"Undress Peter to dress Paul" is the sleight of hand the government seems to want to use to try and stabilize a housing stock that is cracking. Indeed, the growing number of "passoires thermiques" - classified as "indecent housing" - means that homeowners must be helped to undertake energy-efficiency renovation work. The reinforcement of the MaPrimeRénov' scheme, scheduled for 2024, will be a step in the right direction. What remains to be done, however, is to find solutions that will enable the French to borrow again to buy their own home. Rising interest rates and the lifting of tariff barriers on energy prices are putting a strain on purchasing power. Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister for the Economy, has recently raised the prospect of a subsidized loan offering more attractive credit terms than those available on the market. Let's find out how the government wants to get its hands dirty through key projects in its 2024 Finance Bill to revamp the real estate sector!
Concrete Ma prime rénov
Faced with the challenges of energy renovation, the government is stepping up its efforts to encourage the French to undertake work in their homes that will save money and help the environment. It has just announced the mobilization of an additional 2 billion euros by strengthening the MaPrimeRénov' scheme from 2024 in its Finance Bill.
Diluting the zero-rate loan
The zero-rate loan (PTZ) can no longer be deployed for all property projects. Aimed at low-income households, it will benefit purchases of new homes in "zones tendues" or older homes in other areas, subject to renovation. However, the revision of the PTZ scale should enable younger households to gain access...
Scraping the benefits of seasonal rentals
Currently, properties classified as"meublé de tourisme" benefit from a 71% allowance on rental income. This advantage will be reduced to 50%, in order to "relieve congestion in the traditional rental market, which has seized up due to the explosion of this new type of property" . These include gîtes ruraux, chambres d'hôtes and "star-rated" apartments that owners intend to rent out on a seasonal basis. Will they decide to opt for a year-round rental that deprives them of their property?
Shave the Pinel scheme
The government has confirmed that the Pinel scheme will be discontinued in the new housing sector from 2025. Under the Pinel scheme, investors in new-build property are entitled to a tax reduction of between 10.5% and 17.5% of the purchase price, depending on the length of the rental commitment (6 to 12 years). This is a blow to the construction of these buildings, which is already suffering from the sharp rise in interest rates and inflation in the price of building materials.
Selling off capital gains on second homes
To encourage owners of second homes to sell their property to households wanting to become homeowners, Renaissance MP Daniel Labaronne wants to incorporate a tax gift into the 2024 budget. In effect, the capital gain realized on the sale of a second home could be totally exempt from tax and social security deductions. Daniel Labaronne wants to include this measure in the parliamentary debates on the 2024 budget.
Subsidized loans
The French Financial Stability Board (Haut Conseil de Stabilité Financière ) does not want to relax the conditions for granting home loans, believing that banks have leeway that they do not use to the full. Bruno Le Maire is therefore considering the creation of a loan at a preferential rate: "I propose that we create a subsidized-rate loan. When rates are at 4%, shouldn't we think about a more accessible rate for households?