Buying off-plan in Mauritius commonly involves VEFA, or vente en l’état futur d’achèvement, particularly within approved residential developments open to international buyers. The legal structure most often encountered is VEFA, or vente en l’état futur d’achèvement, under which the buyer acquires a property progressively while construction continues.
VEFA is not an acquisition scheme in itself. A foreign buyer must still establish the legal route allowing the specific property to be acquired, whether through PDS, Smart City or another authorised framework. VEFA governs how an eligible off-plan property is sold and paid for.
Our article on buying property in Mauritius as a foreign investor covers the wider acquisition routes. Here, the focus is the VEFA mechanism itself, including reservation, staged payments, guarantees and handover.
What VEFA means in Mauritius
Under the Code Civil Mauricien, a VEFA is a sale in a future state of completion. When the notarised deed is signed, the seller transfers its rights in the land and ownership of the structures that already exist. Future works then become the buyer’s property progressively as construction advances.
The buyer pays progressively as well, while the developer remains responsible for the works until completion.
This makes VEFA different from simply reserving a future unit. The preliminary reservation stage may secure a property, but the notarised VEFA deed governs the actual off-plan sale.
It also differs from a vente à terme. Under a sale for future delivery, ownership transfers when the completed property is formally acknowledged, whereas under VEFA ownership develops progressively during construction.
Eligibility must be confirmed before VEFA
A foreign buyer should not assume that a project marketed as off-plan is automatically open to non-citizens.
The legal basis for acquisition must be established separately. PDS and Smart City regulations expressly allow residential property to be sold on plan or during construction under VEFA or vente à terme. Other acquisition routes may also involve off-plan sales, subject to their own conditions and approvals.
Before signing a reservation document or transferring funds, the buyer should confirm the unit, scheme or authorisation under which the acquisition is permitted. Our article on checking property eligibility before buying in Mauritius explains this verification.
A project approval or statement that a development is “foreign-buyer eligible” should not replace the documentary check.
The reservation contract comes before the deed
Many VEFA purchases begin with a preliminary reservation contract identifying the property, its essential characteristics, provisional price, expected timing of the definitive sale and any financing described in the agreement.
Mauritian law also controls the reservation deposit. This is one area where buyers should not import the French VEFA rules into Mauritius.
Under the current Code Civil Mauricien, the security deposit may not exceed 25% of the provisional sale price where the period for concluding the sale does not exceed one year. The maximum falls to 2% where that period does not exceed two years, and no reservation deposit may be required where it exceeds two years.
The deposit must be placed in a special account in the buyer’s name with an authorised bank or institution, or with a notary. The Code also provides circumstances in which it must be returned without deduction or penalty, including where the seller fails to conclude the sale within the agreed period or specified material changes affect the transaction.
The 25% ceiling reflects a Mauritian amendment made in 2009 and should not be confused with the lower percentage often quoted from French VEFA rules. It is a legal maximum, not a standard or recommended deposit.
The amount, account and refund conditions should therefore be checked before payment.
The buyer receives the draft deed before signature
The Code Civil Mauricien requires the seller to notify the buyer of the proposed deed of sale at least one month before signature.
That review period matters. The deed is the central legal document for the off-plan acquisition and should be reconciled with the project documents, including the exact unit, plans, specifications, price, payment mechanics, expected completion and guarantees.
A dimensioned plan of the unit and information describing its equipment form part of the documentation required by the Mauritian VEFA framework.
Any material difference between the reservation package and proposed deed should be understood before signature.
VEFA payments follow construction progress
The central financial protection under VEFA is that the buyer does not pay the full price for an unfinished property.
Article 1601-30 of the Code Civil Mauricien limits cumulative payments or deposits to:
35% of the price when the foundations are completed;
70% when the building is weather-tight;
95% when the building is completed;
the remaining 5% when the premises are made available.
Within those ceilings, calls for funds can be organised as successive instalments linked to progress. If the sale is subject to a suspensive condition, no payment or deposit may be made before that condition is satisfied.
For PDS property, current EDB guidelines illustrate the structure as 25% on signing the deed, a further 10% at completion of foundations, 35% at the roofed-in stage, 25% at completion and 5% when the premises are made available. These instalments produce the same cumulative 35%, 70%, 95% and 100% progression.
The contractual schedule should therefore be read against the legal milestones rather than simply as a developer’s commercial payment plan.
Construction progress should support each call for funds
A staged schedule is useful only when the relevant construction milestone has actually been achieved.
