My brother lives in the inherited house: what can I do in France?

Your parents have died, and your brother lives alone in their home. He pays nothing, refuses to sell and has stopped answering. French law does not leave you stuck: the inherited house belongs to all the heirs, not only to the one who sleeps there. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article explains what your brother may do, what he owes, and how to end the deadlock, by agreement first and before a judge if needed.

First steps

Before anything else, lay the groundwork. It will help whatever happens next.

• Contact the notary handling the estate. The notary drafts the deed listing the heirs and the inventory. Without a notary, nothing moves.
• Write to your brother calmly, by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. Ask what he intends for the inherited house: buy you out, sell or pay for his occupancy.
• Keep a record of everything: letters, messages, the date he moved in, bills paid for the property.
• Do not change the locks or force your way in. You co-own the house, but so does he.

The registered letter matters more than it seems. It dates your claim and can mark the start of a demand for payment.

What French law allows your brother to do

Until the estate is divided, the heirs hold everything in joint ownership (indivision). Each owns a share of the whole, with no exclusive right over a room or an object.

Article 815-9 of the French Civil Code sets the rule. Each co-owner may use the joint property in line with its purpose, as far as this is compatible with the rights of the others. Your brother may therefore live in the inherited house, but he may not shut you out. According to service-public, exclusive use requires the consent of the other heirs or, failing that, permission from the president of the judicial court.

He cannot let the inherited house without your agreement or sell it alone. Conversely, you cannot have him evicted like a squatter: he occupies a house he partly owns.

The occupancy payment he owes

The same article adds a counterpart. A co-owner who has exclusive use of joint property owes, unless agreed otherwise, a payment called the "indemnité d'occupation".

Three practical points:

• It goes to the joint estate, not directly to you. The Court of Cassation confirmed this on 15 March 2023 (appeal no. 21-15.183). Each heir receives a share of it on division.
• It is based on the rental value of the inherited house. Judges often apply a discount because the occupancy is precarious.
• It can be claimed for five years. Under article 815-10, no claim for income is admissible more than five years after it could have been received. Every month you wait may cost a month of payment.

The payment is due even if the house would never have been let. One exception exists: an heir who receives the house under a will generally enjoys it from the death, with nothing to pay.

Who pays the property tax and repairs?

According to service-public, each co-owner pays a share of the property tax (taxe foncière) in proportion to their rights, with no joint liability. Whoever pays it all can claim the others' shares.

Article 815-13 also protects whoever pays for necessary repairs, such as a roof. These sums are taken into account on division, so keep every invoice.

Selling, renting or buying out: who decides?

The basic rule is strict: selling joint property requires everyone's agreement. Several mechanisms ease the deadlock.

Situation	Rule	Source
Day-to-day management, residential lease	Two-thirds of the rights	Art. 815-3 Civil Code
Sale of the house	Unanimity in principle	Art. 815-3 Civil Code
Sale wanted by two-thirds	Notary, three months, then court approval	Art. 815-5-1 Civil Code
Urgent sale in the common interest	Court permission for one co-owner alone	Art. 815-6, law of 7 April 2026
Final exit	Division, amicable or judicial	Art. 815 and 840 Civil Code

The two-thirds sale

Heirs holding at least two-thirds of the rights can state before a notary that they intend to sell. The notary serves notice on the others. If they refuse or stay silent for three months, the judicial court may authorise the sale, provided it does not excessively harm the others' rights. The sale then takes place by auction.

With three children holding equal shares, two are enough. With only two children, the threshold is out of reach, and division is the route.

Buying out the shares

Often the simplest solution is a buyout. Your brother pays you the value of your share and keeps the inherited house, through a notarial deed. He may also ask the judge for preferential allocation of the home if he lived there when the parent died (article 831-2), against payment of the balance.

The law of 7 April 2026

Law No. 2026-248 of 7 April 2026, published in the Official Journal on 8 April, aims to simplify the exit from joint ownership. It does not abolish unanimity, and the two-thirds threshold of article 815-5-1 stays.

It brings three useful changes:

• The urgent sale. A co-owner can obtain court permission to sell a property alone when urgency and the common interest justify it.
• A stronger supervising judge. During a judicial division, the judge settles disputes and can order an auction. The old formal notice procedure for an inactive heir (article 841-1) is gone.
• A wider judicial division, with representation by a lawyer extended. The implementing decree was expected by the end of 2026, for entry into force announced in early 2027.

Judicial division: the guaranteed way out

Article 815 of the Civil Code is clear: nobody can be forced to remain in joint ownership. If your brother blocks everything, you can ask the judicial court for division.

The claim must show that an amicable division was attempted. The judge then appoints a notary to draw up the accounts: the value of the inherited house, the occupancy payment and sums advanced by each heir. Without agreement, the property can be sold at auction. This takes time, often more than a year, but the prospect of an auction often brings heirs back to the table.

Special cases

• Your brother already lived with your parents. He remains a co-owner like the others. Long residence is not an agreement to waive the payment.
• A surviving parent still lives there. The surviving spouse has separate rights over the home, explained in our article on in-laws who claim the inheritance.
• He damages or sublets the inherited house. The president of the judicial court can order urgent measures under article 815-6.
• He hides furniture or jewellery. Concealment of estate assets (article 778) deprives him of his share in them.

Family conflicts over a home are not limited to estates. The case of parents who throw out an adult child follows other rules.

Free help

The notary often tries to reach an agreement. A mediator can also bring siblings together before any court case. The point-justice network offers a free first legal consultation: call 30 39 to find the nearest one. Legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) can cover lawyer's fees; in 2026 it is full for a single person whose reference tax income does not exceed €12,957.

For tax deadlines and the reserved share, our guide to settling an estate gives the full timetable.

How a lawyer helps

A lawyer first works out your rights: your share, the occupancy payment due since the death, the costs to be repaid. The lawyer then drafts the formal demand, negotiates a buyout or sale, and if nothing moves, brings the division claim, where representation is in principle compulsory. No lawyer can promise an outcome, but one can stop a claim from lapsing or the inherited house from selling too cheaply. An inheritance lawyer answers in 20 minutes.

The rules on joint ownership between heirs appear on service-public.gouv.fr.