What priority right does the tenant have when the landlord sells the dwelling?

A notice to sell counts as an offer to sell to the tenant

For a dwelling let unfurnished as a main residence, a landlord who wants to sell it vacant must serve a notice to sell at least six months before the end of the lease. On pain of nullity, this notice states the price and terms of the planned sale: it counts as an offer to sell to the tenant, and that offer is valid during the first two months of the notice period (Article 15, II of French Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989).

A tenant who accepts has two months from sending their reply to complete the sale, extended to four months if they state that they are using a loan. If the sale is not completed within that period, their acceptance is void by operation of law and they lose any right to occupy the dwelling at the end of that period (Article 15, II).

The subsidiary preemption right if the property is sold to a third party for less

If the landlord ultimately decides to sell on terms or at a price more advantageous to the buyer, the notary must notify those new terms to the tenant, on pain of nullity of the sale. That notification counts as an offer to sell to the tenant, valid for one month from its receipt (Article 15, II of the French Law of 6 July 1989). This mechanism prevents a landlord from discouraging the tenant with a high price and then selling to a third party for less.

Do not confuse: sales by lots come under the French Law of 31 December 1975

This is a classic trap: the right of first refusal under Article 15, II applies upon a notice to sell, whereas a sale by lots (vente à la découpe) triggers a separate preemption right. Upon the first sale of a dwelling following the initial division or the subdivision of the building into lots (conversion into co-ownership), the landlord must notify the tenant or occupant in good faith of an offer to sell, valid for two months, on pain of nullity of the sale (Article 10 of French Law No. 75-1351 of 31 December 1975).

In addition, where a residential or mixed-use building of more than five dwellings is sold in a single transaction and in its entirety, Article 10-1 of the same law gives the tenants a preemption right, except in particular where the buyer undertakes to extend the ongoing residential leases (a mechanism introduced by the Law of 13 June 2006 and amended by the ALUR Law of 24 March 2014).

In summary, depending on the sale situation: upon a notice to sell a dwelling let unfurnished, the notice counts as an offer to sell, valid during the first two months of the notice period (Law of 6 July 1989, Article 15, II); upon a sale to a third party on more advantageous terms after such a notice, the notary must notify the tenant, whose offer is valid for one month, on pain of nullity of the sale (same article); upon the first sale following the conversion of the building into co-ownership (sale by lots), an offer to sell must be notified to the tenant, valid for two months, on pain of nullity (Law of 31 December 1975, Article 10); upon the sale in bulk of a building of more than five dwellings, the tenants hold a preemption right, unless the buyer undertakes to extend the leases (Law of 31 December 1975, Article 10-1).

Situations where the tenant has no priority right

• Sale of the dwelling as occupied, with the lease running and no notice served: the lease continues with the new owner and the tenant has no right of first refusal under Article 15, II (outside the situations covered by the Law of 31 December 1975).
• Sale between relatives up to and including the third degree: the right of first refusal under Article 15, II is set aside, provided the buyer occupies the dwelling for a period that may not be shorter than two years from the end of the notice period.
• Furnished lettings: the landlord's notice to sell, served with three months' notice, does not have to include an offer to sell to the tenant (Article 25-8 of the French Law of 6 July 1989).