Vacant property tax in France (TLV, THLV) in 2026

What is a vacant home?

For tax purposes, a vacant home is a residential property that is unfurnished and free of any occupation. A furnished home is not vacant: it is a second home, subject to the taxe d’habitation sur les résidences secondaires (council tax on second homes) (service-public.gouv.fr).

Vacancy is assessed on 1 January of the tax year. The home is not considered vacant if it was occupied for more than 90 consecutive days during the reference period (CGI, art. 232, V). A lease of a few weeks is therefore not enough to take it out of the scope of the tax.

The TLV: municipalities, duration, rates

The TLV applies automatically in the communes listed by decree (decree no. 2013-392 of 10 May 2013, as amended). According to service-public.gouv.fr, these are communes:

• in a continuous urban area of more than 50,000 inhabitants where housing supply and demand are markedly out of balance;
• or with a high proportion of homes that are not main residences.

Service-public.gouv.fr’s simulator lets you check whether a commune is affected. See also the guide zone tendue : ce qui change (high-demand areas: what changes).

The tax is payable by the owner or the usufruitier (usufructuary), for each vacant home. Homes belonging to organismes HLM (social housing bodies) and sociétés d’économie mixte (semi-public companies) intended to be allocated subject to income conditions are outside its scope (CGI, art. 232).

Example (fictitious value): a flat empty for more than a year, with a notional rental value of €3,000. The TLV is €3,000 × 17% = €510 in the first year of taxation, then €3,000 × 34% = €1,020 a year thereafter, excluding any charges.

The THLV: by local decision

Outside the communes subject to the TLV, the commune or the intercommunalité can decide to make vacant homes liable to taxe d’habitation (council tax). The home must have been vacant for more than two years on 1 January of the tax year (CGI, art. 1407 bis). The basis is still the notional rental value, but the rate varies between communes (service-public.gouv.fr). This tax goes to the communes and intercommunalités, not to the State.

Service-public.gouv.fr states that the home is not taxed if it was occupied for more than 90 consecutive days during the previous 2 years.

Exemptions and supporting evidence

The tax is not due where the vacancy is beyond the taxpayer’s control (CGI, art. 232, VI). Service-public.gouv.fr cites, for both the TLV and the THLV:

• a home put up for rent or for sale at the market price without finding a tenant or buyer;
• a home that requires major works to be habitable, for example a complete overhaul of the heating; in practice, their cost must exceed 25% of the value of the home;
• premises not used as a dwelling;
• a furnished second home, subject to taxe d’habitation.

It is up to the owner to prove their situation: quotes for works, sale or letting mandates, listings, evidence that the asking price matches the market (service-public.gouv.fr). It is better to build this file from the start of the vacancy rather than when challenging the tax.

Declaring, paying, challenging

Every owner of a residential property must declare before 1 July, in their “Gérer mes biens immobiliers” (manage my property) area on impots.gouv.fr, how the property is occupied if they have never done so or if their situation has changed: main residence, second home or vacant home. Failure to declare, or an inaccurate declaration, exposes the owner to a fine of €150 per property (service-public.gouv.fr).

The tax is the subject of an avis d’imposition (tax assessment notice). An owner who considers that it is not due can lodge a réclamation (formal complaint) with the tax office until 31 December of the year following the date it was charged: until 31 December 2027 for a tax charged in 2026 (service-public.gouv.fr). A complaint does not exempt you from paying, but a sursis de paiement (deferral of payment) can be requested.

What changes in 2027

The loi de finances (Finance Act) for 2026 merges the TLV and the THLV into a single tax, the taxe sur la vacance des locaux d’habitation (TVLH) (tax on vacant residential premises), levied from the 2027 assessments (service-public.gouv.fr). Article 232 of the CGI is repealed with effect from 1 January 2027 by Act no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026 (Légifrance). For the 2026 assessment, the rules described here still apply.

Which professional to consult

An agent immobilier (estate agent) can provide a written valuation and a sale or letting mandate at a market price: these are the documents that prove involuntary vacancy if you lodge a complaint. For a vente (sale) or an inheritance that leaves a property empty, the notaire (notary) helps date the vacancy and anticipate the tax.