Yes, but in two stages. A protective judicial mortgage can be registered without an enforceable title, on the judge’s authorisation, and makes the property unsellable free of charge. Seizure of the property itself requires an enforceable title, meaning exequatur of the foreign judgment, except for an EU decision. Between the two, the creditor holds the property without yet being able to sell it.
A judgment of the London High Court orders a foreign national to pay 3.1 million pounds to a former partner. The debtor does not reside in the United Kingdom and no longer owns anything there. It does, however, own a villa in Saint-Tropez, purchased twelve years earlier, which a local agency is advertising for sale in the spring. The creditor learns of the property on a Friday evening. The question put to French counsel comes down to two points: can the sale be prevented, and how long will it take to be paid out of this asset?
French real estate is one of the assets most sought after by foreign creditors, because it cannot be moved and its value is known. It is also the slowest to realise. French law sharply separates the security, which blocks the property, from the seizure, which sells it, and the reform of security law that entered into force on 1 January 2022 changed the first of these two stages in a way that many foreign practitioners still do not know. This page describes the protective security, the enforceable title required for seizure, how the procedure unfolds, the frequent case of a property held through a civil real estate company, the protections available to the debtor, the question of creditor ranking, and overall strategy.
1. Block first: the judicial mortgage is now purely protective
The first instinct is to make the property unsellable. Article L. 531-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures allows a judicial security to be created on a protective basis over real property, business assets, shares, partnership interests and securities. Over real property, this security takes the form of a protective judicial mortgage, registered with the land registry office for the district where the property is located. It is obtained under the conditions of article L. 511-1, that is, on the authorisation of the enforcement judge, before whom the creditor shows that its claim appears well-founded in principle and that recovery is at risk. The English judgment establishes the first point; the property being put up for sale establishes the second.
The reform of security law that entered into force on 1 January 2022 reorganised this area, and its terminology confuses practitioners trained before it. The Civil Code now distinguishes two securities that used to be lumped together under the name judicial mortgage. Article 2408 reserves that expression for the protective judicial mortgage alone, stating that it is created on a protective basis and governed by the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures: this is the one the creditor obtains from the judge before holding a title. Article 2401, for its part, sets up the legal mortgage attached to judgments of condemnation, which arises from adversarial or default judgments, final or provisional, in favour of the party that obtained them.
This second provision is of direct interest to the foreign creditor, because it expressly addresses its situation: the legal mortgage, it states, also arises from arbitral awards granted exequatur and from judicial decisions rendered by the courts of another state and granted enforceable force in France. Once exequatur has been obtained, or as soon as the article 53 certificate is produced for an EU decision enforceable as of right, the holder of a foreign judgment can therefore register a mortgage over its debtor’s real property without going back before a judge. The timeline then becomes simple: a protective mortgage on authorisation while the title is missing, a legal mortgage as of right once it has been obtained.
The provisional registration takes immediate effect: the property remains sellable, but it cannot be sold free of charge. No serious buyer, notary or lending bank will agree to complete a sale without release of the mortgage, which requires payment or deposit of the secured amount. The villa put up for sale in the spring will therefore not sell without the creditor being satisfied, which answers the first question asked. Two formalities, however, condition the effectiveness of the registration: notice to the debtor, by bailiff’s act, within eight days of filing the registration forms, on pain of lapse (article R. 532-5), and commencement of proceedings to obtain an enforceable title within one month of the measure (article R. 511-7).
2. The enforceable title, a condition for seizure of real property
To sell, a title is required. Article L. 311-2 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures reserves seizure of real property to a creditor holding an enforceable title evidencing a liquidated and due claim, and article L. 311-6 specifies that it may cover all real rights over property, including its fixtures deemed part of the property, that are capable of being transferred. The English judgment is not by itself a French enforceable title: it becomes one through exequatur, or, for proceedings begun since 1 July 2025, under the conditions of the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019, which frames the grounds for refusal without removing the step before the French court.
The regime varies according to the origin of the decision, and that is the first question to settle. A decision from an EU member state is enforceable as of right on production of the article 53 certificate under the Brussels I bis Regulation: seizure of real property can be commenced without any prior judicial step in France. A Swiss, Norwegian or Icelandic decision requires a declaration of enforceability issued by the court registry under the Lugano Convention. An American, Emirati, Chinese or Singaporean decision falls under the ordinary law of exequatur, with the conditions of the Cornelissen ruling, and six to eighteen months should be allowed depending on how hard the debtor fights. Throughout this time, the protective mortgage holds the property.
Once the title is obtained, the provisional security becomes a definitive security through a registration that must be carried out within two months, running, as the case may be, from the day the title becomes final or from the expiry of the period given to the debtor to challenge it (article R. 533-4). Meeting this deadline is decisive, because the definitive registration keeps the rank of the provisional registration. That is the whole point of acting on day one: a creditor who registered on a protective basis as soon as the property was discovered takes rank from that date, whereas one who patiently waits for its exequatur judgment before registering the legal mortgage under article 2401 only takes rank on the date of that registration, that is, a year or two later, behind everyone who registered in the meantime.
