French Civil Real Estate Companies (SCI): A Complete Practical Guide for Investors and Families

French civil companies – and especially sociétés civiles immobilières (SCI) – are one of the most powerful tools in French law for organising, financing and protecting real estate investments. But they are also very specific vehicles, governed by detailed rules of civil law, contract law, company law and tax law.

This guide explains how French civil real estate companies (SCIs) work in practice: their legal basis, their activities, how to use them to invest and protect assets, and the main tax devices that interact with them.

Throughout, remember: if you are considering creating or restructuring an SCI, a tailored legal and tax analysis is essential. The team behind Frenchco.lawyer can assist you at every step (drafting, registration, tax review, inheritance strategy, etc.).

1. What is a “civil company” and where does the SCI fit in?

In French law, every company starts from the same basic idea (Article 1832 of the Civil Code):
several people (or, in some specific cases, one person) decide by contract to put assets or work together into a common project, to share profits or savings, and to accept that they will also share losses.

An SCI – société civile immobilière – is simply a civil company whose purpose is real estate: buying, holding, managing or sometimes building property.

Civil companies, including SCIs, are governed by the Civil Code (Articles 1845 and following). For companies having their registered office in France, a decree from 1978 completes these rules. Since then, a civil company only exists as a legal person once it is registered with the Registre du commerce et des sociétés (RCS).

In practical terms, for you:

• An SCI is not a commercial company (it is not an SARL, SAS, SA, etc.),

• It is a civil structure used to own and manage property, usually for family, patrimonial or long-term investment purposes.

French contract law applies to the SCI like to any other contract, but the specific rules on companies (Civil Code) prevail where they say something different. You always have both layers at the same time:

• General contract rules (consent, defects, nullity, etc.),

• Plus the special rules for companies and, within that, for civil companies and SCIs.

2. Civil purpose vs commercial purpose: why it matters for an SCI

Under Article 1845 of the Civil Code, a company is considered “civil” when its purpose (objet social) and its activity are civil – that is, they do not consist mainly of commercial acts.

An SCI must therefore have a civil purpose, as it is a civil company (“société civile immobilière“). For real estate, this generally means:

• Holding property,

• Managing and administering it,

• Renting it out unfurnished,

• Possibly building for long-term holding,

• Organising the transmission and management of family assets.

As long as the SCI stays in this field, it remains a civil company.

3. Civil or commercial: what about real estate activities?

Real estate is the natural playground of civil companies, and especially SCIs. But French commercial law qualifies some real estate operations as commercial acts. The boundary is therefore crucial.

3.1 Purchase and sale of real estate

To remain civil, a company must not carry out activities that fall within the list of commercial acts in Articles L.110-1 and L.110-2 of the Commercial Code.

The management of a property (mere holding and administration) is, in principle, a civil activity. However, the legislator has explicitly classified several real estate operations as commercial acts by their nature, such as:

• Buying buildings with a view to reselling them in their existing state (Article L.110-1, 2°),

• Intermediation in the purchase, subscription or sale of buildings, shares or units of real estate companies (Article L.110-1, 3°),

• Building works carried out by a construction company (Article L.110-1, 5°).

Purchase of building land

The purchase of building land for resale as serviced, subdivided plots not built upon is considered a commercial operation.

Renovation operations

Acquiring a building in order to renovate it is normally analysed under Article L.110-1 of the Commercial Code, because renovation does not constitute the construction of a new building.

In practice, the level of work matters. Renovation can range from simple refurbishment to very substantial structural works. Case law has, for example, considered that a civil real estate company (SCI) that regularly renovates buildings with a view to selling them carries out a commercial activity, despite its civil form.

From a tax perspective, renovation operations carried out by an SCI are often assimilated to construction operations, with specific consequences (notably regarding the deductibility of expenses against rental income).

Key idea:
An SCI that engages repeatedly in buying, renovating and reselling can be reclassified as having a commercial activity, with significant legal and tax consequences.

3.2 Rental activities: unfurnished vs furnished

The rental of real estate is, by nature, a civil activity, even when the premises are rented for commercial use (for example, to a shop or a professional tenant).

By contrast, the rental of furniture, when carried out as part of a business, is a commercial activity (Article L.110-1, 4° of the Commercial Code). This is why furnished lettings are considered, for tax purposes, as an activity within the category of industrial and commercial profits (BIC).

If a property is let together with movable elements that are not “fixtures” (immeubles par destination), it is often advisable to separate:

• The pure real estate rental (civil),

• From the movable or furnished rental (commercial),

in order to protect the civil nature of the SCI.

