This is a amendment to the Finance Bill for 2025, adopted by the French National Assembly on November 5, is likely to ruffle the feathers of some homeowners. This unnoticed text, tabled by François Jolivet, rapporteur for the Horizons & Indépendants group, imposes an obligation on homeowners receiving aid from Agence nationale de l’habitat (Anah)and local authorities to renovate their homes. And what’s that? Stay in their home for at least 10 years.

If they sell the property before this deadline, they will have to repay the unamortized subsidies. “The agency may demand repayment of all or part of the subsidy if the property, for which aid has been granted, is resold before a specified deadline.“, stipulates the amendment. “If you receive 100,000 euros in subsidies for your work from the Anah or local authorities, and you sell your property after 8 years, you will have to repay 20,000 euros to the State. Each year, you amortize 10,000 euros.“explains deputy Jolivet to Figaro.

Thus, this text creates “a general interest easement for housing financed by the ANAH, to ensure a fair sharing of value between the owner and the public authorities“it states. The aim? To encourage long-term home ownership, including for landlords.

Improving quality of life in the home

“It’s not right that added value generated by public subsidies, i.e. our taxes, enriches the seller. The purpose of this amendment is not to punish the owner, but to generate revenue for the State or to mitigate inappropriate attitudes or behavior.“explains Figaro François Jolivet. The purpose of the aids is to “to improve the quality of life in the home and reduce the carbon footprint. They are not intended to increase the value of the property.“says the MP. The file of homes that have benefited from Anah funding would be forwarded to mayors for information.

This measure evokes the counterpart of VAT reduced to 5.5 for buyers of a new home as their main residence in an urban renewal zone. Homeowners benefiting from this reduced VAT rate must remain in their property for 10 years, or risk having to repay the difference between the 5.5% VAT rate and the 20% VAT rate. This additional tax is reduced by one tenth for each year of ownership.