Pre-emption by a public body in France: setting a defensible price

A declaration of intent to sell (déclaration d’intention d’aliéner, DIA) arrives at the town hall or at the public land agency (établissement public foncier, EPF). The property is of interest to the project, but the declared price looks high. Pre-empting at that price means committing public funds beyond what the property may be worth; pre-empting at a lower price means facing a judicial fixing of the price and, if the judge sides with the seller, having to choose between paying and withdrawing. This guide describes the sequence of events, the valuation rules specific to pre-emption, and what a valuation carried out before the decision brings to the public body.

What happens in practice

The owner selling a property subject to the urban pre-emption right sends a declaration of intent to sell, which states the price and conditions of the planned sale. The holder of the right has two months to decide; silence amounts to waiver (article L. 213-2 of the French Planning Code). It may delegate its right, in particular to a public land agency (article L. 213-3). The pre-emption decision must state the purpose for which the right is exercised (article L. 210-1).

Three answers are possible: acquire at the declared price, waive, or propose another price. In the latter case, the owner may accept, withdraw from the sale, or maintain the price. If the owner maintains it, the holder of the right applies to the expropriation judge to fix the price (article L. 213-4), depositing 15 % of the State valuer’s valuation (article L. 213-4-1).

Before the judge, each party files a submission (mémoire) with its references. The Government Commissioner (commissaire du Gouvernement) gives conclusions. The judge visits the site, may order an expert appraisal, and fixes the price in a reasoned judgment. After the final decision, either party may still withdraw within two months (article L. 213-7). Property acquired by pre-emption must be used in accordance with the declared purpose; if it is not so used within five years, the former owner may request its re-transfer (article L. 213-11).

What French law says

The State valuer’s opinion. Local authorities and their groupings must obtain the opinion of the departmental director of public finances (avis du Domaine) before any acquisition by agreement, at auction or by exercise of the pre-emption right, above a threshold set by ministerial order (articles L. 1311-9 and L. 1311-10 of the French General Code of Local Authorities). The Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière (the French property valuation charter) describes this framework in Title II, § 8.12, recalling that any significant property transaction by a public body requires the prior opinion of the State Property Directorate (Direction de l’immobilier de l’État), save statutory exceptions.

The rules for fixing the price. Failing agreement, the price, exclusive of any ancillary compensation, is fixed according to the rules applicable to compulsory purchase (article L. 213-4). The judge therefore assesses the property according to its actual use at the reference date and disregards changes in value caused by the announcement of the scheme (article L. 322-2 of the French Expropriation Code). The reference date is that of the most recent act publishing, approving, revising or amending the local planning plan (PLU) and defining the zone in which the property lies, or, in a deferred development zone (ZAD), that of the act creating the zone (article L. 213-4, a and b).

Composition at the date of judgment. The price of the pre-empted property is fixed according to its composition at the date of the first-instance judgment and takes into account, for a lot in a co-owned building, the condition of the private and common parts, even if their deterioration results from maintenance stopping after the ZAD was created (Cass. 3e civ., 3 April 2025, appeal no. 23-23.206, reported). I commented on this decision in Pre-emption: the price is fixed on the condition of the property at the date of judgment.

Consistency of the calculation. A judgment whose reasoning values the house, the outbuildings and the land separately for a total that differs from the price fixed, with floor areas and unit prices that vary from one passage to the next, is quashed for contradictory reasoning (Cass. 3e civ., 25 September 2025, appeal no. 24-10.351; article 455 of the French Code of Civil Procedure). What applies to the judgment applies to the submission that prepares it.

The professional framework. The Charte devotes a paragraph to compulsory purchase compensation (Title III, § 1.20) and another to expropriation in the public interest (Title II, § 8.13); market value is defined in Title III, § 1.1.

What a valuation report changes

Carried out before the decision, within the DIA period, the valuation gives the public body a value independent of the State valuer’s and of the seller’s, with identified comparables, a classification of the property at the reference date and an analysis of its condition. It allows the choice between the three answers to be made with full knowledge, and the proposed price to be justified other than by reference to the opinion.

If court proceedings begin, the same work becomes a submission: sale references outside the influence of the scheme, verified floor areas, condition documented by dated photographs and quotes, closed calculation of the land, the buildings and the deductions, each tied to a supporting document. The public body thus has a costing that the Government Commissioner and the judge can follow line by line, and an expert present at the site visit.

What the report does not do: it does not replace the State valuer’s opinion, which remains compulsory, and it does not decide the lawfulness of the pre-emption decision, which is a matter for the administrative court. A deduction for works or for contamination appears in it only on a quote or a survey; on this point, preferring a quote to a flat-rate deduction protects the proposed price.

A worked example

A public land agency, delegated the pre-emption right of a commune in FINISTÈRE, receives a DIA for a town-centre building, two shops on the ground floor and three flats, at a price of €520,000. The State valuer’s opinion concludes at €400,000. The commune’s project is a housing scheme.

The valuation, delivered within the DIA period, adopts nine sales of comparable mixed-use buildings in neighbouring towns, outside the scheme perimeter, a verified floor area of 480 m² weighted, an average condition with a roof to be redone priced by quote at €32,000. Value concluded: €455,000, in a range of €440,000 to €470,000.

The agency proposes €450,000. The seller, who had a buyer at €520,000, accepts after discussion, the difference between that price and an uncertain judicial fixing not justifying eighteen months of proceedings. The €60,000 deposit and the risk of a judgment are avoided. The cost of the valuation was 20 hours, that is €1,300, excluding travel.

In the opposite case, if the seller had maintained €520,000, the submission would have been ready, with a closed calculation, which would have placed the debate before the judge on the comparables and not on percentages.

Common mistakes

• Proposing the price in the State valuer’s opinion with no other reference. Before the judge, an opinion contested by the seller is not enough to carry the fixing of the price.
• Using sales located within the scheme perimeter, whose prices already reflect the announcement of the project. Article L. 322-2 excludes them.
• Classifying the property according to the public body’s project rather than its actual use at the reference date.
• Neglecting the real condition of the property at the date of judgment, common parts included, when the decision of 3 April 2025 requires it in both directions.
• Presenting a percentage deduction for works or decontamination, when a quote or a survey was available.
• Letting the two-month DIA period run out while waiting for a valuation: the valuation must be ordered as soon as the DIA is received.

What to gather

• The complete declaration of intent to sell, with the price, the conditions and the attachments.
• The State valuer’s opinion, or the date it was requested.
• The resolution establishing the pre-emption right, the delegation act where relevant, the PLU in force and the date of its latest act of approval or amendment for the zone, or the act creating the ZAD.
• The project the property is intended for, with its stage of progress.
• The title deed, current leases, the co-ownership rules and the latest general meeting minutes if the property is a lot.
• The surveys, known quotes for works, access to the property for the visit.

Timeframe and fee

The valuation is delivered in about three weeks, and sooner when the DIA period requires it and access to the property is arranged without delay. It is billed on time spent, at €65 per hour, most often from €975 excluding travel, charged at €65 per hour or part hour from PONT-L’ABBÉ. Drafting the submission for the expropriation judge and attendance at the site visit are priced separately on time spent. A 50 % deposit is requested on signature of the valuation contract. VAT not applicable, article 293 B of the French General Tax Code.

The content of the report is on the Compulsory purchase and pre-emption page, the schedule on the Fees page, and the other frameworks handled for public bodies on the Institutions page.