The government has launched a project to revise the rental values ​​of residential properties, following the revision of those for commercial premises, but it will not be completed before 2018, the Ministry of the Economy announced on Thursday. The rental values ​​of residential properties – which are used to calculate local taxes (property tax and council tax) – "date back to 1970 and are now obsolete," because they "no longer reflect the reality of the rental market, nor its diversity across different regions," the ministry stated.

Local authorities are taking the lead

Indeed, "housing has undergone profound changes over the past forty years, which have had significant consequences, particularly on the relative level of rents charged." Drawing inspiration from the method used for the revision of rental values ​​for commercial premises (3 million) launched in 2012, this revision aims to "bring the tax base for residential premises (46 million) closer to market realities" and to simplify the method of calculating rental values, which will be updated "permanently.".

The government intends to "give a more central role to local authorities," whose autonomy will be increased, and "restore fairness to the local tax system," according to the same source. On Wednesday, this consultation was launched with a meeting chaired by Bernard Cazeneuve , Minister of the Budget, and Anne-Marie Escoffier, Minister of Decentralization, "in the presence of representatives of elected officials' associations and the chairpersons and general rapporteurs of the finance committees of both houses of parliament," at the Ministry of the Economy.

This reform was announced in mid-July by the Prime Minister as part of the pact of trust and responsibility, the ministry notes. However, its implementation will only take place after "significant work to revise the foundations that the government plans to conduct over the next four years," the ministry specifies.

Source: Le Point