Le Règlement de Copropriété

The Document That Defines Your Ownership - Before You Even Move In

When you buy a new build property in France, whether an Alpine apartment in Méribel, a chalet in Morzine or a Riviera penthouse in Cannes, you will receive at some point before or at signing, a document that is longer and denser than almost anything else in your purchase file. It will be written entirely in French, dense with legal language, and likely to be skimmed rather than read. This is a mistake.

The règlement de copropriété (Co-Ownership Regulations Statement) is not administrative small print. It is the founding legal charter of the building you are buying into. It defines what is yours, what is shared, what you can do with your property, what you cannot do, what you will pay, and how decisions affecting your investment will be made for as long as you own it. In a very real sense, it is the constitution of your copropriété (Co-Ownership).

Yet it is consistently under-read by international buyers, who focus understandably on price, specification, and rental yield. This guide explains what the règlement contains, why it matters, what to look for as a buyer of a new build property in the French Alps or on the French Riviera and how it differs from the equivalent documents buyers may know from other jurisdictions.

What Is the Règlement de Copropriété? The Legal Framework

The Law of 10 July 1965

The règlement de copropriété exists by legal requirement. Under the French law of 10 July 1965 governing co-ownership (la loi sur la copropriété), every immeuble en copropriété - every building where ownership is divided between multiple owners must have one. Without a règlement, the building cannot legally be divided into units, cannot be sold and has no enforceable governance structure.

The règlement is drafted by the developer (promoteur) before the first unit is sold, with the assistance of a notaire. In a VEFA (Vente en l'État Futur d'Achèvement) context, the off-plan purchase structure used for all new build properties in France, the règlement is published before the reservation contracts are even signed. This means that when you put down your reservation deposit, the règlement is already in existence and already binding on you.

The règlement is a notarial deed (acte notarié). It is filed with the land registry (service de la publicité foncière) and constitutes a public document. It forms part of the title deeds of every unit in the building. When you buy, you are legally deemed to have read it, accepted it and agreed to abide by it, whether or not you actually have.

The Règlement vs the État Descriptif de Division

The règlement is often published alongside a second document: the état descriptif de division (EDD - Property Division Schedule). These two documents are distinct, though they may be combined in a single notarial deed.

The état descriptif de division is the technical annex: it describes each unit individually, assigns each unit a unique number, specifies the floor area, the nature of each unit (apartment, parking space, cave, commercial unit) and allocates to each unit its tantièmes, its proportional share of the common areas and charges. The règlement is the governance document: it sets out the rules. Both are essential reading for any buyer.

💡  Key distinction:  Règlement vs État Descriptif de Division. The règlement sets the rules that govern the building. The état descriptif de division identifies and describes your specific unit and assigns your charge-sharing percentage (tantièmes). You need both to understand what you are buying. In practice they are often filed as a single combined document, but always ensure you receive both.

The Structure of the Règlement: What It Contains

Part One: The Physical Definition of the Building

The first part of the règlement establishes the physical and legal architecture of the copropriété. It identifies the building by its cadastral references, its address and the nature of its intended use (residential, commercial or both). It then defines with legal precision the distinction between parties privatives (private areas belonging exclusively to individual owners) and parties communes (common areas belonging collectively to all co-owners).

This distinction matters more than most buyers realise. Your private unit is the space you own exclusively: your apartment, your garage, your cave. But certain elements within what appears to be your private space may legally be classified as common, structural walls, main drainage stacks, gas and water mains passing through your flat, certain window frames in some older classifications. In a new build, the classification should follow current standards, but it is worth verifying.

The common areas typically include: the building's external structure and roof, all shared circulation areas (stairwells, corridors, lift shafts), shared technical installations (heating plant, ventilation, electricity supply infrastructure), car park areas and access roads, gardens and outdoor amenities, swimming pools, ski rooms, reception areas, bin stores and any other shared facilities specified in the règlement.

Part Two: Tantièmes - Your Share of Everything

The règlement establishes the system of tantièmes, the fractional ownership shares that determine each owner's proportion of the common areas and critically their share of the service charges (charges de copropriété). Tantièmes are expressed in thousandths (millièmes) of the total and the sum across all units always equals 1,000 (or 10,000 in larger developments).

