The departments are demanding an increase in notary fees. (illustration) (Hans / Pixabay)
The departments are demanding an increase in notary fees levied on real estate transactions. They could then reach 9% of the sale price in the old property, compared to 7 to 8% today. This measure will be discussed during the examination of the finance bill for 2025.
Notary fees, or
“transfer rights for valuable consideration”
(DMTO), represent between 7 and 8% of the sale price in the old one. A large part of the amount collected is paid to the State and local authorities, recalls
SeLoger
. The departments receive up to 4.5% of the total.
Bad news for buyers, these notary fees could soon increase. In fact, the departments want their share to be increased by one point to 5.5%. This measure, presented as temporary, will be discussed as part of the finance bill for 2025. If it is adopted, notary fees would then reach 8 to 9% of the amount of the real estate transaction. In the case of a property worth 300,000 euros (excluding agency fees), the buyer would pay 3,000 euros more.
The drop in transactions is weighing down departmental revenues
Why are the departments demanding this increase? Largely because of the real estate crisis which caused the number of transactions and therefore revenue linked to notary fees to fall.
“In the first quarter of 2024, quarter-on-quarter, the sharp decline in the annual number of old housing transactions continues (-5.4%, after -6.7% and -7.1%). The volume of transactions (822,000) is 23.2% lower than that observed a year earlier and falls to its lowest level in more than 7 years”
details the Ministry of Sustainable Development. Sales prices have also fallen in several cities.
In 2022, the fees collected by notaries brought in nearly 16.4 billion euros to the departments. This year, they will be able to count on around 10.7 billion euros. That’s a third less income. Hence the solution of increasing the tax pressure on real estate transactions. Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization, has not yet ruled out the possibility of an increase in notary fees.
