The rural real estate market in France is the scene of an unprecedented confrontation between the national association of French estate agents (FNAIM) and the national rural land agency (SAFER), a government body.
At the heart of the conflict is the extension of the prerogatives of SAFER, perceived by FNAIM as a distortion of competition and an abuse of a dominant position.
Disputed Privileges
Historically created in the 1960s to regulate agricultural land and facilitate the installation of farmers, SAFER has seen their role expanded over the decades.
Today, they are also engaged in the market for residential property in the countryside, on which they have a right of pre-emption. Their website is full of country houses and farms for sale, at often eye-watering prices. Many are purchased by non-agricultural buyers.
"SAFER is no longer satisfied with protecting agricultural land, they play the role of privileged real estate intermediary, with resources that no private professional has," denounces Loïc Cantin, president of FNAIM.
According to him, these bodies benefit from a "monopoly of information": any rural transaction must be notified to them, allowing them to intervene upstream, sometimes even before the estate agencies are informed.
Sellers (normally via a notaire or estate agent) are obliged to notify SAFER when a rural property is being sold, when SAFER then have 2 months to decide whether they wish to pre-empt on the purchase. Buyers who think they may have bought a rural pile are obliged to hold their breath until SAFER has communicated its decision.
In addition, SAFER hold a major tax advantage in that they are exempt from stamp duty on their purchases, which reduces their costs by around 5%.
The result, according to FNAIM, is that transactions are cancelled without justification, there are restrictions on the offer, and clauses requiring buyers to go through the SAFER again in the event of resale within ten years.
Disputed Figures
The FNAIM puts forward edifying figures: in Brittany, nearly 40% of SAFER transactions in 2022 concerned rural houses, for a total amount of €2.95 billion. In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, more than 13,700 transactions involved residential properties, i.e. a third of SAFER's regional activity.
Faced with these accusations, Emmanuel Hyest, president of the National Federation of SAFER, minimises the impact: "We only intervene in a limited number of cases in country houses, less than 500 operations per year on a national scale." This figure is disputed by FNAIM, who claim SAFER are involved in thousands of purchases each year, stating that they have become “de facto the leading property dealer in France”.
In their defense, Hyest states that the role of SAFER had been extended by the public authorities for more than forty years, to now include environmental protection and rural development.
Complaint to European Commission
FNAIM have now taken a decisive step by filing two complaints with the European Commission: one for abuse of a dominant position by SAFER, the other for illegal state aid. "We defend professionals in the sector and individuals, who are at a disadvantage in the face of organisations that have unparalleled means of action and access to information," explains Loïc Cantin.
The conflict has been further aggravated by the adoption this year of a bill aimed at strengthening the right of pre-emption of SAFER. The text now allows SAFER to dissociate agricultural land from its adjoining home, to pre-empt only the agricultural part, a measure that the FNAIM describes as "abusive" and a "hold-up on rural transactions".
SAFER, who are presented as a agent of general interest, insist on their role in the installation of young farmers and the fight against land ‘artificialisation’. The FNAIM, for its part, advocates for a refocusing of SAFER on their original mission and fair competition.
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