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Second home construction banned on Ile d’Yeu in western France
Island sees homes quadruple as population barely changes
Published
The small Ile d’Yeu, off the Vendée coast, has become the latest commune to prohibit the construction of new second homes.
Over 50 years, the number of properties on the 23km² island has increased from 2,200 for 4,400 residents in 1968 to 8,680 homes for 4,880 residents in 2026.
Mayor Patrice Bernard said the restriction was required to ensure permanent residents and their families could continue living on the island.
In most years, the population increases five to seven-fold during July and August, with many visitors expected this year to seek refuge from heatwaves affecting the mainland.
Temperatures on the island, in the Bay of Biscay, are often up to seven degrees lower than on the mainland.
Main residence requirement
Existing properties used as second homes will continue to be permitted to be sold as such. Newly-built properties will be required to serve as main residences for owner-occupiers or for tenants signing three-year rental agreements and living on the island.
Changes to planning law introduced by the 2024 loi Le Meur, and implemented last year, gave councils the power to require new homes in designated areas to be used as main residences, and around 20 communes have now adopted the measure.
The first was ski resort Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, where 70% of residential properties were second homes. It designated the final 12 hectares of land available for development exclusively for main residences. Other communes in the Chamonix valley have followed.
Last year, seaside town Royan in Charente-Maritime released a 12-hectare greenfield site for housing, requiring deeds for new homes to specify use as main residences.
More communes follow
Other municipalities to have prohibited new second homes include Cancale and Saint-Malo in Brittany, Bonifacio in Corsica, Annecy in Haute-Savoie, and the urban area comprising the Basque towns of Biarritz, Bayonne, Anglet, Bidart and Boucau.
The five Basque councils agreed to work jointly on reforms to the local development plan, under which 1,000 hectares of land zoned for urban development will be reserved exclusively for new main residences.