3. Seizure of real property, step by step
The procedure opens with a payment demand valid as seizure, served on the debtor or the third-party holder at the request of the pursuing creditor (articles L. 321-1 and R. 321-1). The regulation specifies that service of the demand is an act of disposal, carried out at the creditor’s risk, wording that recalls that the procedure engages its liability. Where the property owned by one spouse alone constitutes the family home, the demand must also be served on the other spouse. The demand is then registered with the land registry office, which renders the property unavailable and freezes the situation.
Next comes the orientation hearing before the enforcement judge, which is the heart of the procedure. The judge checks the regularity of the acts, rules on challenges, decides on the debtor’s requests, and determines what happens next: a private sale on judicial authorisation, or a forced sale by auction (article L. 322-1). The debtor may ask that the effects of the seizure be provisionally limited to one or more of its properties where it shows that their value is sufficient to satisfy the pursuing creditor and the registered creditors (article R. 321-12), a useful provision where the real estate portfolio is large and the claim is not.
The private sale, where authorised, takes place under the judge’s supervision, who sets a minimum price and a deadline. It almost always achieves a better price than the auction, and most well-run cases stop there. Failing that, the auction takes place at the enforcement judge’s hearing, on a starting price set by the pursuing creditor, with the usual overbidding mechanisms. The price is then distributed among the creditors according to their rank, amicably where possible, otherwise judicially. Between the payment demand and actual distribution of the price, allow twelve to twenty-four months where the debtor does not multiply incidents, and more where it does.
4. Property held through a civil real estate company: target the shares, not the property
Holding through a civil real estate company (SCI) is the rule rather than the exception for prestige properties on the coast and in the capital. It changes everything: the property belongs to the company, the judgment condemns the partner, and the company’s assets are not those of its partner. Seizure of the real property is closed to the creditor, unless it can show that the company is a sham or that the estates have been commingled, a demanding showing that case law only accepts on the basis of specific factors, such as a complete absence of corporate life, commingled accounts, or an arrangement made in fraud of the creditor’s rights.
The effective route lies elsewhere: seizing the partnership shares the debtor holds in the company. These shares are intangible rights, capable of being seized and transferred, and article L. 531-1 allows them to be pledged on a protective basis from day one, without an enforceable title. The pledge renders the shares unavailable and prohibits their transfer free of charge. Once the title is obtained, seizure of the partner’s rights results, failing a private sale, in a sale by auction whose starting price is set by the pursuing creditor, with the debtor able to apply to the enforcement judge in case of a manifest shortfall compared with the market value of the rights and market conditions (article L. 233-1).
A buyer of shares in a civil real estate company buys a structure, its debts and its latent tax liabilities, which heavily discounts the price compared with the value of the underlying property. That is the limit of this route, and the reason it more often serves as a bargaining lever than as a means of actual recovery. A debtor whose shares are pledged and headed for auction generally prefers to pay. Other configurations call for the same reasoning: co-ownership, where only the debtor’s share can be seized and the creditor can force a partition; dismemberment of ownership, where the usufruct and bare ownership are seized separately at a reduced market value; and the matrimonial property regime, which determines what, within the couple’s assets, answers for the debt.
5. What protects the debtor
Not every home can be seized. A sole trader’s primary residence is automatically exempt from seizure by creditors whose claim arose in connection with the professional activity, and a notarised declaration can extend this protection to other land not used for professional purposes. These protections only apply to professional debts, not to an ordinary judgment of condemnation, but they are routinely invoked and must be checked before incurring the costs of proceedings.
Real property belonging to a foreign state falls under enforcement immunities. Article L. 111-1-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures makes any protective or enforcement measure against property belonging to a foreign state subject to prior judicial authorisation, granted on application, and article L. 111-1-2 only allows it in limited cases, notably where the property is used for purposes other than non-commercial public service. Diplomatic residences and mission buildings enjoy near-absolute protection, which the mere status of a creditor holding an arbitral award is not enough to lift.
Finally, the opening of insolvency proceedings halts individual enforcement. If the debtor is a business and proceedings are opened in France, the foreign creditor must file its claim and abandon the seizure. If proceedings are opened in another EU member state, Regulation 2015/848 extends their effects to France, including the stay of enforcement, with special rules for rights in rem over property located in another member state. Proceedings opened outside the EU only take effect in France after recognition under ordinary law, which leaves the creditor a window that practitioners know well.
6. Ranking: what the foreign creditor will actually be left with
A high-value property does not mean guaranteed payment. The auction price is distributed according to creditor ranking, and the foreign creditor holding a judgment comes behind several categories: legal costs incurred for the sale, creditors holding a special real property privilege, and above all the bank that financed the purchase and registered a first-ranking contractual mortgage. A villa valued at eight million euros, financed to the extent of six million by a mortgage loan still largely outstanding, leaves almost nothing after costs.
The mortgage register statement, issued by the land registry office, provides this information before any costs are incurred. Requesting it is the first step in any real estate case, even before applying to the enforcement judge. It reveals the exact identity of the owner, the date and price of acquisition, the mortgages registered with their amount and rank, and any payment demands registered by other creditors, which signal proceedings already under way. An informed creditor can then choose not to seize an over-mortgaged property and to redirect its efforts toward other assets, such as bank accounts, whose treatment is described in the article on attaching bank accounts on a foreign judgment.
