French second home tax: over 1,600 communes opt for additional levy
Communes deemed to face housing shortage can opt for surtax of up to 60% more on top of taxe d'habitation bill
Deadline for payments fall in December, unless owners have pre-opted to to pay via monthly installments
Milan Vachal/Shutterstock
Bills for France’s second-home property tax taxe d’habitation begin arriving today (November 3).
Payments are made in December, or from January - October the following year if you have set up a mensualisation for the bill.
Despite the average general increase being low this year, an increasing number of communes have opted to increase additional levies based on classification as an area facing a housing shortage (a zone tendue).
Nearly half of all communes eligible to place an additional levy from this classification have chosen to do so in 2025.
1,600 communes opt for increased levies
The taxe d’habitation bill is based on the theoretical rental value (valeur locative cadastrale, VLC) of the property, adjusted for inflation each year.
Local authorities then apply a rate to the tax, meaning the final bill can potentially increase (or in certain rare cases, decrease) higher than this base change if the council votes to change its rate.
However, areas classified as a zone tendue can add an additional surtax of between 5% to 60% on top of the taxe d'habitation bill.
Different taxes apply to vacant, unused and unfurnished properties.
Changes to zone tendue rules in 2023 saw a change in criteria; more than tripling the number of communes classified as such.
A rule requiring a minimum population of 50,000 for an area to be classed as a zone tendue was lifted, allowing several smaller communes suffering from shortages, largely in tourist hotspots, to be reclassified.
The law change came late in the year in 2023, meaning relatively few communes had time to pass a vote in time for that year’s version of the tax.
By 2024 however, 1,461 communes (39.5% of all zones tendues) had implemented the levy, and by 2025 this has risen to 1,628 (44.1%).
Of these, around 40% have opted for the maximum 60% increase, totalling 657 communes across France.
A regional breakdown below shows the areas where rates were imposed the most:
You can use a government search tool to see if your commune is one where the additional levies can be raised (all communes classified as a zone tendue will be able to apply the taxe sur les logements vacants, which this search tool is for).
However, the tool will not tell you if your commune voted to impose a surtax or at what rate.
French media outlet Le Figaro (paywall) offers a search tool to check if rates have been raised in your commune in 2025.
Otherwise, if your commune is classified as a zone tendue, you can ask your mairie if the additional levy has been imposed, or check your bill when it arrives.
More increases to come?
A reclassification of certain zone tendue took place earlier this year, increasing the number of communes where additional rates could possibly be imposed in 2026.
However the 2026 municipal elections, set to return new councillors and mayors across France in March, may see authorities hesitate to increase taxes so close to a re-election year. A similar trend was seen with the taxe foncière main property tax.
Alternatively, newly-elected authorities may see the levy as a means of raising income to address any funding gaps they determine left from previous administrations.
