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TAXES

Where are French property taxes increasing the most in 2024?

Property owners in France can expect to see higher 'taxe foncière' bills this year, but certain homeowners will notice a more significant difference from last year.

Published: 28 August 2024 11:50 CEST
Updated: 5 September 2024 08:46 CEST
Where are French property taxes increasing the most in 2024?
A general view of the city of Saint-Etienne, central eastern France, on April 4, 2024. Saint-Etienne properties will see the taxe fonciere increase in 2024. (Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP)

In 2024, French property bills (the taxe foncière) are increasing by an average of 3.9 percent. That said, your individual bill may differ, and some locations are instituting higher increases than others.

The taxe foncière – or property-owners’ tax – is paid by everyone who owns property in France, including those who live in another country. 

It is calculated based on the individual rentable value of the property, which is updated yearly and takes inflation into consideration.

READ MORE: Taxe foncière: What exactly is the French property tax and do I have to pay it?

Basically, if you added a pool or a new veranda, then you can expect your bill to go up.

Then the taxe foncière also considers the local tax rate, which is decided by local authorities, including the commune, département and région.

Where are rates increasing?

The good news is that unlike last year, fewer municipalities opted to increase their tax rates. A recent study showed that among France’s 42 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, only seven opted to increase the taxe foncière.

READ MORE: Taxe Foncière: What you need to know about 2024 French property tax bills

Here is the list of the highest average increases, according to BFMTV.

  • Nice, increase of 15.8 percent
  • Saint-Étienne, increase of 14.1 percent
  • Nancy, increase of 13.4 percent
  • Annecy, increase of 13.4 percent,
  • Villeurbanne, increase of 9.8 percent
  • Montreuil, increase of 5 percent
  • Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion, increase of 2.7 percent

As for smaller cities, with 40,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, 18 of the 154 cities opted to increase the taxe foncière.

These include;

  • Saint-Priest, 16 percent increase
  • Neuilly-sur-Seine, 10 percent increase
  • Meaux, 9 percent increase
  • Clichy-la-Garenne, 9 percent increase
  • Le Cannet, 8.8 percent increase
  • Rezé, 7.7. percent increase
  • Gennevilliers, 5.2 percent increase
  • Fontenay-sous-Bois, 5 percent increase
  • Thionville, 5 percent increase
  • Créteil, 3.9 percent increase
  • Anglet, 3.2 percent increase
  • Bayonne, 3.1 percent increase
  • Antony, 3 percent increase
  • Rueil-Malmaison, 3 percent increase
  • Bourg-en-Bresse, 2.9 percent increase
  • Saint-Pierre, 2.2 percent increase
  • Saint-Louis, 1.4 percent increase
  • Poitiers, 1 percent increase

There were also five areas that opted to decrease the tax, including Brive-la-Gaillarde (down 0.40 percent), Wattrelos (down 0.40 percent), Tarbes (down 0,60 percent), Castres (down 1 percent) and Mantes-la-Jolie (down 2.60 percent).

How much does the increase actually amount to?

Taking Nice – the city with the largest increase – as an example, estimates from Actu Nice in May found that the rise in taxe foncière would be ‘modest’.

The initial estimates showed that it would come out to about €12 a month on average, depending on the surface area of your flat or house.

For homes sized 54 metres squared, the increase would be closer to €9.50 per month, while 100 metre squared homes would see a rise of €16 on average per month.

Ultimately, the exact value of your bill depends on individual factors about your house, as well as location. 

How does this compare to last year?

In comparison, in 2023, property owners saw minimum increases of 7.1 percent, which represented one of the largest increases in 30 years.

Some locations, such as the city of Paris raised the taxe foncière rate by a record 52 percent, while Grenoble raised it by 25 percent and Bordeaux by 11.6 percent.

This guide by The Local can give you a better idea of how much property owners paid in 2023.

What about the taxe d’habitation?

Second-home owners also have to pay the taxe d’habitation, which is a separate type of property tax. This is usually sent out later in autumn, around early to mid-November.

In places with a housing shortage – known as zones tendues – local authorities can increase the taxe d’habitation by a maximum of 60 percent per year.

