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Short answer
A French mortgage is usually a repayment loan with the rate fixed for the whole term, over no more than 25 years. Under binding French lending rules your total loan repayments, borrower insurance included, must not take more than 35% of your income. For UK and international buyers the lenders we work with usually want a deposit of around 30%, a loan of at least about €200,000 and the loan repaid by about age 70. A high street broker at home usually cannot arrange a loan on a French property, so most UK and international buyers go through a specialist overseas mortgage broker.
How is a French mortgage different from a UK mortgage?
The basics are familiar but the detail differs in ways that catch UK and international buyers out.
The rate is usually fixed for the whole term
French home loans are overwhelmingly fixed rate, and the fix normally runs for the life of the loan rather than for a few years as is common in the UK. In July 2026, 99.4% of new home loans in France were fixed rate. Your monthly payment in euros is known from the start. What can change is its cost in your own currency.
Source: Banque de France, July 2026 figures published September 2026.
Borrower insurance is required in practice
French law does not require borrower insurance, the assurance emprunteur, but almost all lenders ask for it. Its cost counts inside the 35% debt test and inside the annual percentage rate of charge, the TAEG. You can choose an outside insurer instead of the bank’s own policy as long as the cover is equivalent. This is called délégation d’assurance and the bank cannot change your rate or charge a fee for it. Under the Loi Lemoine you can also switch insurer at any time.
Source: economie.gouv.fr on changing borrower insurance, 2026.
The loan offer comes with a 10-day reflection period
Once a lender approves your application it sends a formal loan offer, the offre de prêt, free of charge on paper or another durable medium. Under the Loi Scrivener the offer stays open for at least 30 days and you cannot accept it until a 10-day reflection period, the délai de réflexion, has passed. The period starts the day after you receive the offer, so an offer received on 1 February can be accepted from 12 February. You accept by a dated and signed letter sent by post unless the lender agrees another method. If the purchase does not complete within four months of your acceptance the loan falls away.
Sources: Service-public.fr on the loan offer; DGCCRF guidance, checked September 2026.
The loan is secured by an HLSPD or a hypothèque
Only a minority of French home loans, under 30%, are now secured by a mortgage charge. The usual alternative is a guarantee from a specialist company, known as a caution. Caution companies usually decline non-resident files, so UK and international buyers can expect a registered charge on the property instead.
- On an existing property this is usually the hypothèque légale spéciale du prêteur de deniers (HLSPD). It is exempt from land registration tax and typically costs about 0.5% to 1% of the loan. It lapses at no cost one year after your last instalment.
- The HLSPD cannot secure a new build bought off plan, construction or works. For UK and international buyers those usually need a conventional hypothèque, typically about 1.5% to 2% of the loan.
- Releasing either charge early, for example when you sell or repay early, needs a paid release deed called a mainlevée.
Sources: Service-public.fr on the HLSPD, March 2026; notaires.fr, August 2026; cost ranges from Meilleurtaux, January 2026, and Qoridor, September 2026. Treatment of non-resident files is broker practice, not law.
The notaire handles the money
On completion the loan funds and your own money go to the notaire who handles the sale. Any payment to a notaire over €3,000 must be made by bank transfer to the notaire’s account at the Caisse des Dépôts. The notaire must also check where both the loan and your own funds come from under anti-money-laundering rules, so keep a clear record of where your deposit came from.
Source: notaires.fr on paying the notaire, checked September 2026.
There is no UK-style credit score
France has no positive credit score. Lenders check the Banque de France register of repayment problems, the FICP, where incidents can stay on file for up to five years or seven for repayment plans. Applicants living outside France usually supply a credit report from their home country, such as Experian or Equifax in the UK.
Source: Banque de France on the FICP, checked September 2026.
What are the 35% rule and the 25-year limit?
Since 1 January 2022 French lenders have been bound by a decision of the Haut Conseil de stabilité financière (HCSF), the body that oversees financial stability in France. It sets two limits on home loans.
- Your debt ratio, the taux d’effort, cannot exceed 35%. It is your annual loan repayments divided by your annual net income before income tax, and it includes borrower insurance where the lender requires it. A mortgage or car loan at home counts as well.
