A Société Civile Immobilière (SCI) is designed to enable several people to purchase and manage a portfolio of real estate assets. Popular with many French investors and families, it offers a number of significant advantages: flexible management, real facilities for passing on your assets in complete security, flexible governance, etc.
There are several types of SCI: classic, family, etc. The Société Civile Immobilière d'Attribution is one of them. It shares the same objectives, but has its own special features.
Let's find out more about this legal status, so popular with many French people.
The mission of an SCI d'attribution is to acquire or build one or more properties, with the aim of generating income and reselling them.
Once the company has been formed, the partners can benefit from the real estate acquired in three ways:
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Full ownership: ownership is shared between the various partners in the SCI's capital, in proportion to the number of shares held by each.
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Enjoyment: a distinction is made between partners who have the right to enjoy the property (e.g. live in it or rent it out) and those who own it.
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Bare ownership: the person owns the property but cannot use it.
Intuitively, at least 2 partners are required to set up an SCI. It is not necessary to allocate share capital at the time of its creation. However, you do need to invest enough money to acquire or build one or more properties.
SCIs benefit from relatively flexible rules of governance. The partners who hold shares in the company meet at least once a year at the Annual General Meeting.
All items on the agenda are discussed and put to the vote of the associates.
Each shareholder has one voting right, the importance of which is weighted according to the number of shares he or she holds in the capital of the SCI. This rule can be modified (except in the case of a clause léonine) by drafting an amendment to the SCI's articles of association.
An SCI must have at least one manager, who need not be a partner. The manager represents the company before the competent courts, and can bind the company in dealings with third parties. The extent of his prerogatives is defined in the company's articles of association.
Allocation SCIs are subject to income tax. In other words, associates are subject to income tax on profits generated, according to their marginal tax bracket.
The taxable amount attributable to each partner is determined according to the number of shares he or she holds in the SCI's capital.
The first step is to draw up the articles of association, choose the registered office and collect contributions to the company's capital.
Your articles of association must include the following information:
- The legal form, in this case SCI
- Corporate purpose
- Company name
- Head office address
- The amount of capital contributions (in cash, in kind or in industry)
- The life of the SCI, in this case 99 renewable years.
The SCI's registered office is its place of residence. It must be mentioned on all official documents issued by the company. There are various options for choosing the address of the registered office: at the manager's home, in commercial premises, or via a domiciliation company.
It is then necessary to publish a notice of SCI incorporation in an approved legal gazette. Without the publication notice in a legal gazette, it will be impossible to apply for registration of the SCI.
The final step is to register your company, by submitting your application to the appropriate CFE (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises). Here's the list of documents you'll need to provide:
- The M0 civil company form, which corresponds to the declaration of incorporation, duly completed and signed
- A copy of the articles of association signed and certified by all partners
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Certificate of publication in a legal gazette
- Proof of identity for partners and managing directors, both individuals and corporate bodies
At SeDomicilier, the undisputed French reference in company domiciliation, we provide administrative and legal assistance to support you in all your company creation procedures.
With SeDomicilier, receive your certificate of domiciliation in less than 5 minutes, and free up your valuable time for what really matters: the success of your SCI's projects!
Written by our expert Paul LASBARRERES-CANDAU
April 15, 2021
