Can UK citizens still buy property in France after Brexit in 2026?

Yes, British citizens can still buy real estate in France in 2026. Brexit has not ended their right to buy a house, an apartment, or a second home in France. French law does not prohibit the purchase of property based on British nationality.

If you’ve spent even a little time on British expat forums since 2021, you’ve likely come across someone convinced that Brexit had put an end to their dream of buying a house in the Dordogne, a chalet in the Alps, or a French château. That’s not the case. What has changed since Brexit are primarily the conditions surrounding the purchase, particularly residency requirements, financing, and administrative procedures.

For non-resident British buyers, accessing a French mortgage can be more challenging than it was before Brexit. Banks often require a down payment of about 30% of the purchase price, compared to about 20–25% for certain European profiles, with financing terms that may also vary depending on the borrower’s situation.

This guide therefore explains what has actually changed for British citizens wishing to buy property in France since Brexit and what has not changed: the right to purchase real estate, the options for staying there, access to French financing, and the ability to complete certain procedures remotely, without having to travel to France at every step.

Key Points to Remember

• Ownership rights are unchanged: any foreign national, from any country, can buy property in France. Brexit changed residency and banking rules, not the right to own.

• Staying in your French home isn't automatic past 90 days: short visits fall under the Schengen 90/180-day rule, and anything longer requires a long-stay visa.

• Financing got more demanding, not impossible: French banks generally ask non-resident buyers, including Britons, for a 30% down payment and more paperwork, under the same 35% income to debt ratio cap that applies to every borrower.

What actually changed for British buyers after Brexit?

Before 2021, a British buyer in France was, legally speaking, just another EU citizen. Since January 1st, 2021, British nationals are treated as third-country nationals for residency and immigration purposes, per UK government guidance. That reclassification affects how long you can stay, what visa you need, and how a French bank assesses your file. It does not affect your right to buy: purchasing real estate in France has never depended on nationality or EU membership, whether the buyer is British, Canadian, or Japanese.

The one group that kept a lighter regime is those who were already living in France before the cutoff date. If you moved to France before January 1, 2021 and have lived there continuously since, you likely hold, or should hold, a Withdrawal Agreement Residence Permit (WARP), which preserves broadly EU-equivalent rights. Everyone who arrives after that date falls under the standard non-EU rules.

The 90/180 rule: how long can Brits stay in their French home?

This rule can be easily forgotten, but is important for second-home owners. As non-EU nationals, British citizens can spend up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the entire Schengen area, not just France, without needing a visa. Owning the property doesn't add extra days: the clock runs the same whether you're staying in a hotel or your own house.

If you want to spend more time than that, whether spread across the year or in one long stretch, you need a long-stay visa. The relevant one for most second-home owners is the "visiteur" long-stay visa (VLS-TS), which requires proof of stable income or savings and private health insurance, and does not allow you to work in France. It's a deliberate trade-off: more time in the country in exchange for demonstrating you won't be a financial burden on it, and won't be competing for a French job.

How do French banks calculate borrowing power when your income is in GBP?

rench banks apply the same legal debt-ratio ceiling to everyone: total monthly loan payments, insurance included, cannot exceed 35% of net income, a rule set by the High Council for Financial Stability (HCSF). Back home, there's no direct equivalent. UK lenders run an individual affordability check instead, stress-testing whether you could still pay if rates rose over at least 5 years, per the FCA's MCOB rules, with no fixed ratio attached. Separately, the Bank of England caps how many mortgages a lender can issue at 4.5 times income or more, currently no more than 15% of that lender's new loans a year, rather than capping any single borrower's ratio. So a British buyer used to being assessed on affordability and a lender-wide quota is walking into a French system that instead applies one fixed ceiling to every borrower, resident or not.

British buyers also carry currency risk that euro-zone buyers don't: you earn and save in pounds, but the purchase price, notary fees, and mortgage payments are all in euros. If the pound weakens against the euro between agreeing a price and completing the sale, often weeks or months later, the same euro amount costs more in sterling terms. Some brokers and banks offer forward contracts or rate locks to fix the exchange rate in advance; it's worth asking about this before committing to a price rather than assuming today's rate will hold until completion.

The pound/euro difference can also cause certain banks to apply a “haircut” to foreign income. Most apply a currency risk discount of 10% to 20% to GBP income before running the affordability math. The logic being that a mortgage can run 15 to 20 years, and exchange rates move a lot over that time. If the pound becomes worth less than it currently is, the banks will have insured that you can still pay your monthly dues.

French resident vs. non-resident: how do mortgage conditions actually compare?

