Household waste tax in France (TEOM) and tenants

Who pays the TEOM?

The TEOM is a tax attached to the taxe foncière sur les propriétés bâties (property tax on built property). It is owed by the owner or the usufructuary, whether they live in the home, let it or only stay there a few days a year. Its amount does not depend on the service provided: an owner who does not use the collection still pays it (service-public.gouv.fr).

Three points often come as a surprise:

• it remains due when the property is temporarily exempt from property tax, for example a new build;
• the property tax exemptions and reliefs granted to elderly or low-income people, or to recipients of the Aspa, Asi or AAH (old-age, invalidity and disabled adult benefits), do not apply to the TEOM;
• it does not apply to properties permanently exempt from property tax, nor, in principle, in an area where the service is not provided, unless the local authority decides otherwise.

The calculation principle of the property tax, whose base the TEOM uses, is explained in the guide taxe foncière (property tax).

How the TEOM is calculated

TEOM = notional rental value × 50% × TEOM rate, plus management fees

• Base: the same as for the property tax, uprated every year (service-public.gouv.fr).
• Rate: voted every year, generally before 15 April of the tax year; the introduction of the tax is decided before 15 October of the previous year. The local authority can set different rates by zone (service-public.gouv.fr; CGI (General Tax Code), art. 1636 B undecies).
• State management fees: 8% of the TEOM amount, reduced to 3% during the first five years after an incentive element is introduced (BOFiP, BOI-IF-AUT-40, § 210, for decisions taken from 1 January 2018).

Example (fictitious rate): rental value of €3,000, base of €1,500, TEOM rate of 10%: €150 of TEOM, plus €12 of management fees at 8%, i.e. €162 on the notice. The landlord can recover €150 of this from their tenant.

The rate actually applied appears on your property tax notice, line by line.

Recovering the TEOM from the tenant

The TEOM is one of the charges récupérables (recoverable service charges): decree no. 87-713 of 26 August 1987 lists, under heading VIII of its annex, the “taxe ou redevance d’enlèvement des ordures ménagères” (household waste collection tax or charge). The owner pays the notice, then asks the tenant for reimbursement, except for the management fees (service-public.gouv.fr). The property tax, which is not on this list, remains payable by the landlord. The other charges are detailed in the guide charges locatives récupérables (recoverable service charges).

Empty property. A landlord whose property intended for letting stays empty can request a reduction in TEOM if the vacancy is beyond their control, lasts more than 3 months and concerns the whole building or a part that can be let separately. The claim is sent to the centre des finances publiques (local tax office) by 31 December of the following year at the latest (service-public.gouv.fr).

TEOM or REOM: two systems

The REOM is calculated “according to the service provided” (CGCT (General Local Authorities Code), art. L2333-76) and introducing it abolishes the TEOM (art. L2333-79). To find out which of the two systems applies where you live, consult the waste collection guide, at the mairie (town hall) or on the commune’s website (service-public.gouv.fr).

The incentive element

A local authority can add to the TEOM a part incitative (incentive element) calculated according to the amount of waste produced, by volume, weight or number of collections. Its yield must represent between 10% and 45% of the total yield of the tax, and it can first be trialled on part of the area for 7 years at most (CGI, art. 1522 bis). Its rates are voted every year and are added to a fixed element (service-public.gouv.fr).

The REOM, for its part, already depends by nature on the service provided, with a fixed element that cannot exceed the non-proportional costs (CGCT, art. L2333-76). The terms of an incentive charge, such as the number of collections included in the fixed element, are set locally: ask at the town hall.

Which professional to consult

The agent immobilier (estate agent) who manages a let property includes the TEOM in the annual service charge reconciliation and deducts the management fees from it. On a sale, the tax for the year remains payable by the owner on 1 January; any sharing with the buyer is a matter for a clause in the deed, to be discussed with the notaire (notary).