Before releasing each tranche, the buyer should understand how progress is certified and what supporting documentation the notary or relevant professional requires. The deed and project framework should make clear how calls for funds correspond to the works.
This is especially important where the statutory milestones are divided into smaller commercial instalments. Smaller calls may be convenient, but they must remain within the cumulative legal limits.
For an international buyer funding from abroad, construction timing also affects cash planning because delays or acceleration can shift when significant amounts become due.
Completion and refund guarantees must be understood
VEFA protection extends beyond the payment schedule.
The Code Civil Mauricien provides for completion and refund guarantees. A completion guarantee may result from conditions specific to the operation or from the intervention of an eligible bank or financial institution. A refund guarantee is provided by an eligible financial institution.
The buyer should ask the notary to identify the exact guarantee applying to the project rather than rely only on the expression “bank guarantee” or “GFA” in marketing material.
Relevant questions include who provides the guarantee, when it takes effect, what event allows it to be called and whether it secures completion or reimbursement.
Scheme-specific protections may go further. PDS and Smart City frameworks impose post-delivery insurance requirements covering certain finishing, non-structural and structural defects over different periods. These protections should be checked against the project documents.
The final 5% matters at handover
Completion does not make handover a formality.
The final inspection is when the delivered property can be compared with the plans, specifications and contractual standard. Visible defects, missing elements or non-conformity should be recorded in the handover documentation.
Under Article 1601-30, the final balance is payable when the premises are made available. Where there is a dispute concerning conformity with the contract, however, the balance may be consigned rather than released.
The buyer should therefore understand the inspection procedure, how reservations are recorded and how remedial works are managed before accepting handover without qualification.
Foreign-currency rules can affect staged payments
VEFA stages sit alongside the separate funding rules applying to certain foreign-buyer schemes.
For first sales to non-citizens under covered schemes including PDS and Smart City, the rules effective from 13 December 2024 require 85% of the purchase price to be paid to the promoter in Mauritian rupees, while the remaining 15% may be paid in MUR or an eligible hard convertible foreign currency. Overseas funding remains the general basis of the framework, although certain resident non-citizens may use qualifying funds already held or generated in Mauritius.
These currency requirements must be coordinated with the VEFA instalments. They do not apply to every acquisition route or resale, and the applicable funding position should therefore be confirmed alongside the payment schedule.
Our article on the 85% MUR rule for foreign buyers examines the currency mechanics separately.
What to verify before signing a VEFA purchase
Before the off-plan purchase becomes binding, the transaction file should allow the buyer to confirm:
the legal route allowing the non-citizen to acquire the unit;
the project and unit approvals relevant to the sale;
the reservation deposit and account in which it is held;
the plans, specifications and precise description of the property;
the VEFA payment schedule and construction milestones;
the mechanism used to certify construction progress;
the completion or refund guarantee applying to the sale;
the contractual completion date and treatment of delay;
the inspection, reservations and handover procedure;
the currency and funding requirements affecting each payment.
The objective is not to eliminate construction risk entirely. It is to ensure that financial commitments move in step with an identifiable legal and construction framework.
Buying off-plan with a clear VEFA structure
VEFA gives an off-plan buyer in Mauritius a structured way to acquire property before completion. Ownership develops with construction, payments are capped according to progress, the deed is notarised and the legal framework includes completion or refund protections.
For a foreign buyer, however, VEFA is only one part of the file. Property eligibility, non-citizen approval, project documentation, funding mechanics and developer quality still need to be reviewed independently.
The strongest off-plan purchase is therefore not simply a project with an attractive launch price or delivery date. It is one where the authorised acquisition route, notarised VEFA terms, construction milestones and buyer protections can all be verified before significant funds are committed.
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Sources
Economic Development Board Mauritius - Property Development Scheme Guidelines
Economic Development Board Mauritius - Smart City Scheme Guidelines
Economic Development Board Mauritius - Amendments to IRS, RES, IHS, PDS and SCS Regulations
Economic Development Board Mauritius – FAQ on Amendments to Property Regulations
This article is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal, tax, regulatory or investment advice. VEFA rules, non-citizen acquisition requirements, project approvals, guarantees, payment arrangements and funding conditions may depend on the specific property and transaction and may change. Buyers should verify the applicable position with their Mauritian notary, qualified legal advisers, the Economic Development Board and the relevant authorities before signing or transferring funds.
