Foreclosure (saisie immobiliere) is governed by Articles L. 311-1 et seq. of the Code des procedures civiles d’execution (CPCE). It is the enforcement measure that reaches the debtor’s most valuable asset – real property – and the one offering the creditor the most powerful recovery mechanism. It is subject to strict formalism: the slightest procedural deviation can destroy years of proceedings.

This guide presents the entire procedure: from the enforceable title through to the distribution of sale proceeds among creditors, including all intermediate steps. The focus is on mandatory deadlines and available defences – the two dimensions that every practitioner, whether acting for creditor or debtor, must master.

Definition and legal framework

Foreclosure is the procedure by which a creditor holding an enforceable title compels the forced sale of the debtor’s real property to satisfy the debt from the proceeds, by preference or in competition with other creditors. It sits at the extreme end of the enforcement spectrum: it is used when all other measures – garnishment on bank accounts, wage garnishment – have been insufficient, or when real property is the only realisable asset.

Article L. 311-1 CPCE:

“Any creditor holding an enforceable title evidencing a liquidated and due claim may pursue the forced expropriation of the debtor’s immovable property in the forms prescribed by this Book.”

Who can be subject to foreclosure?

The principal debtor is the natural target. But the seizure may also reach a third-party holder (tiers detenteur) – someone who acquired the property subject to a mortgage or real property privilege without being personally liable. Since Ordinance No. 2021-1192 of 15 September 2021, Articles 2461 to 2474 of the Civil Code organise the mortgagee’s right of pursuit (droit de suite).

A real security provider (caution reelle) – who hypothecated property to secure another’s debt without personal liability – benefits from essential protection: the seizure is limited to the charged property.

Prerequisites

Before serving the first act, the creditor must satisfy three cumulative conditions that the enforcement judge will verify ex officio.

An enforceable title evidencing a liquidated and due claim

Article L. 111-3 CPCE defines enforceable titles. In banking matters, this is most often a notarial loan agreement or a judgment having acquired res judicata. The claim must be liquidated (its amount determined) and due (the term expired). For the full regime of enforceable titles, see our dedicated guide.

Acceleration of the loan and unfair terms challenges

In mortgage lending, the claim only becomes due – in the sense permitting foreclosure – after acceleration (decheance du terme): the early calling of the entire outstanding capital. The bank pronounces this acceleration by invoking a contractual clause providing for immediate exigibility upon default.

But this clause can fall. The Cour de cassation held, in a notable decision of 3 October 2024 (2nd civ., No. 21-25.823), that an immediate exigibility clause without prior formal notice may be classified as unfair under Article L. 212-1 of the Consumer Code. If the clause is declared unfair, the acceleration loses its basis – and the foreclosure with it.

The payment order constituting seizure (commandement de payer valant saisie)

This is the founding act. Everything starts here – and everything can collapse here if formal rules are not respected to the letter.

Step 1 – Service of the payment order (Day 0) The judicial officer serves the order on the debtor. The document must contain, on pain of nullity, the particulars imposed by Articles R. 321-1 to R. 321-6 CPCE: copy of the enforceable title and detailed breakdown, 8-day deadline to pay, requirement to instruct a lawyer within 15 days, description of the property, notice of possibility of private sale.

Step 2 – Registration at the land registry (D+0 to D+2 months maximum) The payment order must be registered within two months of service (Art. R. 321-6 CPCE). Failing this, it lapses. Registration produces unavailability of the property: the debtor can no longer sell or mortgage.

Step 3 – Description report and summons (1 to 3 months after registration) The judicial officer prepares the property description report. The creditor then serves a summons to appear at the orientation hearing within 1 to 3 months after registration (Art. R. 322-1 CPCE).

Step 4 – Orientation hearing The enforcement judge (JEX) verifies procedural regularity and decides: private sale if the debtor requests it and conditions are met; forced sale (auction) in all other cases. This is the sole moment to raise challenges – any objection not raised at orientation is inadmissible.

Step 5 – Sale (private: 4 months / forced: auction) In a private sale, the debtor has 4 months to find a buyer at the minimum price set by the JEX (extendable by 3 months on proof of a signed agreement). In a forced sale, auction is organised after mandatory publicity.

Step 6 – Distribution of proceeds (within 6 months of publication of title of sale) After publication of the sale title, admitted creditors assert their rights. Distribution is first consensual, then judicial in case of disagreement.

Mandatory deadlines and grounds for lapse

  • 2 months to register the payment order after service, on pain of lapse
  • 2 months after registration to serve the summons to the orientation hearing, on pain of expiry
  • 2 years validity of the registered payment order (Art. R. 321-20 CPCE)

These deadlines are mandatory public policy (ordre public). The judge may raise them ex officio.