4. Can an SCI carry out commercial operations?

4.1 Accessory commercial acts

A civil company can carry out commercial acts without automatically losing its civil character, as long as those acts are only accessory to its civil activity. Two conditions are generally required:

1. The commercial acts must be useful or necessary to the civil activity, and

2. Their relative importance must remain limited.

A classic example is suretyship (cautionnement) given by a civil company to secure obligations of a related commercial company, where there is a common interest. This type of guarantee is considered an accessory act.

However, for a civil company subject to income tax (IR), frequent or professional suretyship operations can cause a loss of the specific tax status attached to civil companies.

4.2 When commercial activity becomes the principal object

If commercial operations become the main activity of the company and can no longer be considered merely ancillary, the civil nature of the company may be called into question.

Several legal consequences may follow:

• Nullity of the company for illicit object under Articles 1833 and 1844-10 Civil Code, leading to its dissolution,

• Recognition of a de facto commercial company (société de fait): a company without legal personality, where the real activity (commercial) diverges from the declared civil nature,

• Change of tax regime: the company may become subject to corporation tax (IS), with all the consequences of a deemed cessation of business.

In practice, where significant commercial operations are anticipated, it is often safer to create a separate commercial subsidiary to carry out those activities, and allow the SCI to remain focused on pure real estate management.

5. The different types of civil real estate companies

Within real estate, several specific types of civil companies exist, for example:

• Attribution companies: whose main object is the construction or acquisition of buildings to be divided into units allocated to partners in ownership or enjoyment,

• Time-share attribution companies: allowing allocation of enjoyment rights for time periods,

• Construction-sale companies: whose object is to build one or more buildings with a view to selling them as a whole or in units,

• Progressive home-ownership SCIs (SCIAPP): allowing social housing tenants to gradually become owners.

The developments that follow are devoted to classic real estate management civil companies, commonly called SCI (société civile immobilière) and their variants (such as family SCIs).

These SCIs are not a separate legal category: they simply fall under the general regime of civil companies.

Their principal object is to:

• Acquire or have built one or more buildings,

• Manage and administer them,

• Either rent them out, or reserve the use for the partners.

6. SCI as a “partnership-type” company

6.1 Importance of the person of each partner

Civil companies, and particularly SCIs, are traditionally classified as “sociétés de personnes” (partnership-type entities), where the identity and personal qualities of partners are essential (intuitu personae).

The consequences are:

• The transfer of shares is strictly controlled, usually requiring the consent of the other partners,

• By default, in the absence of a specific clause, many decisions are subject to unanimity rather than simple majority.

By contrast, companies known as “capital companies” (sociétés de capitaux) are more open: partners are mostly viewed as providers of capital, and their person matters less.

In an SCI:

• Partners are liable for society debts indefinitely,

• But in proportion to the number of units they hold in the share capital (Article 1857 Civil Code).

Unless the articles provide otherwise, unanimity is the rule for many fundamental decisions. However, the modern regime of civil companies has relaxed certain effects traditionally associated with “sociétés de personnes”. For example, the death of a partner no longer automatically dissolves the company, unless the articles so provide.

6.2 Identified partners and registration formalities

Partners of an SCI must be identified in the RCS (Registre du commerce et des sociétés) at the time of registration.

For existing companies, identity must be updated whenever shares are transferred.

For individual partners, the following must be declared:

• Surname, usual name and, where applicable, pseudonym,

• First name(s),

• Personal address,

• Date and place of birth,

• Nationality.

Copies of identity documents must be filed.

Where shares are split between usufruct and bare ownership, only the bare owner is legally considered a partner and must be declared.

For legal entity partners, an extract from the relevant register (for example K-bis) less than 3 months old or an equivalent certificate is required.

7. Legal personality of civil companies and its consequences

7.1 Acquisition of legal personality

Under Article 1842 Civil Code, a company only acquires legal personality from the date of its registration with the RCS.

The registration number includes:

• A unique identification number,

• The mention “RCS” and the name of the town where the court registry is located.

Civil companies formed before 1 July 1978 had to register before 1 November 2002 to retain legal personality.

7.2 Identification elements of an SCI

Once registered, an SCI has, just like a commercial company:

• Its own registered office (domicile), generally that mentioned in the articles,

• A nationality (French or foreign), distinct from that of its partners,

• A separate estate: the company’s assets are distinct from the personal estate of each partner,

• Full legal capacity to contract, own, sell, provide guarantees, or be a partner in another company.

