VINGT Paris

Tax changes for property owners in 2012

2011 was the year of increased austerity measures including exceptional tax increases across the board.

When it comes to capital gains on immovable property, full exemption from tax now applies after 30 years of ownership rather than 15. The main home (résidence principale) remains exempt.  Gains on a second home or investment property are exempt in certain circumstances, but this only affects people who have not owned a main home for four years or elderly/disabled people who have moved into a specialist care home and who meet certain other conditions.

Bed & Breakfast in Paris in the home of an owner

From the newsletter of Jean Tacquet A Survival Kit for Paris

Who can be a B&B host?

Anyone can be a host, provided that it is done at his/her primary residence and at least one independent and comfortable room is dedicated for this activity.

How can one get endorsed by the Paris City Hall and benefit from the label Hôtes Qualité Paris?

You must contact one of the organizations approved by City Hall, and sign up with them. Then they will send a professional to visit and make sure your guest bedroom complies with the guidelines.

Can I be independent?

Yes, but you must be registered with City Hall under the latest version of the tourism ordinance, Articles 324-3, 4 and 5 of April 2006, which gives the legal definition of the B&B (called “chambres d'hôtes” in French) as: “Furnished bedrooms located inside a lodging dedicated to welcoming tourists who pay for one or more nights and the related services.” In French: "Chambres meublées situées chez l'habitant en vue d'accueillir des touristes, à titre onéreux, pour une ou plusieurs nuitées, assorties de prestations".

You can download the registration form here: "Formulaire de déclaration à la Mairie".

A copy of the relevant regulation may be found here: “Décret du 3 août 2007".

Can I be a B&B host if I am myself a renter?

Yes, you can, if the lease does not explicitly forbid it. In any case, it is highly advisable to inform the landlord, who in return will check the by-laws of the co-ownership to make sure that there is no provision against this activity. Of course, if you rent in a low-income housing project, in French (H.L.M.) then it is completely forbidden.

VINGT Paris owner Susie Hollands in New York Times article on Paris rental market

From New York Times Text: Jean Rafferty,
Image: Benoit Tessier, Reuters

Many people buy a pied-à-terre in Paris to use for a few weeks a year and to rent the rest of the time. Most of them don’t realize, however, that they are breaking the law. Now, the city government is trying to address the problem with a more direct approach to enforcement.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoë ordered an agency last year to warn property owners that renting out residential apartments for less than a year at a time violated French law. The move was intended to address the lack of affordable housing in the city center. Those who ignored the warning, he said, would be prosecuted.

Only about 25 letters have been sent since enforcement began last autumn - most of them in response to complaints made by neighbors. And only a handful of those cases have gone to court.

But the rental industry in this most-visited city in the world is concerned and, as more owners slowly become aware of the issue, confusion is growing. A few have pulled their properties off the market, others have deleted addresses or other identifying details from Internet listings. And dozens of rental agencies have banded together to try to save their lucrative business.

“No one seems to know what this crackdown means, but I feel my business will have to change,” said Susie Hollands of Vingt Paris, a property advisory and management company.

Free legal advice on French issues

Via The Connexion: A FREE telephone advice line is running this week to help anyone with questions about family life, buying a property or inheritance in France.

The service is part of the annual Semaine d'Information sur les Droits des Familles - a week-long information campaign organised by the Employment Ministry, which has family affairs in its brief.  Lawyers will be on hand to answer questions about the legal and tax implications of marriage and the pacs, buying property together, life insurance and preparing a will.

You can call the helpline (in French) on 3620 and say "Notaires et Familles" after the beep. It is open every day from 14.00 to 18.00 until Friday evening (February 19).  A series of free conferences are also being held in Paris this week - see the programme here for full details.

