Change of use of a home in France: permits, penalties

Use or planning class: two separate regimes

Planning class (destination) is a planning concept. Service-public.gouv.fr (F35336) lists five classes, divided into sub-classes: agricultural and forestry use; residential; retail and service activities; public-interest facilities and public services; other secondary- or tertiary-sector activities. Moving from one to another requires:

• a déclaration préalable (prior declaration) where neither the façade nor the load-bearing structure is altered (Planning Code, art. R*421-17, b);
• a permis de construire (building permit) if the works alter “the load-bearing structures or the façade of the building” (art. R*421-14, c).

A change of sub-class within the same class requires no formality (F35336).

Use (usage) refers to the actual use of residential premises. Under article L631-7 of the CCH, premises used for housing include “all categories of dwellings and their outbuildings”, including service rooms (chambres de service), tied accommodation and furnished premises that are let. Premises are deemed to be residential if they were used as housing between 1 January 1970 and 31 December 1976 inclusive, or at any time in the last thirty years. Letting a furnished holiday let constitutes a change of use.

The two authorisations may both be needed. Where the change of use comes with works requiring a building permit or prior declaration, that application “counts as an application for change of use” (CCH, art. L631-8).

Which municipalities require authorisation?

In principle, a change of use requires no formality (F35336). It becomes subject to authorisation:

• automatically in the municipalities “whose list is set by the decree referred to in I, B of article 1406 bis of the code général des impôts (General Tax Code)” (CCH, art. L631-7, version in force since 21 February 2026). Service-public.gouv.fr specifies that this is the area covered by the annual tax on vacant dwellings, known as high-demand areas (zones tendues), and provides an online simulator;
• by resolution of the municipal council or the inter-municipal body in other municipalities, for all or part of their territory (art. L631-9).

Beware of older sources. The historical criterion covered municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants and the Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne départements. Service-public page F3107, verified on 12 May 2026, still repeats it. The text of article L631-7 now in force no longer mentions this threshold: check with your mairie (town hall).

Exceptions. The mayor may authorise a professional activity, even a commercial one, in part of the applicant’s main residence, provided it causes no nuisance or danger to the neighbourhood (art. L631-7-2). Service-public.gouv.fr adds that where no clients or goods are received, no authorisation is needed (F35336). Letting your main residence for short periods does not require authorisation either (art. L631-7-1 A).

Application, compensation and the case of Paris

Authorisation is granted by the mayor, after the opinion of the arrondissement (district) mayor in Paris, Marseille and Lyon (art. L631-7-1). A municipal resolution sets the conditions by neighbourhood or arrondissement. The response time is generally 2 months from a complete application, unless the municipal rules provide a different period (F35336).

Without compensation, authorisation is granted personally: it ends when the holder’s professional activity ends (art. L631-7-1). It cannot be passed on to a successor or a buyer (F35336).

With compensation, the applicant simultaneously converts premises with another use (office, shop) into housing. The authorisation is then “attached to the premises and not to the person” (art. L631-7-1). The premises offered in compensation are mentioned in the authorisation, which is registered in the land register (fichier immobilier) (F35336).

In Paris, the application is filed with the Bureau accueil et service à l’usager (Basu, the user reception and service office), online or, failing that, by recorded-delivery letter to the Bureau des changements d’usages, 103 avenue de France, 75013 Paris (F35336). The compensation conditions are set by the municipal rules: service-public.gouv.fr refers applicants to the Basu for details.

Co-ownership: the other authorisation to obtain

The mayor’s authorisation is not enough in a copropriété (building in co-ownership). For furnished holiday lets, the application “may be made only if the change of use complies with the contractual provisions of the règlement de copropriété” (co-ownership rules) (CCH, art. L631-7-1 A).

Service-public.gouv.fr (F3107) states that a co-owner can change the use of their lot without authorisation from the syndicat (owners’ association) if they respect three things: the intended use of the building, the rights of the other co-owners and the clauses of the rules. The approval of the AG (assemblée générale, owners’ general meeting) is, however, needed for major works, any impact on the parties communes (common parts) or any amendment to the rules.

To convert non-commercial premises (office, practice) into housing against the intended use of the building, article 9 of the Act of 1965, in the version in force since 18 June 2025 (Act no. 2025-541 of 16 June 2025), makes this change subject to the general meeting’s approval “by the majority provided for in article 24”. Page F2416, verified on 9 May 2025, still refers to unanimity.

Penalties

Article L651-2 of the CCH, in force since 21 November 2024, punishes any breach of articles L631-7 or L631-7-1 A with a civil fine of up to €100,000 per unit unlawfully converted. Reinstatement of the dwelling to its original state may also be ordered, subject to a daily penalty of up to €1,000 per day per square metre of usable floor area (service-public.gouv.fr, F2043).

For a furnished holiday let, authorisation for a change of use also requires a DPE (energy performance certificate) rated between A and E, then between A and D from 1 January 2034 (art. L631-10).

Which professional to consult

Before buying premises to convert, the notaire (notary) checks the deemed use of the premises, the co-ownership rules and whether an authorisation has been registered in the land register. The agent immobilier (estate agent) should be able to tell you whether the property is being sold as a dwelling, an office or commercial premises. If the project involves works, see our guide permis de construire ou déclaration préalable (building permit or prior declaration).