign buyers who miscalculate by even a single day lose the protection entirely and face a binding contract they may no longer want.

When the Clock Starts

The 10-day countdown begins on the day immediately following the first presentation of the registered notification containing the fully signed compromis de vente. The method of delivery determines the start date:

Registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt (Lettre Recommandee avec Accuse de Reception — LRAR). The countdown begins the day after the first attempted delivery by the postal service, not the day you actually sign for it. If you are abroad and the letter sits at the post office uncollected, the clock is already running.

Electronic registered delivery (lettre recommandee electronique — LRE). The countdown begins the day after the electronic notification is sent to your registered email address.

Hand delivery by the notaire. If the notaire hands you the signed contract in person at their office, the countdown begins the following day.

This matters enormously for foreign buyers. If you signed the compromis in France but returned home to the UK or the US, and the registered mail containing the final signed copies is delivered to a French address you no longer occupy, the 10 days begin running the day after the first attempted delivery — regardless of whether you know the letter arrived.

How the 10 Days Are Counted

The 10 days are continuous calendar days. Weekends and French public holidays are included in the count. However, if the final day (day 10) falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or official French public holiday, the deadline is legally extended to the next available working day.

Example timeline:

• Day 0 (Friday, June 5): Registered mail containing the signed compromis is first presented at your address.
• Day 1 (Saturday, June 6): Countdown begins. Weekends are included.
• Day 10 (Monday, June 15): Deadline to send withdrawal notice. If June 15 were a Sunday, the deadline would extend to Tuesday, June 16.

How to Withdraw

To exercise the right to withdraw, you must send a formal written notice of withdrawal (lettre de retractation) via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. The letter must be postmarked before midnight on the final day of the 10-day period.

The notice does not need to include any reason for withdrawal. You do not need to prove seller fault, financing difficulties, or any defect in the property. The right is absolute and unconditional for non-professional individual buyers of residential real estate.

A simple letter is sufficient:

Objet: Retractation — Compromis de vente du [date], portant sur le bien situe a [property address]

Madame, Monsieur le Notaire,

Je soussigne(e) [your name], demeurant a [your address], declare par la presente exercer mon droit de retractation conformement a l'article L. 271-1 du Code de la construction et de l'habitation.

Fait a [city], le [date]

Signature

If you are withdrawing from outside France, use the international registered mail service of your national postal carrier. The postmark date is what counts, not the delivery date.

Deposit Refund

Upon valid withdrawal within the 10-day period, the notaire must refund your deposit in full, without any deductions, fees, or administrative charges, within 21 days of receiving the withdrawal notification. No penalty is due to the seller or the estate agent.

If the notaire fails to refund within 21 days, the deposit accrues interest at the legal rate from day 22 onward.

After the 10 Days: When You Can Still Exit

Once the cooling-off period expires, the compromis de vente becomes binding. However, you are not necessarily locked in. The suspensive clauses (conditions suspensives) in the contract provide additional exit routes:

Mortgage refusal. If the compromis includes a condition suspensive d'obtention de pret (mortgage suspensive clause) and your financing is refused by the bank, you can exit the contract and recover your deposit — provided you applied for a loan matching the exact parameters specified in the clause (amount, maximum rate, duration) and can produce the written refusal letters from the lending institutions.

Planning permission failure. If the purchase was contingent on obtaining authorization for specific works and the local mairie refuses the application.

Pre-emption exercise. If a public body (commune, department, or SAFER for agricultural land) exercises its statutory right to purchase the property at your agreed price.

Non-fulfillment of any other suspensive condition specified in the contract (clear title, absence of undisclosed easements, etc.).

If none of these conditions are triggered and you attempt to withdraw after the cooling-off period, the consequences are severe: you forfeit your entire deposit (typically 5% to 10% of the purchase price) to the seller. The seller may also sue for forced execution of the sale (execution forcee) and additional damages.

Common Traps for Foreign Buyers

Relying on international postal delivery times. If you return to the UK or the US after signing, the 10-day clock starts when the French postal service attempts delivery at your registered address — not when the letter reaches your home country. Buyers who assume they have extra time because of international mail delays lose the protection.

Signing at the agent's office without notaire oversight. A compromis can be signed sous seing prive (under private seal) at the estate agent's office. This is legal, but the cooling-off notification procedures are less controlled than when a notaire handles the process. Confirm in writing exactly how and when the cooling-off notification will be sent.

Multiple buyers with different notification dates. If two people are buying jointly, each receives their own notification. The cooling-off period runs independently for each buyer from the date of their respective notification. If one buyer's letter arrives a day later, their deadline is one day later than their co-buyer's.

For a complete walkthrough of the compromis de vente — including which suspensive clauses to include, how the deposit works, and what happens at each stage from preliminary contract through to the final acte authentique — the Buying Property in France — Expat Guide covers the full legal process for foreign buyers.

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