7. The real timeline, from the first application to payment
The typical timeline for an ordinary-law case spans two to three years. Day one: mortgage register statement and asset mapping. Day two or three: application to the enforcement judge and authorisation to register the protective judicial mortgage. The following week: provisional registration and notice to the debtor within eight days. Within the month: exequatur proceedings before the judicial court. Six to eighteen months later: exequatur judgment, then definitive registration of the mortgage within two months. Only then: payment demand valid as seizure, orientation hearing, private sale or auction, distribution of the price, an additional twelve to twenty-four months.
This timeline explains why seizure of real property is rarely carried through to the end. It is expensive, between bailiff’s fees, mandatory attorney’s fees at every stage, land registry fees and sale costs, and it ties up the creditor for years. Its real function lies elsewhere: the protective mortgage, obtained within days, deprives the debtor of the freedom to sell its property and forces it to negotiate. In the Saint-Tropez example, the villa will not sell in the spring without the London creditor releasing the mortgage, and it is precisely at that moment that the discussion over payment becomes serious.
8. Order of priorities for a foreign creditor
The practical rule is simple: freeze broadly and fast, realise narrowly and late. The first day is devoted to identifying assets: real property through the mortgage register statement, partnership shares through the commercial register, bank accounts through the bailiff’s access to the account register. On the second day, the application to the enforcement judge covers all of these assets in a single request, which avoids revealing a step-by-step strategy. The measures are then carried out in order of decreasing liquidity, accounts first, securities next, discretion taking priority over completeness for as long as the debtor has not been notified.
Exequatur proceedings are commenced within the month, without delay, and negotiation then opens, because a debtor whose property is encumbered and whose accounts are frozen has an immediate economic interest in settling. Seizure of the real property itself is only launched if this negotiation fails and the mortgage register statement shows that a balance will come back to the creditor. This discipline avoids the most common mistake made by foreign creditors, which is to launch a dramatic seizure of a fully mortgaged property, and to discover two years later that they have financed the repayment of the debtor’s bank.
The firm has brought together, in a practical guide on exequatur and enforcement of foreign decisions, the conditions for recognition depending on the origin of the decision and the timeline of protective and enforcement measures. It acts alongside foreign creditors seeking to reach French real estate assets, as well as owners facing a registration or a seizure; its page on exequatur of foreign decisions describes these engagements, and the contact form allows a case to be outlined in a few lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a mortgage be registered without having obtained exequatur?
Yes. The protective judicial mortgage under article L. 531-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures is registered on the authorisation of the enforcement judge, once the claim appears well-founded in principle and its recovery is at risk, and a foreign judgment not yet recognised very largely establishes this. Once exequatur is obtained, the creditor additionally has the legal mortgage under article 2401 of the Civil Code, which expressly covers foreign decisions granted enforceable force in France and is registered without further authorisation. It takes rank from its own date, however, whereas definitive registration of the protective mortgage keeps the original rank.
How long does seizure of real property take?
Between the payment demand valid as seizure and actual distribution of the price, allow twelve to twenty-four months in a case without incident, more where the debtor multiplies challenges. For an ordinary-law judgment, add the time for exequatur proceedings, six to eighteen months. The complete timeline for an ordinary-law case therefore spans two to three years, during which the protective mortgage safeguards the creditor.
Can property held through an SCI be seized?
Not directly. The property belongs to the company, not to the condemned partner, and seizure of real property requires the debtor to be the owner. Unless it can show that the company is a sham or that the estates have been commingled, the creditor must target the debtor’s partnership shares: they can be pledged on a protective basis from day one and later sold by auction. Their price, however, is markedly lower than the value of the property, which makes them more of a bargaining lever than a means of actual recovery.
Is the sale possible without the debtor’s consent?
Yes, that is the very purpose of seizure of real property. At the orientation hearing, the enforcement judge decides whether the property will be sold privately on judicial authorisation or by auction (article L. 322-1). The auction takes place at the hearing, on a starting price set by the pursuing creditor, and transfers ownership without the debtor having to sign anything. A judicially authorised private sale remains preferable in practice, because it achieves a better price and therefore better satisfies the creditor.
What happens if a bank already has a mortgage on the property?
It ranks ahead of the seizing creditor for the amount secured by its registration, which is earlier in time. The sale price is distributed according to rank: legal costs, privileged and registered mortgage creditors, then unsecured creditors. A property financed by a loan still largely outstanding often leaves nothing for the foreign creditor. The mortgage register statement, to be requested before any proceedings, reveals this and helps direct enforcement toward other assets.
On the same subject, from North America: enforcing a Canadian or Quebec judgment in France; on other assets: can a bank account be attached in France on the strength of a foreign judgment and can a ship be arrested in France on the strength of a foreign judgment; on urgent measures: can the debtor’s assets be secured in France before exequatur; on the framework applicable to each decision: the six points that determine whether a foreign title will be enforceable.