Civil companies are represented by one or more managers (gérants) expressly designated. If no manager is appointed, any interested party may request the dissolution of the company.

In an SCI, the company’s assets and those of its partners are strictly separated. Each estate is independent, and no compensation is possible between them. Likewise, funds borrowed by the SCI belong to the company alone and cannot be used by partners to pay their own capital contributions.

The property held by an SCI belongs to the company itself, not to the individual partners. Partners hold shares, not the building. These shares give them the right to a portion of the profits during the life of the company and to a portion of the remaining assets if the SCI is dissolved. Even though the company owns real estate, the partners’ shares are legally treated as movable property.

7.3 Capacity to sue and be sued

As legal persons, civil companies can bring legal actions (act as plaintiffs), and be sued (act as defendants).

They are validly represented in court by their manager. There is no need for all partners to be personally involved in each action.

However, in certain procedures – for instance, the appointment of a provisional administrator – the company itself must be made a party, in addition to the individual partners.

8. Using an SCI to optimise real estate investments

One of the main reasons to create an SCI is to facilitate complex or collective investments that would be difficult or impossible for individuals to carry alone.

8.1 Increasing financial capacity by pooling resources

Creating an SCI allows several people to pool their financial capacity and access larger, often better-quality real estate.

Typical scenario:
Parents associate with their children within an SCI to finance the purchase of a property, instead of the children borrowing alone.

Very often:

• The SCI is formed with a relatively small share capital,

• Parents hold a minority of capital but finance a significant part of the acquisition via a current account (compte courant d’associé),

• The amounts lent by parents to the SCI are repaid from the rents.

When the current account cannot be repaid (insufficient rental income, or property occupied by the family), the credit balance of the current account becomes an asset of the parents’ estate on their death and is shared and taxed as such. A donation of the current account may also be structured during their lifetime.

If both parents and children borrow to fund their contributions or current account advances, each can deduct loan interest from their share of rental income (under the conditions laid down by tax law).

Similar logic applies where several people or family members pool their resources to buy or build a property, either to occupy or to let.

8.2 Flexible funding and calls for funds

The SCI is a flexible legal vehicle: funding can come from combinations of capital contributions, current accounts (partner loans), bank loans.

Contributions in cash do not have to be fully paid up at incorporation; the articles may authorise partial payment, with the remaining calls decided by the manager.

Many structures recommended in practice involve an SCI not subject to corporation tax (IS), which borrows from a bank or from its partners via current accounts, and repays capital and interest from rental income.

In this configuration share capital remains relatively low, and partners’ current accounts represent the true financial effort.

In case of sale of the SCI, partners can often transfer their current-account claims separately from the shares, sometimes with more favourable tax and registration consequences (no 5% transfer duty on the current account).

For share valuation purposes, when transferring or gifting SCI units, the value of the social assets (including real estate) is reduced by outstanding bank debt, and credit balances of partners’ current accounts.

As loans are repaid over time, the net asset value of the SCI increases, and so does the taxable base for transfer duties.

Financing of construction

In the case of construction, it is possible to provide in the articles that partners will answer calls for funds as the building progresses.

No legal reserve requirement

Unlike public companies or SARLs, SCIs are not required to allocate part of their profits to a legal reserve. Undistributed rental profits can therefore be credited to partners’ current accounts, subject to proper accounting.

However, in an SCI subject to income tax, these undistributed profits are still taxed in the hands of partners, in proportion to their rights, irrespective of actual distribution.

8.3 Should the SCI borrow, or should the partners?

Where funding requires a loan, there are two main options:

1. The SCI itself borrows from a bank. In practice, the bank often requires personal guarantees from partners.

2. Partners borrow personally and then advance funds to the SCI through current accounts.

In the second case, partners can, under certain conditions:

• Provide for interest-bearing current accounts,

• Be taxed on those interest payments (usually under the single flat tax or, upon option, the progressive scale),

• Deduct, under strict conditions, their own loan interest from the interest income received from the SCI.

These arrangements require careful structuring and compliance with tax rules, particularly to ensure the link between the borrowed funds and the purchase or improvement of the SCI’s property.

9. SCI or indivision for unmarried couples and PACS partners?

Real estate ownership between two unmarried persons (cohabitants or PACS partners) raises specific legal, tax and inheritance issues.

9.1 Simple “indivision” and tontine clause

If two individuals buy property together (especially a residence) without a company, they usually own it in indivision.

