As of 1 January 2025, at least 3,115,881 private homes were empty in France, 1,052,304 of them for more than two years: 3.5% of private housing. Meanwhile, families are looking for somewhere to live. It is a duty to raise the alarm, and there is often a solution.
The number of homes empty for more than two years rose from 955,359 on 1 January 2019 to 1,052,304 on 1 January 2025: +10% in six years.
A home that has been empty for more than two years is not for sale: it is stuck. The causes are nearly always the same:
I work with buyers looking for these properties, including ones to renovate: private buyers, investors, property dealers. A valuation based on actual sales in the neighbourhood and the cost of works, then a sale with the MandaO method: buyers’ offers set the price. The method →
For an elderly owner or heirs who want a regular income rather than a lump sum, or to spread the sale.
With management handed to Ma Gestion Locative: finding the tenant, rents, check-in and check-out reports. The owner no longer has to deal with it.
Tell me about the situation: I’ll call you back, give you a valuation and the possible options. No obligation.
An empty home can be taxed. Until 2026, two taxes exist side by side: the annual tax on vacant homes in towns with a tight housing market (from one year of vacancy), and the council tax on vacant homes elsewhere, if the town has opted for it (after two years). The 2026 finance act merges them: from the 2027 tax assessments, a single tax on vacant residential premises applies automatically in tight-market areas (17% of the rental value in the first year, 34% thereafter, and up to 30% then 60% if the town decides so), and outside tight-market areas in towns that introduce it (rate set freely, 50% at most, after two years of vacancy). A home put up for sale or rent at the market price without finding a taker is exempt.
Nice (5,645), Toulouse (5,182), Saint-Étienne (4,701), Fort-de-France (4,516), Perpignan (4,033), Bordeaux (3,779), Lille (3,569), Strasbourg (2,767), Cayenne (2,766), Limoges (2,732), Mulhouse (2,583), Montpellier (2,522), Clermont-Ferrand (2,492), Paris 18th Arrondissement (2,449), Béziers (2,432), Nîmes (2,416), Nantes (2,399), Saint-Denis (2,326), Rouen (2,301), Toulon (2,265).
Source: LOVAC (DGFiP, Cerema, ministry in charge of housing), public file of June 2026: private homes vacant on 1 January each year, from land registry files; small numbers are hidden by statistical confidentiality, so totals are minimums. Tax: service-public.fr, article of 21 May 2026 updated on 2 September 2026 (law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, article 108).
Before making an offer, you need to know what the property is worth here: actual recorded sales nearby, the effect of its energy rating (EPC), the cost of works, the planning rules for the plot. I go through this analysis with you, and an adviser from the network can visit it for you.