REAL ESTATE COMPANY (SCI) and the GDPR

A Société Civile Immobilière (SCI) is a legal form of business whose purpose is the acquisition, management, rental, and sale of real estate. It is formed by at least two individuals or legal entities and is not for profit. The partners hold shares that represent their participation in the SCI's share capital.

A Civil Real Estate Company (SCI) can be aimed at different types of people, including:

• Individuals who wish to invest in real estate, whether for rental, asset management or for the transfer of their real estate assets to their children;
• Real estate professionals, such as property dealers, property developers or real estate agents, who can create an SCI to facilitate the management of their real estate assets and optimize their taxes;
• Families who wish to manage their joint real estate assets, for example a building or a second home, by creating a family SCI;
• Associations or local authorities wishing to acquire real estate for the exercise of their activity (association premises, public buildings, etc.);
• Companies wishing to acquire real estate for their professional activity, for example to set up their head office or warehouse.

In short, the SCI is aimed at any individual or legal entity who wishes to invest in real estate in a collective, secure and tax-efficient manner.

The creation of an SCI has several advantages, including ease of management and transfer of real estate assets, the possibility of limiting the liability of partners to capital contributions and the possibility of benefiting from an advantageous tax regime, particularly for rental investments.
However, creating an SCI requires drafting articles of association, appointing a manager, and keeping accounts. It is therefore important to find out about the formalities to be completed and the legal obligations before creating an SCI.

A Civil Real Estate Company (SCI) may be required to process different categories of personal data within the meaning of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)Among the personal data that an SCI can process, we can cite:

• The identification data of the partners, such as their name, first name, address, telephone number, email address, etc.;
• Data relating to the shares held by the partners, such as the number of shares, their value, their acquisition date, etc.;
• Data relating to real estate owned or managed by the SCI, such as their address, description, surface area, value, rental history, etc.;
• Data relating to tenants, such as their name, first name, address, telephone number, email address, etc.;
• Bank details of partners or tenants, such as bank details for transfers or direct debits;
• Data relating to the accounting and tax management of the SCI, such as invoices, quotes, tax declarations, account statements, etc.

When processing this personal data, the SCI must comply with the obligations of the GDPR regarding the protection of personal data, particularly in terms of data collection, use, storage and security. The SCI must also inform the persons concerned by the processing of their personal data, in particular by providing them with information on the purposes of the processing, the recipients of the data, the rights they have, etc.