Your tantièmes are not arbitrary. They are calculated by the developer based on the surface area, the floor level and the usefulness of your unit relative to the whole. A larger penthouse apartment will carry more tantièmes than a studio on a lower floor. An apartment with a lift nearby will carry slightly more than an equivalent apartment at the other end of the building. In a new build, this calculation is performed before the first sale and incorporated into the état descriptif de division.

Tantièmes matter in two ways: financially, they determine your share of the annual service charges; and constitutionally, they determine your voting weight at the Assemblée Générale (AG). A co-owner with 80 millièmes has more financial obligation and more voting influence than one with 40 millièmes. Before signing, it is worth understanding your tantièmes figure and what it implies for your expected annual charge level.

⚠️  Important:  Tantièmes are very difficult to change

Once established in the règlement and filed with the land registry, tantièmes can only be altered by unanimous vote of all co-owners, a near-impossible threshold in practice. If the tantièmes assigned to your lot appear disproportionate to its size or location, raise this with your notaire before signing not after. In a new build, errors in the initial calculation can occasionally occur and are best challenged at the pre-signing stage.

The Rules That Will Govern Your Daily Life as an Owner

The Destination of the Building

Every règlement specifies the destination de l'immeuble - the authorised use of the building. For a residential new build development in the French Alps or on the Côte d'Azur, the destination will typically be described as résidentiel (residential), or résidentiel et de loisirs (residential and leisure), or in some cases résidence de tourisme (tourist residence, applicable to leaseback developments).

This classification matters because it determines what activities are permissible within the building. A purely residential destination may restrict or prohibit the operation of a professional business from the property. A résidence de loisirs classification supports short-term holiday letting. The destination can only be changed by unanimous vote. In practice, it is fixed for the life of the building.

Letting Rules: Short Term and Long Term

For international buyers of Alpine and Riviera properties, the rules governing letting are often the most commercially significant provisions in the entire règlement. They will determine whether you can rent your property on short-term platforms such as Airbnb or Abritel, whether you can let weekly during ski season, whether letting is restricted to a minimum term and whether there are administrative requirements (such as notifying the syndic of tenants in advance).

In new build developments marketed specifically as investissements locatifs (investment properties intended for rental) the règlement will almost always be drafted to permit short-term letting explicitly. This is one of the reasons why buying new build offers more clarity than resale: the letting permissions are set out from day one, rather than discovered in a resale règlement that may have been drafted for full-time residents and may never have contemplated Airbnb.

In leaseback developments (résidences gérées), the letting permissions in the règlement interact with the bail commercial (commercial lease) signed with the operator. The règlement permits letting; the commercial lease specifies the terms on which the operator manages that letting on your behalf. Both documents need to be read together.

💡  LMNP relevance:  Short-term letting clause is critical for LMNP investors

If you are purchasing under the LMNP (Loueur Meublé Non Professionnel) regime with the intention of letting furnished on short-term contracts, verifying the letting permissions in the règlement before signing is not optional it is fundamental. A règlement that restricts letting to primary residence use or imposes a minimum let of 12 months would make a short-term LMNP strategy impossible to implement, regardless of what a developer's sales brochure implies.

Works and Modifications to Your Unit

The règlement will contain provisions governing what alterations you can make to your private unitt and where the boundary lies between works you can carry out independently and works that require the agreement of the copropriété. In broad terms, non-structural internal works (redecorating, changing floor coverings, fitting a new kitchen) require no approval. Works that affect the structure of the building, modify shared technical systems or alter the external appearance of the unit (including window replacements, exterior blinds, air conditioning units visible from the exterior) will typically require prior authorisation from the AG.

In a new build Alpine property, specific provisions often govern ski storage installations, the attachment of exterior brackets or aerials and modifications to balconies or terraces. On the Riviera, provisions around air conditioning, shutters, and exterior paint colours are common. These are not trivial restrictions: enforcement by the syndic can result in compulsory reinstatement at the owner's expense.

