Advertisement

Property For Members

How rules for owning and renting property will change in France in 2023

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
How rules for owning and renting property will change in France in 2023
(Photo by Damien MEYER / AFP)

The New Year spells new rules for property owners and tenants in France. Here is what you need to know to stay on top of the changing regulations

Advertisement

Energy efficiency

Landlords in France must ensure their properties meet minimum energy efficiency standards from January 1st, 2023, as rules come into effect that ban the renting of properties that have category G rating following a diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE).

The rules do not apply to houses that are already under a tenancy agreement, but any property rented to a new tenant, or any renewed agreement will be affected.

Advertisement

Tenants in properties that do not reach minimum energy efficiency levels can claim a rent reduction while the landlord is obliged to carry out works to improve the property’s energy efficiency rating. 

Landlords who carry out energy improvement works can receive a reduction on their taxe foncière.

Seasonal short-term lets, such as holiday lets, are not included in the energy efficiency legislation, but France’s Minister Delegate of Cities and Housing Olivier Klein has announced plans to remedy that oversight in the near future. He told Le Parisien: “We will do our utmost to ensure that the prohibition on renting out furnished tourist accommodation is applied to the same extent as to the entire rental stock."

READ ALSO Bail mobilité: How France’s short-term rental contracts work

By the book

To ensure the above, from January 1st, a property owner - whether they live in the property or not - who carries out “work with a significant impact on the energy performance” of a property, will have to include all documentation and invoices in a Carnet Information Logement (CIL). 

This carnet must include documents and invoices concerning the energy consumption of a property, including a DPE, but also any other major work carried out.

It can be paper or digital, and must allow anyone with an interest in the property to follow the development of the property over time. It is intended to be "the memory of the dwelling" according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition. 

It is up to the owner to update it regularly and to make it available to buyers or tenants as necessary.

READ ALSO What you should know about paying rental deposits in France

Paris rent controls

Rent control management in the French capital for the next three years will fall under the aegis of the City of Paris from January 1st, giving the City the ability to monitor and sanction any landlord who does not comply with rent controls in the capital that have been in force since 2019.

According to the Encadrement-loyers.fr app, 35 percent of classified ads published in the capital are non-compliant, rising to 51 percent for ads for spaces of less than 30m2.

Rent index

The rent reference index may increase from July 1st, 2023. This index, which serves as the basis for rent increases in France, varies according to inflation. It was capped at 3.5 percent in France in 2022 by the government in an effort to protect tenants from soaring inflation. There is no guarantee that this threshold will be maintained with the expected decrease in inflation in the coming months.

Energy audits

From April 1st, a full energy audit will be mandatory for the sale of a house or a property in single ownership that has been classified F or G by its DPE - and is therefore considered to be a ‘heat sink’.

Advertisement

This document, which is more in-depth than a DPE, must propose and list the work to be done to improve the energy classification of the property, indicating the expected energy savings, estimated cost of the work and main financial assistance available.

Tax rises

Expect to see taxe foncière increases as local authorities seek to offset a drop in finances as taxe d’habitation income is cut, while many are also increasing taxe d’habitation charges for second homes - in Paris, the city council has voted to increase the tax by 52 percent in 2023, to a rate of 20.50 percent.

READ ALSO Taxe foncière: How you could pay less French property tax

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also