During their life together, this may work smoothly:

• Charges are shared according to their agreement (often proportionate to each indivision share),

• For co-owned buildings, one indivisee is usually appointed to vote in co-ownership meetings.

An indivision agreement can be drawn up, possibly designating one indivisee as manager.

However, indivision is fragile in the long term, especially on death:

• On the death of one partner, his or her share passes to the heirs,

• A new indivision appears between the surviving partner and the deceased’s heirs, who may have little affinity and diverging interests.

To manage this, notarial deeds often contain a “tontine clause” or clause d’accroissement: when one partner dies, his share automatically accrues to the survivor, who is then deemed to have always been the sole owner.

Legally:

• Until the first death, each party owns subject to the condition of their survival,

• On the first death, the heirs of the deceased have no rights over the property; the survivor is considered to have been owner from the date of purchase.

However, for the tontine clause to be valid, there must be a genuine uncertainty (aléa) regarding who will survive; otherwise the clause may be reclassified as a disguised gift.

From a tax point of view:

• Property allocated under a tontine clause in the acquisition deed is treated as gratuitous transfer, taxable according to the link between deceased and beneficiary (with 60% tax for non-related cohabitants, after a small abatement).

• Some exemptions exist for spouses, PACS partners or certain siblings, as well as for modest main residences.

The tontine offers legal protection for the surviving partner, but it can be very expensive in inheritance tax for non-exempt beneficiaries.

9.2 Use of an SCI instead of indivision

Instead of buying in indivision, cohabitants or PACS partners can:

• Create an SCI,

• Have the SCI purchase the property (or contribute it),

• Become partners in that SCI.

This structure allows:

• More organised management (a manager is appointed),

• Continuity of management on the death of one partner (the surviving partner or another designated person can automatically become manager),

• Clauses of approval (agrément) for heirs: the articles may specify that:

  • The company will continue with surviving partners only,

  • Or heirs may become partners only if accepted by the others.

Heirs excluded by such clauses must be financially compensated (their rights are not wiped out, but converted into a claim in value).

To stabilise the living situation, the SCI can grant its partners a residential lease (for example a 6-year lease, tacitly renewable, with a preferential rent). This gives contractual protection to the surviving partner, even if the shareholding changes.

The SCI also protects against forced partition (action en partage), often a risk in indivision. By contrast, the SCI allows long-term organisation of jointly acquired property, sometimes up to 99 years.

In tax terms, the SCI is not neutral compared with indivision; specific comparative analysis is needed in each situation.

9.3 Cross-dismemberment of SCI shares

Cohabitants or PACS partners can also use an SCI with cross-dismemberment of shares:

1. They create an SCI and contribute the property (or funds to buy it), receiving shares in full ownership,

2. They then swap the bare ownership of their shares:

   • Each keeps the usufruct of their original shares,

   • And receives the bare ownership of the other’s shares.

At the first death:

• The survivor will hold full ownership of their own shares and usufruct of the deceased’s shares,

• The deceased’s heirs will hold only the bare ownership of the deceased’s shares.

On the survivor’s death:

• Usufruct merges with bare ownership without new transfer tax.

This mechanism allows the surviving partner to benefit from a broad right of enjoyment of the property throughout their life, with limited transfer duties (only on the exchange of bare ownership at the start).

It is technically delicate and must be adapted to:

• The age of each partner (which determines the fiscal value of usufruct and bare ownership),

• The overall estate and gift tax situation,

• The content of their wills and possible other gifts.

9.4 Tontine clause inserted in SCI articles

A tontine clause can also be inserted in the articles of the SCI rather than in the acquisition deed.

In that case:

• On the death of a partner, the surviving partner(s) become owners of the deceased’s shares as if they had always been so,

• The company is deemed to have been formed from the outset with a single partner (in practice, the statute usually excludes a few shares from the tontine to avoid an “illegal one-partner civil company”).

From a tax perspective, transfers arising from a statutory tontine are usually subject to the 5% transfer duty applicable to share transfers, but not to gift or inheritance tax, because Article 754 A CGI on clauses of accrual in acquisition deeds does not apply to purely statutory provisions.

However, for such a clause to be valid and resist anti-avoidance challenges, there must be:

• A real uncertainty (vital aléa),

• A certain equality or at least balance of contributions between partners,

• And a genuine patrimonial structuring objective, and not solely the desire to avoid inheritance tax.

The tontine pact is also binding: as long as they both live, none of the partners can dispose of their shares without the other’s consent.

