Taking stock of your real estate situation in France: a structured review for 2026

Taking stock of your French real estate situation is not simply a matter of listing properties. It means connecting the legal status of each asset, the ownership structure, rental income and costs, potential exposure to the IFI (France's real estate wealth tax), and your medium-term objectives. This kind of review is particularly valuable for business owners, expatriates and investors who have accumulated several properties under different structures — direct ownership, SCI (French property-holding company), démembrement (split between usufruct and bare ownership), or indivision (joint undivided ownership) — without always stepping back to assess the whole picture.

In many client files, the real difficulty is not primarily tax-related. It is documentary and structural: SCI articles of association that cannot be located, démembrement deeds poorly archived, title deeds spread across several notarial offices. This administrative disorder, more than the tax position itself, is what blocks good decisions.

Direct answer: a useful real estate situation review covers six dimensions — property inventory, ownership structure for each asset, legal verification, income and cost analysis, IFI exposure estimate, and clarification of objectives. Each dimension can shift the decisions that follow.

The starting point is a structured inventory, not a decision. The objective is first to understand what exists, then to measure the consequences, before making any choices.

The six dimensions to examine#

1. Property inventory: address, surface area, nature (primary residence, rental, land, commercial premises), estimated value and acquisition date.
2. Ownership structure: direct ownership, SCI at income tax (IR) or corporate tax (IS), indivision, or démembrement (usufruct or bare ownership).
3. Legal situation: title deeds, mortgages, easements, current leases, condition of the condominium (copropriété).
4. Income and costs: rents received, condominium charges, works, loan interest, outstanding capital.
5. IFI exposure: estimate of net taxable real estate assets compared to the €1,300,000 threshold.
6. Patrimonial objectives: supplementary income, long-term appreciation, succession planning, spousal protection, simplification.

Without this framework, decisions are taken on a partial view: you examine the tax position of one property without reading the coherence of the whole; you consider a succession transfer without revisiting the ownership structure; you discuss converting to a SCI without measuring the long-term effects.

Document checklist by property#

The ownership structure determines income taxation, sale rules, IFI exposure and succession conditions. There is no universal structure: each configuration responds to different objectives.

Comparative table of the four main structures#

Our view: the SCI is not the automatic answer#

The SCI is often presented as the benchmark wealth planning tool. It can indeed facilitate succession transfers, improve organisation between shareholders and, in some cases, offer tax flexibility. But it also creates real constraints: bookkeeping obligations, annual general meetings, management costs, and a capital gains tax regime under IS that can be very costly at the point of sale. The choice between direct ownership, SCI at IR and SCI at IS deserves case-by-case analysis, taking into account objectives over ten or twenty years, not just immediate savings.

The legal situation of a property covers all rights, obligations and charges attached to it: ownership, mortgages, easements, leases, condition of the condominium. This verification is often overlooked in informal wealth reviews, yet it determines the real value of the asset and its transferability.

The verification steps#

The service de la publicité foncière (formerly the land registry, or conservation des hypothèques) centralises information on property ownership, mortgages and registered privileges. A request for information can be submitted using the standard form available on Service-Public.fr (reference R47483). This document provides: the registered owner(s), current mortgages and charges, and any real rights affecting the property.

For properties in co-ownership (copropriété), the rules of co-ownership (règlement de copropriété), the maintenance log (carnet d'entretien) and the minutes of recent general meetings are essential supplementary sources. Where a transaction or restructuring is planned, the notaire is the appropriate professional to verify the legal situation and to execute the relevant deeds.

The underestimated risk: old title deeds and unregistered transfers#

In several client files, the actual legal situation diverges from the documentary situation: a property transferred by inheritance without formal winding-up of the indivision, an SCI whose share register was never updated after a shareholder's death, a démembrement that has technically ended but was never formally recorded. These situations do not always create immediate problems, but they block any patrimonial decision the moment one is needed. The documentary review is therefore a prerequisite, not a formality.

The IFI (impôt sur la fortune immobilière) applies to individuals whose net taxable real estate assets exceed €1,300,000 on 1 January of the tax year. The declaration is filed together with the annual income tax return.

Key IFI rules for 2026#

• Liability threshold: €1,300,000 of net taxable real estate assets.
• Taxable base: once liable, the scale applies from €800,000 upwards (the tax is progressive from that lower band).
• Primary residence allowance: 30% discount applied to the market value.
• Debt deductibility: mortgage loans attached to taxable properties are deductible (subject to conditions).
• Démembrement and IFI: in principle, the usufructuary declares the full ownership value of the property (Article 968 of the CGI), with limited exceptions.

Worked example: estimating the IFI base#

A business owner holds the following:

• Primary residence, estimated market value: €1,200,000. Allowance 30% = €360,000. Value retained: €840,000.
• A rental flat held in direct ownership, market value: €450,000. Outstanding loan: €80,000. Net value retained: €370,000.
• SCI shares representing a rental building, share value: €350,000.

Estimated net taxable real estate assets: €1,560,000.

This exceeds the €1,300,000 threshold; the taxpayer is therefore liable to IFI. The scale applies from €800,000. The precise tax liability depends on the progressive scale — check the current rates at impots.gouv.fr or with your adviser.

Note: this example is simplified. The actual base may include other assets (real estate rights, certain real estate units in life insurance contracts) and additional liabilities. The valuation of SCI shares may be subject to a discount, subject to conditions and documentation. A full analysis is required before filing.

