Updated 2 June 2026 — this article now incorporates the full-year 2025 DVF data and the SAFER references on the discount applied to leased land, following the publication of our observatory of vineyard prices in France.
You own one or more parcels of leased vines and wish to sell them. While very common, the situation is nonetheless rather complex with regard to the tenant farming statute: here is a breakdown.
First of all, you need to review the rights of your tenant, the farmer. The Rural Code is very strict (article L 411-1 et seq.) and most of the provisions of the lease agreement are laid down by law with no possibility of derogation.
Thus, within the framework of a rural lease, the contract has a minimum duration of 9 years and the farmer benefits from an automatic right to renewal of the lease. Even if it is not in writing, a (paid) lease covering a wine-growing property is a rural lease (referred to as a verbal lease) subject to the same rules of duration and renewal.
Unlike residential leases, the owner's wish to sell the vines does not allow them to oppose the renewal of the lease. As the owner you therefore have several options:
This right to renewal is not universal and certain circumstances may allow you to oppose it:
When the farmer reaches retirement age, you can give them notice on the lease's expiry date or after 3 years if the lease has been renewed.
Example: The vine lease came to its term on 31 December 2021 and was renewed. The farmer turns 62 during 2023. The lessor can therefore request non-renewal of the lease for 31 December 2024, 2027, 2030, etc.
Caution: To oppose the renewal of the lease, the owner must comply with very strict formalities: notifying the farmer of their decision by bailiff's deed at least 18 months before the term of this lease. The involvement of a rural law professional is advisable to avoid any error. This is all the more true in the case of a verbal lease, where the start date (and therefore the end date) is difficult to prove officially.
Nor is it the case that, because your farmer is reaching retirement age, you will be able to terminate the lease. The farmer in fact has the option of assigning the lease to their spouse or descendants. Your agreement is nevertheless required. If you do not agree to this assignment, your farmer can then refer the matter to the Joint Rural Leases Tribunal to obtain this authorisation. Except in cases of poor upkeep or repeated late payment, the Tribunal will most often authorise the assignment of this lease.
Your farmer benefits from a right to renewal of their lease and a right of assignment to their descendants. Nothing, however, obliges the two parties to maintain the lease if they do not wish to.
You can discuss your sale plans with your farmer. If you reach an agreement on the terms of purchase, you can at any point during the lease or its renewals sign an amicable termination agreement between you and complete the sale.
Note that if the lease is more than 2 years old, the farmer will benefit from reduced registration duties allowing them to significantly reduce conveyancing fees (a saving of more than 5%). And the SAFER will not benefit from a pre-emption right if the lease is more than 3 years old, because in this situation the farmer's rights take priority over those of the SAFER.
You can also offer your farmer an amicable termination of the lease accompanied in return by a termination indemnity. They are free to accept or not. If they accept, you can then look for a buyer with vines free of lease.
If you have not reached an agreement with your farmer, you can nonetheless still look for a buyer. This could be an investor: someone who buys the vines as an investment and wishes to receive farm rents. Or a future operator: a buyer who will request non-renewal of the lease at its term in order to farm it themselves.
The fact that the vines are leased has an impact on the sale price. Your buyer takes over the lease with all its conditions. It will not be possible to modify the lease without the farmer's agreement, except in the situation where the farm rent is excessively low relative to local custom.
The presence of a rural lease in progress appreciably affects the value of a parcel of vines. According to the references published by the SAFER, leased land suffers on average a discount of around 18% compared to land free of lease. This discount is explained by two cumulative factors: the smaller number of potential buyers (only investors agree to buy a property encumbered by a long-term rural lease) and the relatively moderate level of vineyard farm rents relative to the value of the land.
To put this gap into concrete terms, here are some benchmarks on the price level of vines free of lease, drawn from the 2025 DVF (Demandes de Valeurs Foncières — Land Value Requests) data in our observatory of vineyard prices in France. Based on nearly 17,600 transactions (second half of 2020 to end of 2025), the national median price of vines stands at €23,985/ha in 2025.
| Vineyard | Median DVF price 2025 — vines free of lease (€/ha) | Indicative price — leased vines (discount ~18%) |
|---|---|---|
| Burgundy | €125,000/ha | ~€102,500/ha |
| Provence | €39,864/ha | ~€32,689/ha |
| Cognac | €28,636/ha | ~€23,482/ha |
| Rhône Valley | €20,357/ha | ~€16,693/ha |
| Bordeaux | €15,434/ha | ~€12,656/ha |
| Languedoc | €13,531/ha | ~€11,095/ha |
| South-West | €9,205/ha | ~€7,548/ha |
Source for free-of-lease prices: DVF, processing by ma-propriete.fr, full-year 2025. Leased vine prices = indicative estimate, SAFER discount of around 18% applied to the DVF median. The actual discount may vary depending on the remaining duration of the lease, the quality of the farmer and local conditions.
These data complement the SAFER references, which weight the major appellations more heavily. They make it possible to position the value of a leased property relative to the current market of actual transactions. For a detailed analysis vineyard by vineyard, consult the series on vineyard prices in France.
Your farmer has told you that they did not want to buy the vines on the terms you offered them. You have searched for and found a buyer for these parcels. You must still inform your farmer of the terms of the sale, because they benefit from a pre-emption right.
The notary will therefore notify the sale to the farmer, who will then have 3 options:
Caution: even a very minor change to the terms of the sale requires restarting the pre-emption right notification procedure. Sales within the family circle and gifts or inheritances do not give rise to the farmer's pre-emption right.
There is, however, an exception to this pre-emption right. The tenant only benefits from it if they themselves own an area of land smaller than 3 times the Minimum Installation Area. This area is defined at the level of each department. The farmer who exercises their pre-emption right is obliged to farm the vine for a minimum duration of 9 years.
In view of the farmer's rights, if your relations are not good, it may be difficult for you to find a buyer who will accept these legal complexities. Yet investment in vines is increasingly sought after and prized by investors.
In France, vine farm rents represent between 1 and 5% of the value of vines free of lease. Moreover, over the past several decades, the value of vines has risen very sharply in certain vineyards and in the most prestigious appellations. The vine is therefore an attractive investment, all the more so since a long-term lease will make it possible to obtain tax advantages in the event of a gift, inheritance or under the Real Estate Wealth Tax.
You can find listings of available vine parcels in our wine-growing category.
We therefore advise you, if you wish to sell your parcels of leased vines, to get in touch with your farmer to offer them the purchase. If your farmer refuses to buy, you can offer them an amicable termination of your lease in order to put a vine free of lease up for sale.
If you sell with a sitting tenant farmer, anticipate the discount of around 18% compared to the free-of-lease value (SAFER reference) and position your property relative to the median DVF prices for your vineyard, available in our observatory of vineyard prices in France.
