The Paris City Council approved the doubling of the tax on vacant apartments and houses, in an effort to encourage owners to make them available for rent or sale. The measure will come into effect on 1 January 2027.
According to the municipality, there are around 150,000 vacant homes in Paris, representing 9% of the French capital’s total housing stock. Municipal authorities consider that the long-term inactivity of these properties is a key factor behind the housing crisis and rising prices.
The French budget legislation for 2026 now gives municipalities the ability to increase tax rates on vacant homes. Therefore, from 2027, the tax will rise to 30% of the estimated annual rent for the first year that a property remains vacant, from 17% today, and to 60% for the second year, from 34%.
Paris’ goal to return thousands of vacant homes to the market
Paris Deputy Mayor responsible for housing, Jacques Baudrier, described the decision as a “historic victory after ten years of struggle”. As he stated, around 80,000 homes remain vacant for a long period and fall under this specific taxation, while the municipality estimates that around 20,000 of them will return to the market.
Authorities also estimate that the tax increase will limit the practice of owners falsely declaring their second homes as vacant in order to benefit from more favourable tax treatment.
On the other hand, the right-wing opposition voted against the measure. Co-president of the Paris Libertés group, Grégory Canal, argued that doubling the tax would not deliver the expected results, describing it as a “tax purge” rather than a real incentive for owners to make their properties available on the market.
