Playing It Safer

If you’ve found your dream home in the French countryside, be aware that a government body may have the right to get in there first, says Nadia Jordan

- Nadia Jordan

Anyone looking to buy a rural property in France with a parcel of land, is likely to come across a government body known as SAFER (Sociétés d'Aménagement Foncier et d'Établissement Rural).

SAFER is not a single entity but rather a group of 27 regional bodies set up in 1960, and it is collectively charged with the protection of the agricultural landscape and promotion of rural communities. It does this mainly by buying and then re-selling rural property to whoever is judged to have a project in the interest of local agriculture and rural business.

Before 2017, SAFER was interested only in properties with more than a hectare of land (2.47 acres) but the law has now changed so that if you are buying a property in a zone agricultural or zone naturel then SAFER can choose to get involved whatever the size of the land.

RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL