What changes require you to make new property declaration in France?

The Biens Immobiliers property declaration is back this year for property owners in France- but, unlike last year, not everyone will have to complete the procedure. 

French tax authorities (the Direction générale des Finances publiques) recently sent out an email reminding people that they will have to declare any changes to their property since last year’s declaration.

Last year, all property owners in France had to complete an online property declaration on their personal space on the French tax website, in the Biens Immobiliers section. 

Property owners were required to confirm information about their home previously held by the authorities was correct, or otherwise update the information. 

This year, however, the number of property owners who must complete the form is more limited. 

If you declared your property in 2023, and there have been no changes to it, you do not need to do anything, as the information held is still correct.

However, there are two main groups who must complete the declaration before June 30, 2024.

Those who fail to do so could, in theory, face a fine of €150 per property, however tax authorities have again said they will be lenient with this for those who make a mistake “in genuine error.”

Read more: France's new property declaration form: 2024 rules and fines explained

People who had issues last year must complete form

Firstly, if for whatever reason you did not complete the form in 2023, you must do so this year. 

Some people had difficulty with the declaration, due to the tax authorities using different measurements to estate agents for the number of rooms and size in m² of the property.

A number of second-home owners who live outside of France struggled to create a personal space on the French tax site.

Anybody with any queries over information held were asked to submit them via the Biens Immobiliers form, and they now should all have been answered, allowing people to enter the correct information this year. 

In addition, a paper version of the form will be available from local tax offices this year, for people who cannot access their personal space online. 

Read more: Online income tax declarations open in France: what’s new?

What about changes to my property? 

The second group of people who must re-declare this year are those who have seen changes to their property status since the previous declaration in 2023. 

This includes: 

• A change of occupant of a property, including tenants for long-term rental units

• A property becoming vacant 

• A property purchase or sale (both sides are being asked to update the information on their personal space)

• If a non-residential building has a new company working inside

• If a building has been converted into a short-term / seasonal holiday let 

• If a new annex (car-park, cellar, garage) has been attached to the property

Note that for rental properties, only changes in tenants during 2023 must be noted. 

Projects such as property extensions, swimming pools, sheds, etc do not need to be declared. 

Our final articles on the 2023 declaration, covering a number of reader’s questions and general information about the form, can be found below. If you have a specific query about completing the form this year, you may find it there.

Read more: Last-minute help with the French property form deadline looming

If you have any questions that are not answered here, send them to us via news@connexionfrance.com. We will answer as many as we can in a future article