Noise, Nuisance, and Communal Living Rules

The règlement will set out the behavioural rules of the building, the obligations de voisinage (Neighbour Relations and Responsibilities) that govern how co-owners and their tenants must conduct themselves in their properties and in the common areas. These will typically include quiet hours (heures de silence), prohibitions on activities that cause excessive noise or vibration, rules on the use of the car park, rules on rubbish disposal, restrictions on the storage of hazardous materials and provisions on the keeping of animals.

For properties used as short-term holiday rentals, these provisions are particularly important. If your tenants disturb neighbours, the syndic can take action initially through warning notices and ultimately through the courts. Repeated incidents can result in significant legal costs charged back to the owner. Ensuring that letting mandates passed to a rental management company include an obligation on the manager to brief tenants on the règlement is good practice.

Key Provisions in the Règlement: A Reference Table

The table below summarises the main categories of provision found in a typical règlement de copropriété, what each governs, and the threshold for amendment:

The Règlement in a New Build off plan VEFA Context

Who Drafts It and When

In a off plan VEFA purchase, the règlement is not a pre-existing document inherited from a building's history, it is created fresh by the developer with the assistance of their notaire before the first property is marketed. This gives the developer significant latitude in how the règlement is drafted and it also means that the document is specifically designed for the intended use of the building.

For this reason, a règlement in a purpose-built new build Alpine or Riviera development will typically be far more permissive on short-term letting and investor-friendly uses than a règlement in a converted or older resale building. The developer has a commercial interest in a règlement that supports the investment case they are marketing. This is an advantage for buyers but it also means the règlement is designed primarily by one party (the developer) before any co-owners exist to negotiate its terms.

Reading the Règlement Before You Sign

You will first encounter the règlement as an annex to the Contrat de Reservation, the preliminary reservation contract you sign to secure your off plan property. At this stage, the règlement may be in draft form (projet de règlement de copropriété). You are not legally obliged to accept the règlement as drafted; your notaire can raise questions or request clarifications on your behalf before the Acte de Vente is signed.

In practice, for a large development with many buyers, the developer is unlikely to amend the règlement on the basis of a single buyer's requests. But flagging ambiguous or unfavourable provisions with your notaire particularly around letting permissions, works authorisations and tantièmes allocations is always worth doing. It creates a record and in cases of genuine error can result in corrections before the document is definitively filed.

⚠️  Critical for buyers:  The règlement cannot easily be changed after signing. Once the règlement is filed with the land registry and the building is delivered, most of its fundamental provisions, the definition of units, the tantièmes, the destination of the building can only be changed by unanimous vote of all co-owners or in certain cases by a qualified majority at the AG (General Assembly). Provisions you dislike at purchase are almost certainly provisions you will live with indefinitely. Read it before you sign, not after.

The Provisional Syndic Designation in the Règlement

One provision that new build buyers should specifically note is the designation of the syndic provisoire, the provisional managing agent appointed by the developer to take over the building at first handover. This appointment is written into the règlement itself and takes effect automatically when the first property is delivered, without any vote of co-owners.

The implications of this provision are covered in detail in our guide to the Role of the Syndic. The key point for the purposes of the règlement is that buyers should identify and research the provisional syndic before signing not after livraison (Delivery). The quality and fee structure of the provisional syndicate company will affect the building's running costs from day one.

How the Règlement Can Be Amended

The General Rule: Very Difficult by Design

The règlement de copropriété is deliberately designed to be stable. Provisions that were negotiated and recorded in a notarial deed before any owners existed cannot be lightly set aside by a majority vote after the fact. This stability is a feature, not a flaw: it protects each owner's reasonable expectation of the rules they agreed to when they bought.

The law distinguishes between different categories of provision according to the majority required to amend them. Understanding these majority thresholds is important for any owner who wants to understand the practical likelihood of any particular provision being changed.