From the description report to the orientation hearing

Forfeiture of challenges not raised at orientation

This is the most formidable rule of the procedure: any challenge not raised at the orientation hearing is inadmissible. The debtor who fails to invoke at this stage the nullity of the payment order, limitation of the claim, absence of enforceable title or any other defence may never do so subsequently.

This forfeiture is absolute. It applies even if the debtor was not represented by a lawyer at the hearing – though legal representation is mandatory in foreclosure.

The orientation decision: private sale or forced sale

The JEX concentrates all foreclosure litigation (Art. L. 213-6 of the Code of Judicial Organisation). The request for private sale must be made no later than the orientation hearing – if the debtor does not present it, the JEX orders forced sale.

Private sale or forced sale: the decisive choice

Private sale under judicial authorisation

The private sale in foreclosure (Articles L. 322-1 to L. 322-4 CPCE) is not an ordinary sale: it remains under judicial control. The JEX sets a minimum price below which the sale cannot be concluded, and grants a period of four months to find a buyer (Art. R. 322-21 CPCE). This period is extendable by three months on proof of a signed sale agreement.

The private sale is almost always preferable. The price obtained is generally 15 to 30% higher than at forced auction, where the discount linked to the judicial context weighs heavily.

Auction: publicity, bidding and sanctions

Forced sale proceeds by auction (adjudication). Prior publicity is a substantive formality – legal notices, posting at the court and on the property, online publication. The Cour de cassation confirmed (2nd civ., 13 Jan. 2022, No. 20-18.155) that failure to publish renders the auction null, regardless of prejudice.

The auction takes place at the JEX hearing. Only lawyers registered at the bar of the competent tribunal judiciaire may place bids on behalf of their clients. The auction judgment constitutes both title of ownership and eviction order.

Within ten days of the auction, any person may make an overbid (surenchere) of at least one-tenth of the auction price (Art. L. 322-8 CPCE).

Distribution of the sale proceeds

The auction is pronounced. For the creditors, nothing is yet settled. Distribution is a full procedure in its own right – often overlooked, yet decisive.

Which creditors are admitted to distribution?

Article L. 331-1 CPCE provides an exhaustive list. These include: the pursuing creditor, creditors registered before publication of the payment order, creditors benefiting from legal mortgages (reformed by Ordinance 2021-1192), and creditors with pledges over fixtures. The enforcement judge controls this list.

A registered creditor who fails to file a claim within two months of notification forfeits the benefit of its security – retaining only an unsecured claim but losing priority (Art. L. 331-2 CPCE).

Consensual distribution

Within two months following publication of the sale title, the pursuing creditor notifies all admitted creditors requesting an updated statement of their claim. Each creditor has fifteen days to produce. The pursuing creditor’s lawyer then prepares a distribution proposal notified to the debtor and all creditors, with a fifteen-day challenge period. Without challenge, the proposal is deemed accepted and submitted to the JEX for homologation.

Judicial distribution

If the consensual phase fails, the JEX assumes control. Appeal of the distribution judgment is suspensive: no payment may be made until the Court of Appeal has ruled.

What if the price does not cover all debts?

Distribution purges the registrations, not the debts. A partially paid mortgagee becomes an unsecured creditor for the balance and may resume enforcement on the debtor’s other assets – garnishment on bank accounts, wage garnishment.

The debtor’s defences

The debtor is not powerless facing foreclosure. Several levers allow delay, suspension or defeat of the procedure. Their effectiveness depends on a single factor: being presented at the orientation hearing, and not after.

Challenging the enforceable title or exigibility of the claim

The first reflex is to verify the title’s validity. A judgment subject to a suspensive appeal, a notarial deed containing a formal irregularity, an acceleration based on an unfair clause: all grounds capable of destroying the entire procedure.

Limitation

The limitation period for the enforceable title is ten years from the judgment (Art. L. 111-4 CPCE) or from the due date for notarial deeds.

Nullity of the payment order

Defects in the payment order are numerous: omission of a mandatory particular, error in the debt calculation, irregular service, lack of authority of the signatory. Nullity results in lapse of the entire procedure (Cass. 2nd civ., 23 March 2023, No. 21-20.447).

This nullity is a procedural objection (Cass. 2nd civ., 6 March 2025, No. 22-12.742): it must be raised before any defence on the merits – or it is lost.

Grace periods and insolvency

Article 1343-5 of the Civil Code allows the debtor to request from the JEX a grace period of up to two years to pay the debt. During this period, foreclosure is suspended.

The opening of insolvency proceedings halts individual enforcement (Art. L. 622-21 Commercial Code) – including foreclosure. Similarly, the admissibility of an over-indebtedness application (surendettement) suspends enforcement procedures (Art. L. 722-2 Consumer Code).