Can power of attorney be given to sell French home while abroad?
Several regulations were relaxed during the pandemic
Power of attorney rules for notaires are known as procuration
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Reader Question: My friend wants to sell her second home, but has been ill while in the UK. She is unable to travel back to France to sign. Can she give power of attorney to someone to sign the documents for her?
There are rules that allow for power of attorney (known as procuration) to be agreed by notaires for property sales, allowing a proxy to sign the deeds for you - and it is possible to set this up at a distance.
Following a period of deregulation during Covid, which saw notaires able to allow a wide range of notarial procedures to be carried out at a distance over the internet, a law change in November 2020 limited this to the providing of a procuration only.
A property owner can remotely give power of attorney online, using a videoconference tool and electronic signature, with the person being granted this power then able to sign property deeds.
This can be organised with a notaire, who will arrange the necessary steps.
Most, but not all, notaires' offices are equipped to deal with this request.
The power of attorney can be given to family or friends, or failing this a notaire’s clerk, who can then sign the documents on your behalf.
The notaire in charge of your property sale cannot give the power of attorney to themselves and sign the deed for you, and may prefer you to assign it to someone outside their office.
Note that procuration is possible for both purchasers and sellers in the event they cannot physically sign documents themselves.
