Proposal to make homeowners pay back state renovation aid if they sell within ten years

A new law in France could require homeowners who benefited from public aid to renovate their homes, but who sell within the next 10 years, to repay part of the funds received.

The amendment to the 2025 Budget, which was adopted by the Assemblée Nationale on November 5, was tabled by François Jolivet, rapporteur for the Horizons & Indépendants group. The final approval of the budget is now dependent on a vote in the Senate.

 Financial aid repayable

It would require homeowners who have received aid from the Agence nationale de l'habitat (Anah) and local authorities to renovate their homes to stay in their home (not sell it) for at least 10 years following the payment of the aid.

Read also: Will renovation grants be extended to DIY projects? 

If they sell the property before this deadline, they will have to repay part of the financial aid, the bill explains. The amount repayable depends on how long ago the funds were paid.

“The agency may request repayment of all or part of the subsidy where the home, for which aid has been granted, is resold before a specified period,” the amendment states. 

“If you receive €100,000 in subsidies for your work from Anah or the local authorities, and you sell your property after eight years, you will have to repay €20,000 to the State. Every year, you write off €10,000,” said Mr Jolivet to Le Figaro.

‘Not right that public subsidies should enrich the seller’

The aim is to encourage long-term ownership, and “ensure that the value is shared fairly between the owner and the public authorities”, the bill states.

“It's not right that the added value added to housing by public subsidies, and therefore by our taxes, should enrich the seller,” said Mr Jolivet. “This amendment is not designed to punish the landlord but to generate revenue for the state, or to mitigate inappropriate attitudes or behaviour”, he said. 

Similarly, he said that “the aim of the subsidies is ‘to improve residents’ quality of life and reduce properties’ carbon footprint…not to increase the value of the property”. 

Local mairies would be sent a list of homes that have received Anah funding, he added, to ensure that they could monitor any relevant sales.

The measure is similar to another law that offers buyers of new homes, who purchase their main home in a rénovation urbaine zone (urban renewal zone) to benefit from a reduced VAT of 5.5%, to remain in their property as their main home for 10 years.

If they sell or leave before then, they risk having to repay the difference between VAT at 5.5% and VAT at 20%. The tax amount repayable is reduced by one tenth for each year of ownership.