Who has to complete the new French property form?

Reader Question: Must we submit a déclaration d’occupation for our French property in 2024?

Last year, France introduced a requirement for property owners to declare whether they were using a property themselves as a main residence or second-home, if it was vacant or if it was occupied by tenants.

The tax office wanted this information in order to determine the type/amount of tax due.

Empty properties are subject to vacant property taxes (taxes sur les logements vacants), and taxe d’habitation is payable where properties are used as second homes. 

The latter is no longer payable when the property is occupied as a main home.

The declarations should have been made online via the property owner’s personal tax log-in (espace particulier) on the French tax site by June 30, 2023, at the latest.

Property owners were warned that failure to make the declaration could lead to a €150 fine. 

However, so many owners struggled to make the declaration that the deadline was pushed back twice and it was revealed that no fines would be issued in 2023.

If you successfully submitted the declaration last year, you do not need to make one in 2024 unless your situation has changed.

The annual deadline to notify changes is June 30, but you can update your espace particulier immediately – there is no need to wait.

It is only necessary to submit a declaration in 2024 if your circumstances have changed, you recently bought the property, or you have still not managed to make your first declaration.

If you have not made your first declaration by July 1, you can expect to receive a reminder. 

This year, fines of €150 are expected to be imposed if the declaration is still not made after a reminder has been sent. 

Property owners with more than one property must make the declaration for each property or risk multiple fines.