How much value will a swimming pool add to my French house?

Reader question: We’re thinking of having a pool built at our house in France and have been quoted €25,000. Would you say that the value of the property will then rise by this amount or more?

There is a very good chance that the value of your house will rise by more than this amount.

A study by French real estate company Meilleurs Agents that assessed over 300,000 properties found that on average a property’s value (houses and flats combined) increased by 16.3% with the addition of a pool.

When looking at houses alone, the value of the property rose by 19.5% on average.

By way of example, a 95-square-metre house with an average price of €2,165 per square metre could see its value increase by €40,107 with the construction of a pool worth €15,000, Meilleurs Agents reports.

It should be noted that this refers only to in-ground swimming pools and not ‘above ground’ versions.

Extra tax will be due

A swimming pool is likely to add value to your house but it will also cost you some extra in taxes as well as regular maintenance / upkeep costs.

Pools over 10 square metres are taken into account for the property ownership tax, the taxe foncière. This does not include inflatable pools or ones that can be dismantled but does include above ground, permanent pools.

This tax is paid annually and a swimming pool can add around €50 to €100 to owners’ bills.

Swimming pools are also subject to the so-called ‘garden shed’ tax (taxe d’aménagement).

This one-off tax is paid on most constructions requiring authorisation from the council, whether formal planning permission or just prior declaration.

It is known as the garden shed tax because, unlike most property taxes, it is also payable on simple sheds, as long as they have a ground surface area of at least five square metres and a ceiling height of at least 1.8m.

Compared to last year, the tax has risen around 7%, whereas rises in the previous two years were limited to 1.1% and 0.7%.

Read more: France’s ‘garden shed tax’ is up 7% on last year

Pool design company Piscinelle states that for a pool of 50 square metres the taxe d’aménagement will have cost around €425 in 2021, depending on which department the property was in.

People who fail to declare pools in a bid to avoid paying these taxes are being targeted in various operations by the authorities.

Read more: How French tax authorities are tracking undeclared swimming pools

Related articles

Pool taxes, auction deals: Four updates for property owners in France

The all-night rescue of cow that fell into French home’s swimming pool