Amendment Thresholds

Under the law of 10 July 1965 as amended, the key voting thresholds are as follows. Decisions affecting the ordinary administration of the building,  routine maintenance, service contracts, minor adjustments are taken by simple majority of those present or represented at the General Assembly (majorité de l'article 24). Decisions of greater significance, including the election or removal of the syndic, approval of major works and certain modifications to the règlement's user rules, require an absolute majority of all co-owners (majorité de l'article 25) not just those present. Changes to the fundamental provisions of the règlement, the destination of the building, the definition of common areas, the tantièmes require either unanimous agreement of all co-owners or in certain narrowly defined circumstances, a qualified double majority (double majorité de l'article 26).

For practical purposes: the user rules (letting permissions, noise provisions, works authorisations) can be amended at an annual general assembly with sufficient owner engagement. The structural provisions (lots, tantièmes, destination) are effectively permanent without unanimity. And unanimity in a building with dozens or hundreds of owners including absent international investors is almost never achievable.

The Règlement and the LMNP / Leaseback Buyer

The interaction between the règlement de copropriété and the two most common investment structures for new build buyers in the French Alps and on the Riviera, LMNP (Loueur Meublé Non Professionnel) and leaseback (résidence gérée) deserves specific attention.

LMNP Non-Managed: The Règlement as Your Operational Boundary

If you are purchasing under the LMNP tax regime as a non-managed investor, managing your own rentals directly or through a local agency rather than under a bail commercial, the règlement is the document that defines the boundaries of your letting activity. It will determine whether short-term lets are permitted, whether there are restrictions on the type or frequency of tenancies, whether noise and nuisance provisions in the règlement impose obligations on your tenants that you must enforce and whether there are any rules governing signage, key safes or the use of shared facilities by your guests.

In a purpose-built new build investment property, these provisions should be clearly and permissively drafted. But you should verify them explicitly rather than assume.

Leaseback: Where the Règlement and Bail Commercial Interact

In a leaseback structure, the règlement remains operative as the governance document of the copropriété, but the day-to-day management of your property is delegated to the operator under the bail commercial. The operator cannot act in ways that breach the règlement for example, they cannot use your property for purposes inconsistent with the building's designated destination, or carry out works that require co-owner approval without obtaining it.

One area of practical importance for leaseback buyers is the fonds de travaux, the capital works reserve fund mandated under French law (ALUR 2014) for all copropriétés. The bail commercial (Commercial Lease) will typically define who the owner or the operator bears the cost of contributions to the reserve fund. This is a frequently misunderstood area of leaseback investment: owners may assume the operator covers all property costs, but reserve fund contributions are typically the owner's responsibility regardless of the commercial lease terms. Check the règlement and the  commercial lease together.

Practical Steps for International Buyers

At the Acte de Vente Stage

By the time you sign the Acte de Vente (Deed of Sale), the règlement will be in its final filed form. Your notaire is legally required to draw your attention to its key provisions. Do not allow this part of the signing meeting to be rushed. If you are not a French speaker, ensure you have either a bilingual notaire or an independent translator present.

If your notaire identifies any ambiguity in the letting provisions or the tantièmes allocation, ask that it be clarified in writing either through an amendment to the règlement before filing or through a formal letter from the developer setting out the intended interpretation.

After Handover

Once in ownership, keep a copy of the règlement accessible. Before commissioning any works to your apartment, check the règlement to determine whether general assembly (AG) authorisation is required. Before your rental management company commits to any letting arrangement, ensure the company has confirmed compatibility with the règlement. And when the AG convocation arrives whether for the first AG or subsequent ones, consider whether any amendment to the règlement is on the agenda and whether it affects your interests.

In Summary: The Règlement Is Not Small Print - It Is the Framework of Your Investment

The règlement de copropriété precedes your purchase, survives your ownership and will still be governing the building long after you have sold. For international buyers of new build property in the French Alps and on the French Riviera, it deserves the same level of attention as the purchase price, the specification and the projected rental yield.

Its provisions on letting, on works, on tantièmes and on the provisional syndic will affect the economics and the practicality of your ownership from the moment you receive the keys. And unlike most elements of a property transaction, its fundamental provisions cannot be renegotiated after the fact.