Can I sell inherited shares in French home to an investor?
Matthew Cameron of Ashtons Legal answers a reader query
The property is owned via an SCI but another person has the right to live there
Julia Kuznetsova / Shutterstock
Reader Question: I have inherited a legal ownership of a French property held in an SCI from my father. My stepmother has the usufruit and owns one share in the SCI. She cannot afford to buy me out. Can I sell my part to an investor?
Usufruit is a form of life interest, conferring on the usufruitier the right to live in the property or take rental income.
The ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé is the interest in the remainder of the property.
In principle, the person holding this will become absolute owner on the death of the person with the life interest.
In this case, we are considering a split in the ownership of shares in an SCI, that in turn owns a property in France.
Read more: Are SCIs required to have their own French bank account?
SCI rules similar
The rules are largely the same, whether it is the property or the shares in a property-owning company that are split.
A person owning the ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé cannot enforce a sale of the entire property, but it is possible to sell the ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé itself.
Prior agreement of the usufruitier does not have to be obtained. If you jointly own the ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé with siblings, you would be entitled to sell your share to them.
Read more: What happens to my French family home if I do not make a will?
One might ask who else would want to buy an interest in a property they cannot occupy, nor derive rental income from.
There are specialist investor firms that deal in such activity however the price offered might be influenced by the age and health of the usufruitier.
Whether such a firm would be interested in buying the ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé in the shares of an SCI is different.
The SCI’s statuts (constitution document) might have restrictions against any dealing of any interest in the shares without agreement of a majority of the shareholders, or at least of the person mandated as managing representative.
The manager would usually be the usufruitier, so consent might be hard to procure.
In summary, the sale of a ²Ô³Ü±ð-±è°ù´Ç±è°ù¾±Ã©³Ùé is permitted, but where there is a company interposed as the ownership vehicle, that might be rendered impractical. Seek expert professional advice.
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