The deadline for a new property declaration requiring owners to register the status of their homes has been extended for the fourth time. 

First it was 30th June, then 31st July, then 1st August. Now the date to comply with the French government’s mandatory declaration of all real estate holdings by homeowners is set for 10th August, after the www.impots.gouv.fr website experienced technical issues that left panicked property owners unable to complete the online form.  

NEW RULES 

Since announcing the phasing out of the housing tax, or taxe d’habitation, on main residences in France, the government has been working to implement a new way of tracking the status of properties such as second homes, holiday rentals, long-term rentals and even vacant homes.  

As such, property owners must now declare the identity of the occupants, if any, of their properties via the newly introduced déclaration d’occupation.  

The original due date to declare was set for 30th June, but after thousands of last-minute phone calls from real estate owners poured in, the government relented, and said they may have been “overly optimistic on the level of awareness”, and pushed the deadline to 31st July.  

On 31st July, the Ministry of the Economy, noting an “influx of declarations” that caused the online declaration system to crash, extended the date by 24 hours.  

Now, the deadline has been moved once again, much to the relief of the many people who are still yet to declare.  

Fines up to €150 can be imposed for non-compliance, but as the document is part of a new procedure, the government is giving the public a grace period of one year to adjust. 

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Photo source: Maria Ziegler, Unsplash