As for 2024, second-home owners in certain parts of France – particularly those in popular destinations such as Saint Tropez, Chamonix, Ile de Brehat and Saint Malo – should prepare for their tax bills to jump up quite a bit.

READ MORE: The French towns hiking taxes for second-home owners in 2024

Member comments

  1. We live in Nice and have an apartment of 94 sq m. Our Taxe Fonciére this year was 1800€ so a 15.8% increase for next year will bring it up to c 2084€ so an increase of 284€ about 24€ per month rather than 16€ estimated. Our taxe d’hab is already 2700 a year and we certainly don’t look forward to any substantial increase in this.

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For members

PROPERTY

How to avoid French property rental scams

Finding a place to live - or even to stay - in France can be difficult, and to make it more complicated scammers often prey on unsuspecting property seekers.

Published: 16 September 2024 10:46 CEST
How to avoid French property rental scams

More and more people head online to begin their search for a new rental property in France – whether they’re seeking a long-term rental to live or somewhere just for a few months.

But this can be risky with scammers active in the market – such as the 40-year-old Paris man accused of swindling 64 victims by illegally sub-letting properties that he did not own.

So how can you avoid falling victim to online criminals?

The golden rule

There’s one golden rule: don’t hand over any of your hard-earned cash before you sign a lease. This may seem obvious, but if you have found an ideal property it could be more difficult to say no if the person you think is the landlord, or their representative demands money – perhaps to ‘secure the property’. That’s a red flag, right there.

As is paying for the privilege of viewing a property. A genuine landlord would not charge you just to look round.

It is, however, completely normal to be asked to send documents such as proof of income/legal residency in France before a viewing. While in some countries you view the property and then undergo financial checks, in France landlords often want to see your dossier before they spend their time showing you around.

READ ALSO A beginner’s guide to renting property in France

Low rental

Rental prices can be high, especially in Paris which regularly tops international comparisons of the world’s most expensive cities. It’s therefore tempting to look for a bargain, but that too-good-to-be-true rental price probably is.

If an property ad has a monthly rental price that is lower than you would reasonably expect for a place in a certain area, beware.

Some legitimate reasons for a lower price might be that the property is shared (colocation), is a sub-let (sous-location) or is the short-term rental known as bail mobilité. However, these types of contract all have their own rules and limitations and – in the case of bail mobilité – are not available to everyone.

First contact

Beware of long emails from the ‘landlord’ of a property you’re interested in, especially if they seek to demand certain conditions on property visits.

It has been reported that some criminals try to scam victims into sending deposit money on the strength of a viewing video. If you can’t physically visit a property, wonder why.

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

Watch where you’re sending your money

If you’re asked to pay any money by cash transfer, Western Union, or to a bank not based in France, watch out. This could be evidence of a scam.

Note also that deposits are dictated by law. The deposit for an unfurnished rental property can only be equal to one month’s rent, while a furnished property deposit is two months’ rent. 

READ ALSO 9 things landlords in France can never ask of tenants

Remember too: sign the lease before you pay even the deposit. 

Contractual obligations

There are rules about French property rental contracts. They must include the landlord’s contact details (or those of the property manager), and include information on the size of the property, co-ownership regulations, asbestos, lead and energy performance diagnostics, and the effective date and duration of the lease. 

Model contracts are simple to find on the internet. Search for contrat location modele

READ ALSO The vital French vocab for renting property

Google Lens

Online reverse search tools such as Google Lens are your friends. You can check to see if photos purporting to show the property you’re interested in are also being used to ‘advertise’ different properties in other towns or cities. 

Online liability

Platforms on which landlords can post properties for rent may also be used by scammers. The platforms themselves have repeatedly said that they are not responsible for content published on their sites.

But some short-term rental platforms – notably Airbnb and Abritel – have in the past been found liable for content on their site.

READ ALSO Renting property in France: Should I go for furnished or unfurnished?

But protect your data

The government’s Dossier Facile website allows prospective renters to prepare and build their rental file, and gather all their supporting documents in one online storage place – and, crucially, watermarks them to protect you “against fraud from unscrupulous owners”.

And if you are a victim

If you are the victim of a fake online ad, you may be able to file a complaint online on the Thesee platform. Alternatively, get in touch with the police. 

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