- The term cannot exceed 25 years. It can reach 27 years in total where a deferral of up to two years covers a delay before you move in, as with a new build bought off plan or an existing property where works make up at least 10% of the total cost.
The rules cover loans to non-residents, second homes and buy-to-let. Lenders may go beyond them on up to 20% of their new home lending each quarter, but most of that room is reserved for main homes and first-time buyers, so plan to stay within the limits. The HCSF kept the rules unchanged in June 2026. France has no legal cap on loan to value, so the deposit a lender asks for is its own policy.
Sources: HCSF measure and HCSF FAQ; HCSF press release, June 2026.
What types of French mortgage are there?
Most French home loans are fixed rate, but other types exist.
| Loan type | How it works | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed rate (taux fixe) | The rate is fixed for the whole term and you repay capital and interest monthly. 99.4% of new French home loans in July 2026. | Most buyers. |
| Capped variable (taux capé) | The rate follows Euribor, with any rise or fall capped at 1 or 2 points. Increasingly rare. | Borrowers happy with some movement within a known limit. |
| Interest only (prêt in fine) | You pay interest only and repay the capital at the end, backed by pledged life assurance savings or investments. Higher rates and shorter terms, averaging about 7 years. | Wealthier buyers with investments to pledge. For non-residents mainly private banks, often wanting assets equal to the loan or pledges from about €1m. |
| Bridging loan (prêt relais) | A short loan of usually about 70% of the value of a home you are selling, within a range of 60% to 80%, for 1 to 2 years. | Buyers who must buy before they sell. It is not established that French lenders will bridge against a property outside France, so check early. |
Sources: Banque de France, July 2026; Pretto on prêts in fine, 2026. Our mortgage rates guide covers averages and the legal rate cap.
What can I use a French mortgage for?
French lenders finance most kinds of purchase, but the rules and what lenders look for change with the use.
- A second home for your own useThe most common case for buyers living abroad, on the standard criteria.
- A main home when you move to FranceHow lenders see you before and after you become resident in France.
- Buy to letLong-term letting, how rent is counted, energy rules, rent control and tax.
- Holiday and short-stay letsAirbnb-style letting, registration, night caps, change of use and tax.
- Commercial propertyShops, offices and business premises, on business loan terms rather than home loan rules.
Who lends to UK and international buyers and why use a specialist broker?
French lenders do lend to people who live outside France, but not all of them and not on the same terms. Each one sets its own deposit, minimum loan and income rules for non-residents. A specialist overseas mortgage broker knows which lenders are currently taking non-resident cases and how each one treats income in pounds, dollars and other currencies, rental income and age.
Mortgages on property abroad fall outside UK mortgage regulation, and many UK mortgage networks do not let their brokers arrange them, which is why high street brokers usually cannot help.
French Finance prequalifies you against the criteria lenders actually use and, if your case fits, introduces you to one of the leading, reputable specialist mortgage brokers and lenders we work with. They take your case through a decision in principle to a firm loan offer. We do not lend or arrange loans ourselves. Our how it works page sets out each step.
What do French lenders want from UK and international buyers?
The lenders we work with usually look for:
- a deposit of around 30%, so a loan of about 70% of the price
- a loan of at least about €200,000, although other brokers quote minimums from about €150,000 at some banks
- the loan repaid by about age 70, so a 20-year term works up to about age 50 and a 25-year term up to about 45
- all loan repayments within 35% of income, including borrower insurance and any mortgage you already have
- a solid income
On top of the deposit you need about 7% to 8% of the price for purchase costs on an older property, paid from your own funds. Few lenders take on new borrowers over 65, and buyers of that age often buy with cash or release equity from property at home instead.
Criteria of the lenders we work with, January 2026, with the minimum loan as at October 2026. Other brokers’ minimums are market practice, not law. Purchase cost range from notaires.fr, July 2025.
Guides and calculators for your next step
- Mortgages for non-residentsDeposits, non-euro income, age and insurance.
- Second home and holiday home mortgagesRent, second home taxes and letting rules.
- Affordability calculatorWhat you might borrow on your income under the 35% rule.
- Notaire fees calculatorPurchase tax, the notaire’s scale fees and mortgage security costs.
- Repayment calculatorMonthly payments in euros with an estimate in your own currency.