Mis à jour : 2026-05-14

FAQ: property search in France and Spain

Answers to the most common questions from people searching for property in France and Spain, covering portals, alerts, documentation, costs, and the key terms you will encounter.

Last updated: May 2026.

Portals and listings

Which portals should I use to search for property in France?

The five main portals are SeLoger, LeBonCoin, PAP, BienIci, and Logic-Immo. SeLoger is the reference for professional agency listings in major cities. LeBonCoin is essential for private landlord listings and for searches outside major cities. PAP is the only portal exclusively for private transactions with no agency fees. BienIci is strong for map-based searches and is particularly useful when your target area does not follow administrative boundaries. Logic-Immo covers medium-sized cities well. An effective search typically requires alerts on at least three of these portals simultaneously.

Which portals should I use to search for property in Spain?

The dominant portal is Idealista, followed by Fotocasa. Habitaclia is essential if you are searching in Catalonia or the Balearic Islands. Pisos.com and Milanuncios complement the search for private party listings and smaller cities. Most professional agencies publish on Idealista at minimum, and many publish simultaneously on Idealista and Fotocasa.

Why do I keep seeing the same listing on multiple portals?

Because agencies publish each property on every portal they subscribe to in order to maximise visibility. A single property in Paris or Barcelona may be published simultaneously on three or four portals. This is structural: the portals have no incentive to deduplicate between platforms. The only effective solution is a tool that receives alerts from all portals and detects duplicates automatically.

Are there property portals with no agency fees in France?

Yes. PAP (Particulier à Particulier) publishes exclusively private party listings, meaning no agency fees for buyers or tenants. Some listings on LeBonCoin are also from private landlords with no agency involvement, though LeBonCoin mixes private and professional listings.

Alerts

How do I set up property alerts in France?

Create a free account on each portal, run a search with your criteria (location, property type, budget, size), and click "Create alert" or "Save search" from the results page. In competitive markets (Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux), choose instant notifications rather than daily digests.

How do I set up property alerts in Spain?

On Idealista, run your search and click "Guardar búsqueda" or the bell icon. On Fotocasa, you can use the commute-time search before saving. All portals require a free account to activate email alerts.

How can I avoid receiving the same listing twice across multiple portals?

No portal offers native cross-portal deduplication. The only way to avoid duplicates is to centralise your alerts in a tool that detects them automatically. FeedImmo receives alert emails from all portals, removes duplicates, and shows each property once with a relevance score.

Documentation for renting

What documents do I need to rent in France?

A standard French tenancy application requires the last three payslips, the last two tax assessments (avis d'imposition), proof of current address, proof of identity, and proof of employment (contract or letter from employer). DossierFacile is a free government service that lets you compile and certify these documents digitally.

What documents do I need to rent in Spain?

A standard Spanish tenancy application typically requires a passport or NIE, the last three payslips, the last tax return (declaración de la renta), and sometimes a bank statement from the last three months.

What is a guarantor (garant in French / avalista in Spanish) and do I need one?

A guarantor is a person or organisation that commits to paying the rent if the tenant cannot. In France, Visale is a free government guarantor scheme accessible to people under 30 and certain workers in job transition. In Spain, the equivalent mechanism is less standardised but some banks and private services offer guarantees. Not all landlords require a guarantor if your income profile is strong.

Costs when buying

What are the total costs when buying a property in France?

For older properties (more than five years old), the main additional cost is droits de mutation (commonly called frais de notaire), which total approximately 7 to 8 percent of the purchase price. For new-build properties, VAT is included in the purchase price and droits de mutation are approximately 2 to 3 percent.

What are the total costs when buying a property in Spain?

For second-hand properties, total purchase costs on top of the price are typically 8 to 12 percent, covering ITP (transfer tax, 6 to 10 percent depending on the region), notary fees, Land Registry fees, and legal costs. For new-build properties, VAT (IVA) at 10 percent replaces ITP, plus AJD (stamp duty) of 0.5 to 1.5 percent.

Energy ratings

What does DPE mean in France?

DPE stands for Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique, the mandatory energy performance rating for French properties. It runs from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and reflects annual energy consumption per square metre. Since January 2025, G-rated properties cannot be let on new tenancy agreements. F-rated properties will be banned from new lets in 2028.

What is the energy certificate in Spain?

The Spanish certificado de eficiencia energética follows the same A to G scale as the French DPE. It is mandatory for all property sales and rentals. Spain does not yet have a law banning rentals of G-rated properties, but European regulations are moving in that direction.

Does the energy rating affect rent or running costs?

Yes, significantly. A G-rated property can consume three to five times more energy per square metre than a C-rated equivalent. In practice, this means energy bills can be hundreds of euros per month higher. In France, the legal restrictions on G and F properties also affect resale value and rental demand.

Key terms

What does "T3" or "3 pièces" mean in a French listing?

A T3 or "3 pièces" is an apartment with three main rooms: typically a living room and two bedrooms. The kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are not counted as "pièces". A T1 is a studio, T2 is a one-bedroom flat, T4 is a three-bedroom flat.

What does "habitaciones" mean in a Spanish listing?

"Habitaciones" refers exclusively to bedrooms, not total rooms. A "piso de 3 habitaciones" has three bedrooms plus a living room (salón). Unlike French "pièces", the living room is not counted in the habitaciones figure.

What is the DPE in France?

The DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique) is the mandatory energy efficiency rating for French properties, expressed on a scale from A to G. It affects both the rental legality of a property (G-rated properties cannot be let from 2025) and the likely energy costs.

What is the IBI in Spain?

IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is the annual local property tax paid by the owner of any property in Spain. It is calculated on the cadastral value and varies significantly by municipality. In a purchase transaction, IBI for the year is typically prorated between buyer and seller.

FeedImmo centralises alerts from all major French and Spanish property portals into a single deduplicated feed, with each property scored against your criteria. Start free at feedimmo.com.

Related guides

Ready to simplify your search?

FeedImmo aggregates your alerts, removes duplicates and ranks each property against your criteria.

Start for free