Notary fees by department: key differences you need to know

Notary fees by department: why the differences matter

Notary fees in France are not the same in Paris, Lyon or a small town in the Creuse. Because each department sets its own transfer duty rate, the total cost can differ by several thousand euros for the same purchase price. This directly affects the buy or rent comparison: the higher the fees, the longer it takes to “break even” on a purchase.

In the buy-or-rent.net / acheter-ou-louer.com simulator, these costs are captured through the montant_fn parameter (total notary fees amount). Understanding how this varies by department is key to interpreting your results correctly.

What do French “notary fees” really include?

Despite the name, most “notary fees” do not remunerate the notary. For a typical resale property at €250,000, the breakdown looks like:

• Transfer duties (droits de mutation): around 5.11–5.81% of the price, collected by the department, municipality and State.
• Disbursements and administrative costs: about 0.1–0.2% (documents, registrations, formalities).
• Notary’s fee (emoluments): roughly 1% incl. VAT, based on a national sliding scale.

All in, this gives you 7–8% of the purchase price in the existing stock, versus 2–3% in new-builds. This total is exactly what you should enter as montant_fn in the buy or rent simulator.

Why do notary fees differ between departments?

The main driver of differences between departments is the transfer duty rate (droits de mutation). Since 2014, each departmental council can choose a rate between:

• 3.80% (minimum legal rate)
• 4.50% (maximum legal rate)

This departmental rate applies to the property price (excluding furniture) and is combined with other levies (for the State and the municipality). As a result, the overall transfer duty rate usually falls between 5.11% and 5.81%.

In practice, two departments can be in two situations:

• “Low” rate: total around 5.11%.
• “High” rate: total around 5.81%.

On a €300,000 property, that 0.7 percentage-point gap already represents €2,100. This is exactly the kind of difference the montant_fn parameter should reflect in your buy or rent simulations.

Numerical example: same property, two different departments

Take a second-hand flat priced at €250,000 (excluding furniture):

Department A: higher transfer duty (overall 5.81%)

• Purchase price: €250,000
• Transfer duties (5.81%): €14,525
• Disbursements & admin fees: ~€500
• Notary’s fee (scale-based): ~€2,500

Total notary fees ≈ €17,525, about 7.0% of the price.

Department B: lower transfer duty (overall 5.11%)

• Purchase price: €250,000
• Transfer duties (5.11%): €12,775
• Disbursements & admin fees: ~€500
• Notary’s fee: ~€2,500

Total notary fees ≈ €15,775, about 6.3% of the price.

Impact on your down payment and mortgage

The difference between the two departments is €1,750. Depending on how you finance it:

• If you pay the fees from your down payment, you need to save €1,750 more to buy in Department A.
• If you roll them into your mortgage, at 3.6% over 20 years (current average loan rate), that extra €1,750 generates roughly €350 in additional interest over the term.

In the simulator, these amounts are captured in montant_fn. The higher this amount, the more the “buy” option is penalised at the start compared with “rent and invest the difference” at a given investment rate.

Notary fees: old vs new properties

Beyond the department, the other big driver is whether the property is old or new:

• Existing homes (old stock): 7–8% of the price, mostly transfer duties.
• New-builds (VEFA, under 5 years and never occupied): only 2–3% of the price.

For a new-build at €250,000:

• Reduced transfer duties: often around 0.7–1%.
• Disbursements + notary’s fee: ~€2,500–3,000.

Total: about €5,000–7,000, easily €10,000 less than a comparable old property in some departments. In the simulator, that translates into a much lower montant_fn, and therefore a faster break-even point for buying in any buy or rent comparison.

How do notary fees influence the buy or rent decision?

Notary fees are a non-recoverable entry cost: if you resell quickly, you don’t get them back. They affect:

• The minimum holding period for buying to become more attractive than renting.
• The amount of savings you must commit upfront instead of investing elsewhere.
• The opportunity cost: what you could earn by investing the money if you stay a tenant.

