France's zones tendues: list of towns and 2026 effects

What is a zone tendue?

Service-public.gouv.fr identifies two categories of communes:

• those that belong to a continuous urban area of more than 50,000 inhabitants, with a marked imbalance between housing supply and demand;
• those with, in particular, a high proportion of homes other than main residences, typically tourist towns.

The decree’s annex therefore contains two lists, arranged by urban area: the first under 1° of I of Article 232 of the Code général des impôts (CGI, French General Tax Code), the second under 2° (Decree no. 2025-1267). The distinction matters: the reduced notice period and rent controls refer to the first table of the annex, whereas the vacant homes tax and the council tax surcharge cover both categories (service-public.gouv.fr, pages F1168, F1314, F17293 and F42).

Which text applies in 2026, and what changes in 2027

As at 12 October 2026, the list in force is that of Decree no. 2013-392, in the version resulting from the decree of 22 December 2025, published in the Journal officiel (official gazette) of 23 December 2025 and in force from the following day. Service-public.gouv.fr offers official simulators to check a commune.

Decree no. 2026-831 of 25 August 2026 sets the list of communes for the new taxe sur la vacance des locaux d’habitation (tax on vacant residential premises), which merges the TLV and the THLV from the 2027 tax assessments onwards. It repeals the 2013 decree on 1 January 2027 (art. 2 and 3). Its annex contains a single list, and the decree makes no provision for notice periods or rent controls. For a lease signed from January 2027, you will therefore need to check which list the legislation refers to at that point.

Tenants: notice reduced to one month

For a home let unfurnished, the tenant’s notice period is in principle 3 months. In a zone tendue, it falls to 1 month, provided the notice letter states the address of the home and that the tenant is relying on the reduced notice period; otherwise, the 3 months apply (Law no. 89-462, art. 15; service-public.gouv.fr). For a furnished home, notice is always one month, whether or not it is in a zone tendue.

Landlords: rent increases are controlled

In most communes in a zone tendue, the landlord cannot freely raise the rent when the tenant changes. The rules, laid down by Decree no. 2017-1198, applicable until 31 July 2027, are as follows (service-public.gouv.fr):

For a home rated F or G on the DPE (diagnostic de performance énergétique, energy performance certificate), any increase is prohibited for a lease signed since 24 August 2022 in mainland France, and since 1 July 2024 in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, La Réunion and Mayotte (service-public.gouv.fr). In some cities, the level of rent is also capped by reference rents: Paris, Est Ensemble, Plaine Commune, Bordeaux, part of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, Lille-Hellemmes-Lomme, Lyon and Villeurbanne, Montpellier and the Pays basque (French Basque Country). This scheme is experimental (loi ELAN, art. 140): the published reference rents apply until 24 November 2026 (service-public.gouv.fr; see our guide to rent control). The fine there can reach €5,000, or €15,000 for a legal entity (service-public.gouv.fr).

Vacant homes: the TLV

In a zone tendue, an unfurnished home that has been unoccupied for at least 1 year on 1 January is subject to the taxe annuelle sur les logements vacants (TLV, annual vacant homes tax), collected by the State (service-public.gouv.fr):

• 17% of the valeur locative cadastrale (notional cadastral rental value) in the first year of assessment;
• 34% in subsequent years.

It is not due if the vacancy is involuntary (home put up for sale or to let at the market price without finding a taker), if the home was occupied for more than 90 consecutive days in the year, or if it requires works costing more than 25% of its value. Owners must declare the occupancy of their homes before 1 July if it has changed, on pain of a €150 fine per property. Outside zones tendues, the commune can introduce a THLV (taxe d’habitation sur les logements vacants, council tax on vacant homes) for homes vacant for more than 2 years.

Second homes: the council tax surcharge

Communes in a zone tendue can, by resolution of the municipal council, increase the municipal share of the taxe d’habitation on second homes (service-public.gouv.fr). The surcharge rate is between 5% and 60% (Code général des impôts, art. 1407 ter). Relief from the surcharge can be requested, in particular where the home is occupied for work reasons, where the owner is in long-term residence in a care establishment, or where the home is uninhabitable for a reason beyond the owner’s control.

Which professional to consult

The agent immobilier (estate agent) managing the letting applies the rent control rules when setting the rent. The diagnostiqueur (property surveyor) draws up the DPE, whose F or G rating blocks any increase. For a vacant home to be sold, the notaire (notary) advises on the tax position.