Viager: sourcing elderly sellers without cold calling (French law of 11 August 2026)

Hélène has been advising on viager sales for twelve years in a city in western France. Her day rarely starts with a call list: first she reviews private-seller listings that appeared the day before, checks in with a notary she has worked with for years, and answers a 79-year-old woman who reached out again after an earlier conversation. What she wants is not to work through a list of elderly homeowners. It is to identify potential sellers who are genuinely interested in a viager arrangement, and to support them without ever pressing their decision.

With the entry into force of the law of 11 August 2026, this measured approach is no longer just a matter of professional ethics: it becomes the legal framework for any outreach. In viager sales, the risk is not just losing a mandate — it is signing a void contract and, when the seller is elderly, facing criminal liability. Sourcing sellers in a compliant way therefore requires understanding what changes, what remains possible, and how to build a contact list from public, legitimate sources without ever sliding into pressure tactics.

What the law of 11 August 2026 changes for viager prospecting

From 11 August 2026, cold-calling a private individual without prior consent is prohibited. Under the law of 11 August 2026, you can no longer call a homeowner out of the blue to propose a viager sale: you need express prior agreement, collected before the call. This is a complete reversal of the previous logic.

The text derives from Law no. 2025-594 of 30 June 2025, Article 13 (Légifrance, 2026), which rewrites Article L223-1 of the French Consumer Code. Cold calling becomes prohibited by default, except where prior consent is "free, specific, informed, unambiguous and revocable." The burden of proof lies with the professional, and any contract concluded in breach of these rules is void. For the viager adviser, the stakes are twofold: commercial compliance and the legal security of the transaction. You will find a detailed analysis of this shift in our guide on the anti-cold-calling law of 11 August 2026 as applied to real estate.

What is still permitted, and what is now prohibited

Still permitted: contacting a seller who has given prior consent, or responding to someone who approached you first (a callback request, a valuation form, a referral). Now prohibited: calling a homeowner cold from a number found online, or treating a sale listing as permission to be solicited.

The distinction is crucial in viager. A homeowner who publishes a listing is selling their property on their own terms; they have never agreed to receive a call from a professional. Publishing a listing is not consent. Equally, email and SMS prospecting to a private individual also requires prior consent demonstrated by a positive action — an unchecked opt-in box, for instance, as the CNIL (2026) makes clear. Compliant first-contact methods are detailed in our article on cold prospecting in real estate and the 3 methods compliant with the law of 11 August 2026.

An additional layer of caution applies here. When the person is elderly, Article 223-15-2 of the French Penal Code (Légifrance) punishes the fraudulent exploitation of the weakness of a person whose vulnerability — due in particular to their age — is apparent or known: up to 3 years' imprisonment and a €375,000 fine, rising to 5 years and €750,000 when the offence is committed through a digital channel. Viager therefore allows no room for pressure tactics: it exposes practitioners to criminal liability.

Bloctel, opt-out, and the end of a familiar reference point

Until 11 August 2026, Bloctel operates as an opt-out registry: individuals register to refuse cold calls, and professionals must scrub their lists of those numbers. After that date, the mechanism loses its purpose since cold calling becomes prohibited by default. You must therefore think in terms of consent, not just opt-out.

In practice, this does not mean abandoning the opposition mechanism: it remains the backbone of your compliance. As long as Bloctel applies, the obligation to scrub your lists remains; afterwards, consent takes precedence, and the right to withdraw at any time becomes paramount. Decree no. 2022-1313 of 13 October 2022 (Légifrance) already governed days, hours and frequency: calls permitted only Monday to Friday, between 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–8 p.m., with a maximum of four solicitations per thirty-day period per professional and a 60-day delay after a refusal. These calibration benchmarks remain useful for measured outreach. Our practical Bloctel guide for real estate details the transition.

Sourcing viager sellers from compliant, public sources

Compliant sourcing rests on three pillars: public listings from private sellers, your network and referrals, and intermediaries — notaries chief among them. Keep in mind the rule that changes everything: sourcing is not calling. It means identifying, qualifying, and only making contact in a consented or solicited context.

Private-seller listings (property portals, local press) constitute a public source of information: they tell you that a property is for sale, its area, and sometimes the seller's profile. You can monitor them to understand your market and prepare a value-added message — but the first contact must remain compliant: a message through the platform, an information letter with a clear opt-out, or waiting for the seller to reach out first. This is the logic behind compliant property listing monitoring to find private sellers. The same rigour applies to landlords and property owners you encounter through your monitoring.