Fédération des Loueurs d’Appartements Temporaires

 
This week, we got together with representatives of some of the key players of the short-term Paris rental sector in order to act in a concerted and efficient manner to defend the sector and our clients with the aim of obtaining a modification of the law or of its application.   The « Fédération des Loueurs d’Appartements Temporaires » (Federation of Renters of Temporary Apartments), or FLAT, has been created and will be the organ through which the profession will get together to express in a unified voice the value of our sector and the direct and indirect implications. FLAT has identified and commissioned a specialised lawyer, a press relations agency and a political lobbying agency to accompany us swiftly and effectively, to start a dialogue with the political leaders, to evolve the laws and their application modes.

Crackdown on Private Landlords - Paris moves to free up housing in the city centre

Recent moves made by the City of Paris to apply laws restricting the rental of apartments in central Paris may have significant effects for thousands of private owners, in Paris and abroad.  According to the Prefecture de Paris, nearly 38,000 apartments in Paris are being rented for short stays and moves to prosecute some owners of these properties have begun.The reasons cited for the application of this law is to alleviate the chronic shortage of affordable housing in the city centre (see our posts about this from 2006).   Bonapart Paris's Owner, Susie Hollands and well known blogger about French life and property, Tony Tidswell, held a meeting with François Plottin, Chef du Bureau, at the Mairie de Paris’ Direction du Logement et de l'Habitat in Paris on Wednesday, 19 November and Thursday 26 November 2009.

Hidalgo : "Jeudi noir défend une cause juste"
envoyé par LEXPRESS. - L'info video en direct.

Report on L'Express on the housing shortage in Paris.

It is technically illegal for any owner of a property in Paris not classified as commercial to re-let their property for any period of less than one year. The sole exception is for student rentals, where the term can be no less than nine months.    Property owners are obligated to make sure their apartments, and the rental activity, comply with the law, in order to satisfy the legal aspects Paris has set for retail rental "commercial activity" and we are assisting our owners to regularise their situations  Any apartment advertised for short-term rental can be considered as having been rented, and therefore scrutinized under the law, by the authorities.

Non-Resident tax return - rental income

 I've just written to our owner's to remind them to look out for Tax d'Habitation and Tax Fonciere bills which usually arrive at this time of year. It's best to chase these up at the local Tresor Public, if you are able to put in place an automatic payment, so much the better and you can forget about it. Property taxes are low in Paris but just in case you feel like you got lucky as you haven't received anything, please don't just write it off! If your Tax Habitation or Fonciere is not paid, the "Fisc" will have no hesitation in freezing your bank account. Imagine the chaos caused by your direct debits for everything from the internet subscription to your electricity bouncing (resulting in your tenants losing power during their stay and the ancillary very long and boring re-instatement of the standing orders).

Bonapart approved by Association of International Property Professionals

Bonapart is proud to announce it's acceptance as a member of the Association of International Property Professionals AIPP and adherence to the AIPP's Code of Conduct.

In an effort to improve the professional standards of the international property market, Members of the AIPP have voluntarily committed themselves to industry regulation.

When you see that a company is a Member, it means:

The SRU Law: Solidarité et Renouvellement Urbain (solidarity and urban renewal)

By Samina Arnoult of Samina Arnoult Global Financial Services

Voted December 13, 2000,the SRU law has come into effect June 1, 2001. It extends the buyer’s protection.

This important text sets out nearly 200 articles and modifies no less than eight codes (the public health code, planning code, habitation and construction codes, general code of regional administrative units, rural code, general tax code, civil code and state code) with great ambition: to organize the development of French cities, towns and villages, based on habitat, planning and transportation.

A guide to buying a home in France

Expatica have published a short and useful guide to buying a property in France. I think they've summed it up rather well; ".....both daunting and tempting"! At least this is one thing we don't have to worry about in Paris:
"In the case of rural homes, this search should also determine if there are any other claims to the property, such as the neighbouring farmer's right, droit de passage, to drive his tractor across your land to his fields." Or worse, if you've read "A Year in the Merde" by Stephen Clarke you'll find out what happened when he bought an idyllic rural retreat.......