House for 1 euro in France

Houses for 1 euro in France are the same popular type of real estate sale as in Italy. But there are far fewer houses for sale. All because the French authorities have achieved an amazing birth rate and even the country Sweden, Ireland and Denmark cannot boast such good performance as France. All this affects the fact that abandoned houses in 2024 in French cities are not as large as in Italy.

But still, we have some very interesting information for you!

To understand where to look for 1 euro houses in France, it is important to have a clear understanding of how they appear on the market. They typically fall into three types:

  1. Government or municipal programs aiming to revitalize a district suffering from depopulation. It’s important to note that there are both advantages and disadvantages to this approach, as well as potential risks to consider. We will discuss this further.
  2. Programs initiated by very small rural communities where there are many elderly residents and few young people. Living in such a 1 euro house often involves either direct involvement in the rural agricultural sector or participation in the development of ecotourism in the region. This option is suitable for those who are drawn to the French Provence lifestyle and are not averse to physical work. There is also a separate option for creative professions and digital nomads, but we will discuss that later. If you have a significant amount of money, it may also be worthwhile to read about purchasing an entire village.
  3. Private cases where someone wants to sell their ruins for a small amount of money. This option may involve only the presence of walls and requires a full range of restoration work for the property. While more complex, this option allows for the implementation of interesting solutions:

And now a little survey! Where would you like to buy a 1 euro house?
  • Add your answer

Thank you all for your answers! You can write your own option in the comments below.

As a token of appreciation, we offer you a file with a list of French programs that allocate funds, subsidies, and bonuses for renovation or construction. It will definitely come in handy for you!

Which song would you sing while working on the renovation of your 1 euro house?

Among the popular projects for the sale of the House for a symbolic 1 euro in France is the city of Roubaix. (Wiki). Roubaix launched this social project in the north of France in 2018. The program was successful, and it is known that in 2024 the authorities are considering continuing the program, but there are currently no active lots. It is known that a total of 13 people have benefited from this project. Detailed information on how the project proceeded can be found at official website of the project.

But in short, the acceptance of applications for buying a house for 1 euro was held from May 2018. 74 applications were submitted, of which only 36 met the criteria. In June 2018, the candidates were ranked. As of September 2018, 13 houses have been allocated. Between February and July 2019, 11 sales contracts were signed. The device’s website also mentions that “67% of buyers are French citizens and 33% from other countries (Algeria, Morocco, Senegal and China).



This project was carried out in 2021.The owner of the property was previously the municipality of Saint-Amand-Montrond, which at the end of 2021 published an offer to buy a house for a symbolic 1 euro as part of the operation for the revitalization of the territory (ORT). Then more than ninety people called or wrote to the town hall. Participants were from all over France and even the Netherlands, Sweden, Algeria. Of course, the winner was 35-year-old Lisette Parotte. Official website of the city.

 This medieval town in the north of Des Sevres already had houses for sale in 2018 for… €1. Objective: to combat desertification of the city center located in the countryside. Shown here are closed shutters and properties for sale, most in need of refurbishment. Tuar, a city of 9,200, has lost a lot of its population in four decades.

Real estate here is inexpensive, but offers of houses for 1 euro also periodically appear. If you are interested in a house for 1 euro in Italy, you can look at our book.

Repair costs ranged from 43,000 to 179,000 euros, to which must be added the symbolic euro needed to purchase the house and land.

It’s also good that buyers had access to the ANAH subsidy program. The program helped cover the costs. This subsidy is from the French state that improves living conditions in France, in particular through assistance and subsidies from the National Housing Agency. Among other things, this program offers subsidies to improve the energy efficiency of the building.


But to be honest, it’s better to spend a little more than one euro and get a property that you can renovate to your taste. We don’t advise settling in criminal areas even if it’s cheap. Unless you know kung fu or you’re a good shooter. By the way, we have a wonderful article about 1 euro houses in Tuscany... so enjoy reading!

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