Scenario 1: buying in a high-rate department

Assumptions:

• Old property price: €300,000
• Notary fees (7.5%): €22,500 (montant_fn = 22,500)
• Loan rate: 3.6% over 25 years
• Borrower insurance rate: 0.30% of the loan amount
• Equivalent rent: €1,250/month, annual rent increase 2% (index-linked)
• Investment rate if renting: 4% net (e.g. diversified ETF)

With high notary fees, the buyer starts with a “handicap” of €22,500 plus the interest paid on that amount. Depending on house price inflation and rental trends, it may take 8–12 years before the buyer’s net wealth overtakes that of a disciplined renter investing the difference.

Scenario 2: same property in a lower-rate department

If fees drop from 7.5% to 6.2%:

• Notary fees: €18,600 (montant_fn = 18,600)

Immediate saving: €3,900. Invested at 4% over 10 years, that becomes roughly €5,800. In the simulator, this can shorten the time needed for buying to “beat” renting by 1–2 years, all else equal.

This is exactly what the buy or rent simulator lets you visualise by adjusting the montant_fn parameter according to the department where you plan to buy.

Notary fees and other key simulator parameters

To make a sound decision, notary fees must be analysed alongside other costs and assumptions:

• Loan rate (~3.6%): the higher it is, the more expensive it is to finance notary fees through debt.
• Borrower insurance rate (0.25–0.45%): increases the overall cost of the mortgage, and therefore the total cost of buying.
• Investment rate: if you rent, the funds not used for montant_fn can be invested in savings accounts or ETFs.
• Annual inflation: erodes the real value of both your mortgage payments and your rent.
• Property tax and its revaluation: a recurring cost for owners, very different from one city to another (from about €450 to more than €5,000 per year).

Notary fees are a one-off entry cost, whereas property tax is a recurring annual cost. Some departments combine high transfer duties with high property taxes; in those areas, the bar is higher for buying to outperform renting in a long-term buy or rent comparison.

How to optimise the montant_fn in your project

You can’t negotiate transfer duties with the department, but you can still reduce montant_fn or its impact:

• Opt for a new-build: drop total notary fees from 7–8% to about 2–3% of the price.
• Separate furniture from the property price (built-in kitchen, appliances, wardrobes): the furniture portion (if reasonable and documented) is not subject to transfer duties.
• Negotiate the purchase price: every €10,000 reduction cuts both transfer duties and notary emoluments.
• Avoid financing all fees through the mortgage: the more of montant_fn you cover with cash, the less interest you pay on it.

In the simulator, you can run one scenario with an old property and another with a new-build, adjusting montant_fn (for instance 7.5% vs 2.5% of the price) to see how much faster buying becomes attractive when notary fees are lower.

Full example: two cities, two departments

Let’s compare two projects with the same purchase price but different departments and local taxes:

Project 1: buying in Department X

• Old flat price: €220,000
• Notary fees (7.8%): €17,160 (montant_fn = 17,160)
• Annual property tax: €1,200, revalued at 2%/year
• Equivalent rent if you don’t buy: €900/month, rent indexation 2%/year

Project 2: buying in Department Y

• Old flat price: €220,000
• Notary fees (6.4%): €14,080 (montant_fn = 14,080)
• Annual property tax: €800, revalued at 3%/year
• Equivalent rent: €850/month, rent indexation 2%/year

In Project 1, you face higher upfront costs, but in Project 2, property tax starts lower yet grows faster. Depending on your investment rate, inflation assumptions and expected property price changes, the department with the lowest notary fees is not always the best choice over 20–25 years.

This is why a purely intuitive decision (“fees are lower here, so I’ll buy”) can be misleading. A data-driven buy or rent comparison must model both the initial montant_fn and the recurring costs over time.

Conclusion: no universal answer, only numbers

Notary fees by department can change the upfront cost of buying by several thousand euros. Between a high-rate and a low-rate department, the gap in montant_fn alone can shift the break-even point for buying by several years.

However, there is no universal rule to say whether it is better to buy or rent: it depends on your specific situation, planned holding period, savings capacity, and what you could realistically earn by investing instead. This article provides numerical benchmarks, but it is not personalised financial advice.

To decide whether to buy or rent, the most effective approach is to model your own data (price, department, exact montant_fn, loan and insurance rates, rent, property tax, investment rate, inflation, etc.). Simulate your situation on buy-or-rent.net / acheter-ou-louer.com and see, with hard numbers, how your department’s notary fees affect your long-term outcome.