Buyer must compensate sellers after trying to change bid for French apartment

A house-hunter has been punished in court for trying to reduce the price on a property after already making an offer. 

The man, named as Mr X, was interested in buying a traditional Haussman-style apartment in Paris, from sellers identified only as Mr and Mrs Y. 

Mr X made an offer on the apartment, which Mr and Mrs Y accepted. 

While the notaries for both parties were drafting the sales agreement, Mr X paused his offer and tried to renegotiate the price. 

He claimed he had not been given all the information about the property when he made his initial offer. 

There were, he said, “discoveries” that could require extra work on the property, leading to additional costs. 

He tried to negotiate the price “substantially” downwards, and said he would not sign the compromis de vente if the sellers did not agree to the lower price. 

Mr and Mrs Y refused to accept the lower offer, claiming it was a tactic on the part of Mr X to secure the apartment for a cheaper price. 

The sales agreement was not signed, so Mr X took the couple to court to request the forced sale of the apartment. He cited a “hidden defect” (vice caché) and fraud. 

He had the court summons published in the land registry, which provides information on property purchases and sales, in a bid to prevent the sellers from signing with another buyer. 

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The court ended up ruling in favour of the sellers, Mr and Mrs Y. It found that the initial offer accepted by the sellers did not constitute a sale, so “there was no contract between the sellers and the prospective buyer”. 

In the absence of a contract, it said, there was no “hidden defect” or fraud.

It ordered Mr X to pay €1,000 each in damages to Mr and Mrs Y, as well as €4,000 in legal costs. 

The sellers had, in the meantime, found another buyer. 

When buying a property in France, the first step is to make an offer, either verbally or by other informal means such as text message. 

In general, if a buyer pulls out after making such an offer, there are unlikely to be legal consequences. 

And as in the above example, the same also applies in the other direction; there is little legal recourse for the buyer if the seller decides to sell to someone else at this stage. 

After the initial offer, the next step is to sign a pre-sale contract, called the compromis (or promesse) de vente. 

Buyers can be liable for even more costs if they pull out further into the process. 

A man was ordered to pay €37,000 in late 2024 after pulling out of a property purchase after signing the promesse de vente.