10. SCIs and tax-advantaged rental investments (Pinel and others)

Various tax-favoured rental investment schemes exist in France (Robien, Borloo, Scellier, Duflot, Girardin, Censi-Bouvard, Pinel, Denormandie, Loc’Avantages, etc.). Some no longer accept new investments but continue to produce their effects for old operations.

In principle, many of these schemes can be used:

• Directly by an individual taxpayer,

• Or indirectly through an SCI not subject to corporation tax, provided:

  • The activity is one of bare rental (usually unfurnished),

  • The scheme does not require direct ownership (for example, some overseas and furnished rental schemes).

10.1 Focus on the Pinel scheme

The Pinel reduction applies to acquisitions, constructions or subscriptions carried out between 1 September 2014 and 31 December 2024 in eligible communes, provided that:

• The dwelling is let unfurnished as the main residence of the tenant,

• Rents are capped per square metre depending on the zone,

• The tenant’s income does not exceed specified ceilings,

• For recent years, the dwelling meets energy performance standards and is located in a collective residential building (for operations after 1 January 2021).

The rental commitment must begin within 12 months of completion or acquisition. The initial commitment is for 6 or 9 years, with possible extensions of 3-year periods up to 12 years.

The reduction is calculated on the cost price of the property within the following limits:

• €5,500 per m², and

• €300,000 per taxpayer per year,

• And no more than 2 dwellings per year.

The rates of reduction depend on the duration of the commitment and the date of investment, with decreasing rates for acquisitions in 2023 and 2024 (except for certain high-efficiency or priority district dwellings, which retain former rates).

10.2 Using Pinel via an SCI not subject to corporation tax

Pinel can work with an SCI that is transparent for tax purposes (IR), under strict conditions:

• The SCI must be outside the scope of corporation tax,

• Rental income must be taxed as real estate income (revenus fonciers) in the partners’ hands,

• The SCI must commit to rent the property to a third party (not a partner or a member of a partner’s tax household, subject to specific exceptions),

• The SCI must clearly opt for the chosen duration (6, 9 or 12 years) in its tax returns,

• The SCI must provide to each partner an annual certificate showing the eligible properties and the relevant information,

• Each partner must personally commit to hold their shares until the end of the company’s rental commitment.

The tax reduction applies to each partner in proportion to their share in the SCI, and only for two dwellings per year.

A careful legal and tax review is necessary before structuring a Pinel operation through an SCI, in order to avoid inadvertent exit from the scheme (change of tax regime, share transfer, non-compliant tenancy, etc.).

11. Protecting assets through an SCI

11.1 Separation of personal and corporate estates

Contributing a building to an SCI, or having an SCI purchase the property, results in the creation of two separate estates:

• The personal estate of the partner,

• The estate of the company (SCI).

The real estate belongs to the company, not to the partner.

Contributing a building is legally a sale from the partner to the company:

• The partner transfers ownership from his or her personal estate to that of the SCI,

• In exchange, the partner receives shares, which are movable rights.

The tax authorities generally treat this as a taxable transfer (with rights and potential capital gains taxation), even though the partner receives shares rather than cash.

The contributing partner must guarantee:

• Eviction (the company must enjoy peaceful possession), and

• Latent defects (vices cachés), like in a normal sale.

Other partners could, in case of defect, seek cancellation or damages.

For spouses married under a community of property regime, the partner’s commitment as SCI partner – and the resulting obligation to answer the company’s debts – is not a surety. The courts have held that the rules applicable to guarantees (particularly the requirement of the spouse’s consent) do not apply to this specific company-law obligation.

11.2 Protection of third-party creditors and actions in case of fraud

Putting real estate into an SCI may harm the personal creditors of a partner, as before the contribution of the real estate into the SCI they could seize the real property, whereas after the contribution they can only seize the partner’s shares, which are often illiquid and difficult to sell (clauses included in the bylaws requiring the approval of new shareholders, etc.).

French law provides tools to challenge fraudulent contributions:

• The oblique action (action oblique): creditors can exercise rights that the debtor fails to exercise,

• The Paulian action (action paulienne): creditors can ask that an act made in fraud of their rights be declared unenforceable.

Paulian action does not require an intention to harm; it is enough that the debtor and the other partners knew that the contribution would prejudice the creditors, and that the claim predates the disputed act.

In case of success, the contribution becomes unenforceable against the creditor, the property is re-integrated into the debtor’s estate, and the SCI can even be annulled for lack of contribution.

