French off-plan residential development: VEFA cashflow assumptions

Use the verified French stages

France’s Service Public guidance states maximum cumulative payments of 35% when foundations are completed, 70% when the building is watertight and 95% on completion. The final 5% is paid on delivery in the absence of conformity reservations; where reservations exist, it may be deposited as security through the described procedure.

The actual contract, guarantees and certification process still matter. These limits do not prove that every buyer has signed, that a payment is immediately received or that the developer can use it without other financing constraints.

Sources: Service Public: Buying off-plan: vente en l etat futur d achevement

Reconcile one fictional €10m sales pool

Assume signed contracts total €10m and all buyers meet the simplified payment schedule. The table ignores reservation deposits and prior payments solely to isolate stage arithmetic; a real ledger must credit all amounts already received.

Catch the cumulative-percentage mistake

Adding 35%, 70%, 95% and 5% as independent collections would produce 205% of contract value, or €20.5m on the example pool. The correct increments sum to 100%.

Maintain buyer-level opening receivables, certified claims, receipts and closing receivables. Cash should never exceed the contractual amount after approved variations and refunds.

Fund a late watertight milestone

Assume the €3.5m second collection was expected in month 9 but certification and receipt move to month 12, with construction payments unchanged. The project needs €3.5m additional funding over that three-month interval. At 8% simple annual interest, the timing cost is €70,000.

A reservation affecting the final €500,000 is a separate scenario. Do not model deposited or withheld amounts as unrestricted developer cash until the applicable release conditions are met.

Link the sales ledger to construction evidence

Reconcile the claimed milestone to the professional certification and contract before updating expected receipt dates. Keep cancellations, late buyers and unsold homes outside the fully contracted pool.

Present peak funding, remaining contract receivables and cash exposed to each milestone. This turns the statutory stage framework into a reviewable cashflow without assuming that legal maximums are guaranteed receipts.