What the tax authority looks at#

The French tax administration regularly cross-checks the values declared in the IFI return against values used in recent property transactions, gifts and successions. A deliberate undervaluation exposes the taxpayer to reassessment, with penalties and late-payment interest. It is advisable to document the valuation methods used, particularly for atypical properties or company shares.

A real estate situation should be revisited at every structuring event:

• planned acquisition or disposal;
• change in family situation (marriage, divorce, birth, death);
• significant increase in rental income or change in tax regime;
• consideration of succession to the next generation;
• increase in wealth taxation (crossing the IFI threshold, rising property tax);
• need to restructure the ownership (moving to an SCI, consolidating properties, resolving an indivision).

The right time is not the moment of crisis. The earlier the review is conducted, the more options can be compared calmly, and the less decisions are constrained by time pressure or documentary blockages.

A business owner approaching his fifties has built up a real estate portfolio over time: a primary residence held jointly with his spouse, a flat purchased before marriage and still held in his sole name, two properties contributed to a family SCI ten years ago, and bare ownership of a property received by gift from his parents who reserved usufruct for themselves.

The review uncovers several issues. The SCI articles of association have not been updated since a child entered the shareholding following a share gift. The SCI opted for IS (corporate tax) at creation: the latent capital gains on the properties are now substantial, making an exit of the properties far more costly than it would be under IR. The démembrement on the parents' property expires in eight years: this will reintegrate full ownership into the taxpayer's IFI base and needs to be anticipated.

This kind of file illustrates why overall patrimonial coherence matters more than any single tax lever. Each past decision has created constraints for future ones. The diagnostic enables priorities to be ranked and future choices to be prepared in an orderly way.

1. List all properties: address, nature, estimated value, ownership structure, acquisition date.
2. Gather key documents: title deeds, SCI articles, démembrement deeds, leases, loan amortisation tables.
3. Verify the legal situation: mortgage certificate, easements, condominium status, current leases.
4. Analyse income and costs per property: rents, charges, interest, property tax, management fees.
5. Estimate the net taxable real estate base: to check IFI exposure and prepare the return.
6. Clarify objectives: income, appreciation, succession, spousal protection, simplification.
7. Identify inconsistencies: ownership structures misaligned with objectives, missing documents, obsolete arrangements.
8. Prioritise decisions: what needs to be addressed in the next twelve months, and what should be planned over a three-to-five-year horizon?

This sequence does not replace the intervention of a notaire for deeds, or of a regulated wealth manager (CIF/CGP, regulated by the AMF) for investment recommendations. It provides the documentary and tax foundation that makes those interventions more effective.

• Primary residence valuation: the 30% IFI allowance applies to market value; a significant undervaluation may be challenged if it is inconsistent with local market prices.
• SCI shares and IFI: the value to declare is the market value of the shares, not the gross asset value. A discount is possible but must be documented and justified.
• Démembrement and IFI: the expiry of a usufruct can push a portfolio over the IFI threshold. Anticipating this date is useful for planning the reduction of the taxable base.
• SCI at IS and capital gains: properties held through an IS-taxed SCI do not benefit from the individual capital gains regime and its duration-based allowances. The gain is taxed at IS, with no such relief. This point is frequently underestimated when the structure is first created.
• Unresolved indivision: a succession that has not been formally wound up leaves properties in forced joint ownership. This can block a sale or restructuring if one co-owner disagrees.

These three professionals intervene at distinct and complementary stages.

The expert-comptable (French chartered accountant) analyses the income tax treatment of rental income, the applicable regimes (réel, micro, BIC, revenus fonciers), the filing obligations of SCIs, the accounts of IS-taxed structures, and contributes to the IFI base estimate based on accounting data. The accountant can also support the documentary review and identification of inconsistencies.

The notaire intervenes for deeds: acquisition, disposal, gift, partition, SCI formation, démembrement deed, succession winding-up. The notaire is the natural contact for verifying the legal situation of a property and securing transfers.

The conseil en gestion de patrimoine (CGP), when regulated by the AMF as a CIF (investment adviser), can provide recommendations on overall wealth strategy, asset allocation and trade-offs between asset classes. This investment advisory role is distinct from the scope of the chartered accountant.

For complex files, all three professionals often work in parallel, each within their respective field.

After a structured review, you should have a clear answer to these questions: what exactly do you hold and under what structure? Is your legal situation sound and your documents up to date? Are you exposed to the IFI, and for what estimated amount? Are your ownership structures consistent with your current objectives? What decisions deserve to be taken in the next twelve months?

This clarity is often the first concrete gain from a patrimonial review. It then simplifies discussions with the notaire, the bank, and family members, and makes future trade-offs faster and better grounded.

You may also find these articles useful: Should you open an SCI to invest?, Family SARL or SCI, and our real estate and SCI sector page.

Limitation notice: this article is for information purposes only. It does not constitute personalised wealth advice, legal advice, or an investment recommendation. Every real estate situation has specific features that require individual analysis, a review of the actual documents, and an assessment of the law applicable at the time of the decision. Thresholds and rules cited are current as of 26 May 2026 and may change. Sources: Service-Public.fr (R47483), impots.gouv.fr (IFI), Article 968 of the French General Tax Code (CGI).