On Thursday, a parliamentary report delivered 35 recommendations to allow the French to have better housing. In a press release, the authors, deputies Mickaël Cosson (MoDem) and Stéphane Peu (PCF), explained that “it is possible to transform our housing system to better serve the French”.
Among the proposals, the report suggests in particular reforming taxation to make it “fairer and more efficient”. The report also made recommendations to give social landlords the means to invest and fight against vacancy and short-term rentals using taxation.
Help with the first purchase of a main residence
The deputies provided ideas to help the French make their first purchase of a main residence. They therefore call for using the savings made by the government with the elimination of the Pinel system and the refocusing of the zero-rate loan (PTZ). According to them, this decision would make it possible to reduce VAT to 5.5% instead of 20% in new properties and to temporarily exempt the buyer from property tax.
The deputies also wanted the tax advantage enjoyed by furnished tourist accommodation, such as Airbnb, to be removed. This involves establishing “a tax regime more favorable to property income subject to rental duration, rent level and energy performance”, indicates the report.
Use the tax tool effectively
The deputies’ recommendations highlight the proper use of the tax tool. “In general, we consider that taxation must hit harder on behavior that diverts housing from occupation as a main residence and, conversely, reward virtuous landlords who facilitate the long-term rental of renovated properties” , declared Mickaël Cosson.
The tax tool must also help put housing back on the market. This would involve the generalization of the tax on vacant housing (TLV) or by allowing mayors to increase the housing tax on second homes (THRS).
Relaunch housing construction
Among the other parts of the report, the deputies mentioned aid to social landlords in order to revive construction. The two deputies call for “revisiting the effects of the solidarity rent reduction” (RLS) imposed on landlords in 2018 to compensate for the drop in personalized housing assistance (APL) paid to tenants. This would amount to returning “around 1.3 billion euros per year” to social landlords.
The report recommends streamlining residential pathways in social housing. According to MEPs, tenants “in a situation of under-occupancy” should accept smaller accommodation in exchange for financial compensation. Finally, Mickaël Cosson and Stéphane Peu believe that financial aid should be provided to mayors who support the construction of housing in their municipalities.