Section 4: Contractual mortgages

The conventional mortgage is granted by notarial deed. The mandate to mortgage is given in the same forms.

A conventional mortgage may only be granted by a person who has the capacity to dispose of the immovable subject to it.

A person who has only a conditional right in the immovable may only grant a mortgage subject to the same condition.

A mortgage on an undivided immovable retains its effect regardless of the outcome of the partition if it has been granted by all the undivided co-owners. Otherwise, it retains its effect only to the extent that the undivided co-owner who granted it is, at the time of the partition, allotted the undivided immovable or immovables or, where the immovable is auctioned to a third party, if that undivided co-owner is…

Contracts made in foreign countries cannot give a mortgage on French property, unless there are provisions contrary to this principle in political laws or treaties.

The mortgage may be granted on present or future immovable property. On pain of nullity, the notarial deed shall specifically designate the nature and location of each of these immovables, as stated in Article 2421.

A mortgage may be granted as security for one or more claims, present or future. If they are future, they must be determinable. The cause is determined in the deed.

A mortgage constituted for business purposes by a natural or legal person may subsequently be assigned to guarantee business claims other than those mentioned in the constitutive deed provided that the latter expressly provides for this. The settlor may then offer it as security, up to the limit of the sum provided for in the constitutive deed and mentioned in Article 2417, not only to the original creditor but also,…

Mortgages are always granted for the capital up to a specified amount, which the notarial deed mentions on pain of nullity. Where applicable, the parties shall assess any indeterminate, contingent or conditional annuities, benefits and rights for this purpose. If the claim is subject to a revaluation clause, the guarantee extends to the revalued claim, provided the deed so states. When it is granted as security for one or more…