The French government has reintroduced extra capital gains taxes on property sold in France by non-residents, using a not so subtle legal subterfuge that may well be contested by the European Court of Justice in coming months. The issue of capital gains overpaid by non-resident property sellers in France has been a widely disputed issue, […]

Effective since 1st August 2015 rent control is not being observed by a large portion of landlords, according to a new study. Implemented in Paris as a trial, there is little chance the regulation will spread to the Île-de-France region. The National Association of Consumers (CLCV) has found that 42% of properties advertised for rent […]

The French government recently passed a tax measure aimed at encouraging the transformation of vacant offices into housing in Paris. Over 800,000 square meters of office space in the city are reportedly unoccupied. New finance laws for 2016 include a tax measure intended to push commercial property owners to convert offices in Paris into housing. […]

Conditions have aligned to make high-end property in the French capital an advantageous investment for both residents and non-residents. Reasonable prices, low interest rates and the fall of the euro make Parisian luxury real estate attractive once again. Luxury real estate professionals in France ended 2015 in high spirits. Despite a slight decline in sales […]

French deputies are supporting an amendment that may make it illegal for tenants to sublet their properties on short-term rental websites such as Airbnb without their landlord’s explicit approval.

Paris officials want to instate a fivefold increase on occupancy tax on vacant secondary residences to encourage owners to sell their properties or rent them out. Last month, the City of Paris voted in the principle of increasing the occupancy tax — taxe d’habitation ­— on vacant second homes in the capital. The tax would […]

A wave of impromptu visits by city officials to suspected short term rental properties in Saint Germain des Pres yields little results and fuels growing frustration with the city’s inconsistent policies.  On Tuesday, January 12, the City of Paris sent investigators to storm Parisian apartments they suspected of being illegally rented out for short stays. […]

As of January 1st, 2016, property purchased in Paris is subject to an increased purchase tax — or transfer tax. This tax has increased by 0.7% for the purchase of housing, office or commercial property. While the vast majority of French departments had already taken this step, Paris is the latest to apply an increased […]

In more good news for the real estate sector, sales of new-build properties have been soaring since the beginning of the year. The French real estate market, struggling since the 2008 crisis, is on the mend. An increase of 19.3% in sales of new property was recorded in the first quarter of 2015, with real […]

As the International Climate Summit ends in Paris, chair country France’s efforts to green its property sector in order to fight climate change pay off. The country scores highly in a new ranking on real estate sustainability. France recently chaired the latest edition of the United Nations Climate Conference. With sustainability now a main requirement […]