Case law has annulled contributions where the property contributed formed virtually all the debtor’s wealth, and where contribution to the SCI made the gage of creditors substantially worse due to the difficulty of negotiating the shares and the risk of mortgage registration on the SCI’s assets.

The same logic can apply to acquisitions carried out by an SCI with funds brought by partners, where the operation can be shown to be fraudulent as regards creditors.

11.3 Insolvency proceedings and potential nullities

Within insolvency law (procédures collectives), certain contributions made after the date of cessation of payments can be cancelled:

• Ex officio, where the contribution conceals a gift or where the value of the contribution far exceeds the value of the shares received (Article L.632-1, 2° Commercial Code),

• On a case-by-case basis, when the other partners knew the contributor was already in cessation of payments at the time of the contribution (Article L.632-2).

Similar rules apply when the contributor is placed in liquidation (Article L.641-14).

11.4 SCI and the new French “entrepreneur individuel” regime

The Law of 14 February 2022 created a single legal status for individual entrepreneurs, in force since 15 May 2022. This status automatically separates the entrepreneur’s professional estate, composed of assets useful to the professional activity, and his/her personal estate, composed of the remaining assets.

In principle, only the professional estate is the gage of professional creditors; the personal estate is protected.

The main residence is legally exempt from seizure by professional creditors. However, when a main residence is held through an SCI, the individual entrepreneur cannot benefit from the legal protection mechanism for their main residence or from the declaration of unseizability for other properties. This is because the property belongs to the SCI, the entrepreneur owns only shares, which are movable rights, and the law does not extend the real estate protection regime to shares in an SCI.

For entrepreneurs considering this status, the use of an SCI to hold their home must therefore be analysed very carefully.

11.5 Managing the assets of a minor or protected adult

The management of real estate owned directly by a minor, or an adult under protection (guardianship, curatorship, etc.), is subject to strict legal controls:

• Representation by parents or a legal guardian,

• Authorisations by the family council or tutelles judge for certain acts (sales, mortgages, etc.),

• Sometimes lengthy and heavy procedures.

Parents can simplify this by placing property into one or more civil companies and then transmitting shares rather than the property itself. At their death (or on a donation), the child receives shares in the SCI, and it is the manager of the company who ensures day-to-day management, within the framework of corporate law, rather than under constant judicial control for each real estate operation.

12. When does it make sense to use an SCI – and how can Frenchco.lawyer help?

Within the boundaries of the legal framework above, an SCI can be an extremely powerful tool when:

• Several individuals (family members, cohabitants, partners) want to acquire, build or manage real estate together,

• Parents want to help their children access property while structuring transmission,

• You want to pool financial capacity to invest in larger or more valuable assets,

• You need to organise management (appointment of a manager, long-term planning, avoidance of indivision conflicts),

• You want to combine investment and protection of a vulnerable person (minor or protected adult),

• You plan to use tax-advantaged rental schemes (such as Pinel, Denormandie, etc.) via a civil company not subject to IS,

• Or you seek to separate personal and professional estates while being fully aware of the limits of protection when property is held through an SCI.

However, the same mechanisms that make the SCI attractive also make it technically demanding:

• Risk of reclassification as commercial if activities are not strictly civil,

• Possible tax impacts on contributions, share transfers and rental income,

• Need to draft articles of association tailored to:

  • family situations (marriage, PACS, cohabitation, previous children, etc.),

  • financing structures (current accounts, bank loans, guarantees),

  • desired transmission strategies (cross-dismemberment, tontine, approval of heirs, etc.),

• And constant vigilance regarding creditor protection rules (Paulian action, insolvency law).

Need help structuring or reviewing an SCI?

If you are:

• Thinking of creating an SCI to buy a rental property, a second home or your main residence,

• Already partner in an SCI and want to change its articles, integrate children, or prepare transmission,

• Planning an investment under a tax regime such as Pinel and wondering whether to use an SCI or not,

• Or simply unsure whether indivision or SCI is better in your situation,

our team at Frenchco.lawyer can:

• Analyse your personal, family and patrimonial context,

• Propose concrete structuring options (with pros and cons),

• Draft or review the articles of association of your SCI,

• Coordinate with your notary and accountant to ensure consistency between civil law, tax law and accounting,

• Help you anticipate inheritance issues (partners’ death, protection of the surviving partner, children from previous unions, etc.).

Contact our French business and real estate lawyers and notaries now to discuss your project and secure your SCI from the start.