Intractable disagreement re. property -- sell or not?

[OxHeadJay]

I and three others jointly and equally own a house and garden in France. Three of us want to sell, one is holding out. In French property law, is it possible for the three to go ahead with a sale, against the wishes of the fourth? For the purposes of my enquiry, the rift in relationships that this would cause is irrelevant.

None of the four is currently living in the house — it has never been anyone’s principal home, always just a holiday home.

I would be very grateful indeed for any advice, or links to helpful websites! Many thanks in anticipation.

[NormanH]

I am afraid that I can only advise you to consult a Notaire.

It will depend oh which system it   was bought under

https://www.banquepopulaire.fr/portailinternet/Editorial/Informations/Pages/proprietaire-plusieurs-ou-famille.aspx

if it was bought in 'indivision' for example

si une des parties décide de vendre sa

quote-part à une personne étrangère à l’indivision, les autres

indivisaires disposent d’un droit de préemption.

Les problèmes de l’indivision apparaissent

en cas de mésentente entre les propriétaires. En effet, toutes les

décisions doivent être prises à l’unanimité. En cas de désaccord,

l’indivision est bloquée. Pire encore, si l’un des co-indivisaires

décide de vendre, les autres sont obligés de suivre

but this may not be the way that yours was bought which is why I recommend seeing a notaire

This is not necessarily very expensive as long as you are only asking for information.

[idun]

As NH said, you need to speak to a notaire about this.

Also, who is paying the bills, I can only hope that it is the person who doesn't want to sell. Because if it is them, then you need to leave them to it.

BUT if it isn't they who are paying, then, will they contribute towards the bills that someone else is paying. Because IF they are being so difficult, could they stop participating in local taxes, water, electricity, insurance etc bills.

I have known of people with similar problems and the last friends this happened to, the bloke who didn't want to sell, wanted money. More than their actual share when they sold at market prices.

In his head he got an inflated idea of how much it was worth  and IF they wanted him out, they had to pay him the amount that he would have got, if it had gone for the price he believed it to be worth........

........... my friends paid up, because they were blocked otherwise.

Legal advice and try and make sure he is responsible for all the bills from now on, is all I can suggest.

[Patf]

Like you Idun I knew someone in France who spent holidays in a house with shared ownership - I met her from one of these forums.

She wanted to sell her share but it was difficult to get the others to agree on the terms.

As far as I remember it all depends on the legal terms on which the purchase was made. as Norman said. So contact the notaire.

Reminds me as well of the common situation in France where someone dies and leaves a house to several descendants. All except one want to sell. It can drag on for years.

[Loiseau]

Won’t the régime under which the property was purchased be stated in the deeds? Maybe the OP has access to those.

But, yes, I agree with all those above that a notaire needs to be consulted - preferably the practice where the purchase was made, who would be sure to have a copy of the acte in their archives.

[YCCMB]

Just FYI. Since 2009 there's been an amendment to the Code Civil (article 815-5-1) which allows for a sale even if all the parties aren't in agreement. This, assuming the indivision aspect.

It's still complex, you still need a notaire, but it's do-able by the looks of things. That said, it might be a costly process.

[OxHeadJay]

Yes, good point re. bills. I should have said that all bills are shared equally and there have never been disputes over these.

So everything is owned equally and costs are shared equally -- we just can't agree as to whether we sell or keep!

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply with sensible suggestions! Legal advice it will have to be...

[NormanH]

See a Notaire first not an avocat.

I my town at they  run a monthly advice centre  (in a café!)

where they give general advice for free. It's only when they are engaged to actually act that they start charging.

https://aidejuridic.fr/conseil-notaire-gratuit/