French village pays families to buy a home there

A commune in western France is offering young couples who move there a €5,000 bonus as it attempts to combat an aging population and several empty properties. 

Authorities in Marolles-les-Braults (Sarthe) voted in November 2024 to offer the bonus to first-time buyer couples aged under 40 who purchase a home in the area. 

An extra €1,000 bonus per child under 15 is included in the scheme, which has an annual budget of €30,000.

It was part of plans to rejuvenate the village of 2,100 people, bringing in a younger population to increase its dynamism and prevent homes from remaining empty for too long and decaying.

So far, three young couples have moved to the area. 

It is one of several similar schemes that attempt to entice younger people to rural communes to help repopulate them. 

Other ideas include extremely cheap homes or plots of land for couples choosing to make an area their main home.

In Le Brignon (Haute-Loire), this had led to a population boom, with enough couples moving and having children to keep the local school open in the village.

Return on investment

“Last year, we carried out a study of the homes in the village and found that there were too many vacant properties,” said Marolles mayor Francis Belluau to media outlet Ouest-France. 

“We thought, how can we go further and get people to say ‘why not Marolles?’” he added. 

The bonus would go a fair way towards a deposit for a property in the area – property search website SeLoger shows properties in the commune usually cost around €130,000 - €170,000. 

Despite the outlay from paying the bonus the local authority believes the scheme will eventually show a return on its investment. 

“The new residents will pay taxes and keep the village shops going,” the mayor said, leading to the commune recouping the amounts paid in due course. 

As a reminder, the taxe foncière property tax is paid annually by homeowners, and is one of the few remaining sources of locally-collected tax.