Payment of tax on vacant accommodation: what deadline?

In some municipalities, you have to pay a tax on vacant housing if you own a house that has not been occupied for at least a year.

If this dwelling is located in a tense area, you are subject to the tax on vacant dwellings (TLV).

If your home is not in a stretched area, you may be subject to the vacant housing tax (VLT). This tax is voted by the municipality or the public institutions of intercommunal cooperation (EPCI).

These taxes apply to dwellings with a minimum comfort (running water, electrical installation, sanitary equipment...) but empty of furniture, or with insufficient furniture to allow the dwelling.

Vacant Housing Tax (VLT)

It is payable for vacant dwellings for at least one year at 1^er January of the taxation year (one vacant dwelling on 1^er january 2021 is taxable in 2021 as long as it has been vacant since at least the first^er January 2020). These dwellings are located in a stretched area, i.e. in a continuous urbanization area of more than 50 000 inhabitants where there is a marked imbalance between housing supply and demand, leading to serious difficulties in access to housing throughout the existing residential stock. The list of municipalities is fixed by decree.

The tax base corresponds to the rental value of the dwelling, the rate applied varying according to the duration of the vacancy of the dwelling (12.5% on 1^re year the dwelling is taxable, 25% from 2^e year).

Housing tax on vacant dwellings (THLV)

It is due for housing vacant for at least 2 years at 1^er January of the taxation year (one vacant dwelling on 1^er january 2021 is taxable in 2021 as long as it has been vacant since at least the first^er January 2019). The dwellings subject to this tax are located in the municipalities which have set up the THLV (municipalities for which the TLV does not apply).

The tax is calculated on the basis of the rental value of the dwelling, which is the same as that deducted for the housing tax.

Exemptions

Certain cases of exemption from the Vacant Housing Tax (VLT) or the Vacant Housing Tax (VLT) are provided for:

• temporary occupation of at least 90 consecutive days during the taxation year;
• housing requiring substantial work to be habitable and representing more than 25% of the value of the housing;
• involuntary vacancy of the dwelling: the owner cannot find a tenant or buyer despite all the necessary steps or if the dwelling is destined to disappear;
• furnished secondary residence subject to housing tax.