To structure this monitoring work, a tool like OutSend builds your list on demand from a geographic area and a business query, rather than drawing from a static global database. You get a list of businesses and professionals (notaries, wealth managers, advisers, personal-care services) in a given area, with public contact details, website and legal data. The legal data enrichment (legal form, directors) and SIRET/SIREN/VAT/RCS enrichment are primarily designed to map your professional intermediaries, not to build a list of private individuals to call.

Private individuals and professionals: two frameworks not to confuse

A private seller and a professional intermediary do not fall under the same framework. For the private individual (the homeowner-seller), prior consent applies. For the professional contact (a notary, a wealth manager), B2B prospecting is based on the legitimate interest ground under GDPR, combined with a right to object.

The CNIL (2026) draws a clear distinction: opt-in for private individuals, opt-out for professionals — provided the B2B solicitation targets a named professional email address relevant to the person's function, and the person can easily object. In other words: building a relationship with a notary intermediary falls under one framework; contacting an elderly homeowner falls under another, far more protective one. This boundary shapes how you build GDPR-compliant phone lists for business prospecting and how you approach B2B cold calling after the law of 11 August 2026.

The compliant viager adviser's checklist

Structured prospecting comes down to a few systematic reflexes. Before contacting any private individual: verify consent, identify yourself clearly, offer an immediate opt-out, and document the source of the agreement. Proof of consent is your responsibility: without it, the call is unlawful.

Your checklist can cover seven points: collect and retain proof of free and specific consent before any call to a private individual; never treat a sale listing as consent; respect the right to withdraw and stop immediately on request; never exploit the age or vulnerability of a contact; distinguish the B2B framework (intermediaries) from the B2C framework (sellers); document every sourcing source; and always direct the seller to their notary. To keep your contact channels reliable on the intermediary side, domain deliverability checks (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) and dead URL checks prevent writing to obsolete addresses — a sure sign of an unmanaged list.

The notary's protective role and safeguarding the elderly seller

In viager sales, the notary is not a formality: they are the guarantor of the contract's balance. A viager sale requires a notarised deed for which the notary is indispensable; they ensure the contract's validity and watch over compliance with legal obligations. This is the best protection for the seller, all the more so when they are elderly.

The notary ensures the legal security of the transaction — verifying the validity of the aleatory element, advising on contractual clauses — assists with property valuation, and can act as a mediator between the life annuity seller (crédirentier), the buyer (débirentier) and heirs, as noted by notaries in France (Fourez Notaires, 2026). For the adviser, involving the notary from the outset — through referral, verification, and educating the seller — is not a constraint: it is what transforms a commercial approach into a genuinely trustworthy service. Mapping notary offices in a given area, for example through an on-demand list, is perfectly legitimate B2B sourcing, complementary to your work on landowners and property managers in a given municipality.

FAQ — Sourcing viager sellers while staying compliant

Can I call a homeowner whose listing I have seen?

No, not cold after 11 August 2026. Under the law of 11 August 2026, cold-calling a private individual requires prior consent. Publishing a listing is not consent to be solicited: the homeowner is selling their property; they have not authorised a commercial call. Use contact through the platform or a letter with a clear opt-out instead.

Is prior consent truly mandatory for a private individual?

Yes. Article L223-1 of the French Consumer Code, as amended by Law no. 2025-594 of 30 June 2025, prohibits cold calling without prior consent that is free, specific, informed, unambiguous and revocable. The burden of proof lies with the professional, and any contract concluded without complying with these rules is void.

What happens to Bloctel after 11 August 2026?

Bloctel loses its purpose: the opt-out registry was useful as long as cold calling was permitted by default. With the default prohibition and the requirement for prior consent, it is now prior agreement that takes precedence. As long as the mechanism applies, the obligation to scrub your lists of registered numbers remains in force.

Does contacting a notary intermediary follow the same rules?

No. A notary is a professional contact: B2B prospecting is based on the legitimate interest ground under GDPR, with a right to object (opt-out), not on the prior consent required for private individuals. The CNIL requires a named professional address relevant to the person's function and an easy way to object.

How can an elderly viager seller be protected?

The notary is the primary safeguard: the notarised deed for which they are indispensable, verification of the validity of the aleatory element, and advice on contractual clauses. As an adviser, you must direct the seller to their notary, respect their pace, and never take advantage of any potential vulnerability — exploitation of weakness is a criminal offence under French law.

How does OutSend support compliant sourcing?

OutSend builds on demand a list of professionals and businesses in a given area (notaries, wealth managers, personal-care services), with public contact details and legal data. The tool is primarily designed to map your intermediaries and strengthen your B2B channels, in compliance with the framework applicable to each type of contact.

This article is part of a broader series: see the guide to compliant real estate prospecting.

This article provides general information and does not constitute personalised legal advice. For specific situations, please consult a lawyer specialising in real estate law or GDPR.