Repayable-on-death equity release loans open again to non-EU retirees
Products have recently started being offered by bank group again after it paused them in 2019
A reader living in the east of France reported the Banque Populaire refused a prêt viager loan in 2025 on the basis of UK nationality
William Potter/Shutterstock
A French ‘equity release’ loan repayable only from the borrower’s estate after death is once again available to customers of non-EU nationalities, a high street banking group confirms.
The Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE) group, whose member Crédit Foncier was the sole provider of the prêt viager hypothécaire until it closed in 2019, is offering the loans again – and confirms they are available to non-EU foreigners now, after an initial ban.
A reader living in the east of France contacted The Connexion after the Banque Populaire refused a prêt viager loan in 2025 on the basis of British nationality.
These loans have recently started being offered by BPCE again, after a gap period, in which a few other specialists started offering similar loans.
They are marketed under the commercial name ‘Foncier Reversimmo’.
A spokesman for BPCE confirmed that whilst initially the loans were not available to non-EU nationals this is no longer the case. He said the ‘new’ service is being offered now across progressively more regions.
It is available regardless of nationality, as long as the property in question is in France. A meeting in a Caisse d’Epargne or Banque Populaire branch is required to set it up.
Those interested can request more information via the following links or directly at a branch:
Caisse d'Epargne
Banque Populaire
The group's spokesperson was not able to clarify precisely which areas are now offering the product as Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne are run under many different regional groupings.
We have asked for further information when available, and also if it is possible for a person in one region to take a loan via a branch elsewhere.
However, if interested in the scheme we advise following the links above and/or speaking to your local branch for further information on availability in your area.
One key point about these loans is that nothing has to be repaid in your lifetime - unlike some other forms of French equity release - and you can stay living in the property.
The property also remains your own property unlike the traditional viager sale, and it also avoids any awkwardness that can result from that arrangement where the buyer essentially ‘bets’ on the seller not living very long (as the buyer pays a lump sum, then a lifetime ‘rent’).
Capital and interest are repayable only after your death, from the estate (or the deaths of both people in the case of a couple taking out the arrangement together).
The loan is fixed-rate, and is secured by a legal charge against the property. It is also possible to repay early or for the loan to be repaid if you sell the property.
If there is money left over after the sale of the property, this goes to your heirs.
The loans are only for over-60s and the amount is agreed with the bank after your property has been valued. It is typically around a third of the value but cannot be less than €50,000. Interest is payable at around 6%.