What differs for non-residents is everything around the 35% income ceiling. Down payments for non-resident buyers, British ones included, generally run 30% of the purchase price, compared to closer to 10% for a French resident. On a €300,000 property, that's €90,000 in cash before notary fees even enter the picture. Money can't buy love, but it can buy a stone house in Provence, as long as 30% of it shows up in cash first.

Expect more documentation too: banks typically ask for around 12 months of bank statements from non-resident applicants, against roughly 3 months for residents, plus certified French translations of foreign income documents. There are many more documents needed to form a complete file, they will be listed out in the FAQ below.

On rates, the average French mortgage (residents and non-residents) stood at 3.40% in August 2026, per Pretto's August barometer. That's noticeably below what's on offer at home, even with non-residents averaging rates of 3.90%: UK fixed rates were running around 4.3 to 4.5% for both 2-year and 5-year deals in early August 2026, according to Moneyfacts. Rates are set by the loan's term and the bank's own risk assessment of the file, not directly by nationality, but a stronger down payment and cleaner paperwork tend to get better terms in practice.

Wealth tax and other costs to budget for

Non-residents owe French wealth tax on real estate (IFI, impôt sur la fortune immobilière) only on property located in France, and only once net taxable French real estate assets exceed €1.3 million, per impots.gouv.fr. Below that threshold, nothing is due. Cross it, though, and the tax is calculated on the full progressive scale from zero, not just the amount above €1.3 million: 0% up to €800,000, then 0.5% on the portion between €800,000 and €1.3 million, then 0.7% between €1.3 million and €2.57 million, and so on. A relief mechanism softens the impact for anyone landing just above the €1.3 million line, up to €1.4 million.

Note that this article is aimed towards people who have tax-residency in the UK, or generally not in France. If you're a French tax-resident, you will get better rates, longer loan terms, and a lower deposit. If this is you, you should read this article: How do mortgages work in France in 2026? The complete guide instead.

Notary fees are the other major upfront cost: roughly 7 to 8% of the price for an existing property, mostly taxes and registration duties rather than the notary's own fee, according to Notaires de France. There will also be the ongoing fee of borrower's insurance, which is mandatory in practice.

This table is a breakdown of how the loan is calculated:

Buying without moving to France: remote signing via power of attorney

None of the above requires getting on a plane. Since a 2020 decree, French notaries can carry out authenticated powers of attorney (procuration) by videoconference, according to Notaires de France. The notary reads the document live over video, then sends an electronic signature link; you confirm with an SMS code. If the notary hasn't verified your identity in person within the past ten years, an additional remote identity check (via IDnow) is required before signing. From the initial offer to the final signature, a British buyer can complete a French purchase entirely from home.

How does the timeline compare between the UK and France?

A UK purchase, from offer accepted to completion, typically takes 12 to 16 weeks, according to the HomeOwners Alliance, depending on survey results and how quickly searches come back. That's not far off the French timeline: a British buyer should expect 6 to 12 weeks from application to a formal loan offer, plus a mandatory 10-day reflection period before accepting it, plus the notary signing itself, landing at roughly 3 to 4 months from signed compromis de vente to keys in hand. The two processes aren't identical in what causes the delay (UK conveyancing is bottlenecked by searches and chains, the French timeline by the financing contingency and statutory cooling-off), but the total wait is similar.

Financing your project from the UK

Brexit has changed the administrative procedures involved in buying real estate in France, but it hasn’t made the process impossible. Putting together the paperwork on your own, rushing to translate documents, and trying to figure out which banks require what and in what order—that’s a very “Mr. Bean” way to buy a house abroad: technically possible, sometimes chaotic, but much simpler with someone who has a thorough understanding of the system, including all the administrative formalities.

Brexit changed the paperwork around buying in France, not the ability to do it. Assembling that file solo, translating documents on the fly, guessing which bank wants what in what order, is a very Mr. Bean way to buy a house abroad: technically possible, occasionally chaotic, and a lot smoother with someone who already speaks the system fluently, paperwork included. At Opeongo Finance, we help British buyers, as non-residents and expatriates, put together an application French banks will actually approve, factoring in the down payment, the documentation, and the currency question from the start. Whether you're still researching or already have a property in mind, let's discuss your project, with no obligation.

Updated on August 12, 2026, by Paul Desjardins, mortgage broker specializing in international clients (ORIAS No. 25 010 121).

Paul Desjardins assists expatriate buyers, non-residents, and international investors with their real estate financing projects in France. More than 60% of his clients live abroad: he advises them in French and English, from the initial review of their application through to the signing at the notary’s office. He writes practical guides for Opeongo Finance aimed at international clients who want to understand the rules of French mortgage lending and secure financing from abroad.