On November 14, the National Assembly, in continuation of the debates on the creation of a private landlord status that began well before the period of examination of the 2026 finance bill (PLF 2026), has, by way of an amendment and several sub-amendments, planned to open access to depreciation to renters of empty housing. However, the text of the budget fell a week later, therefore referring senators to the examination of the initial copy of the PLF 2026 presented by the government in October. If no mention of real estate taxation appears in this first version, it is nevertheless a safe bet that the senators will take up the subject and, while waiting to know the content of the amendments tabled, here are the outlines of the status of the private lessor on which the deputies were able to find a consensus.
A 3-year experimental system
The first point is the window defined to benefit from this system, described as “experimental”. In the initial amendment, tabled by MP Charles de Courson and adopted by the National Assembly, the measure applied to all property acquired from January 1, 2026. However, a sub-amendment came to frame the period, by setting the same starting point but limiting the system to December 31, 2028, i.e. a period of 3 years. Thus, all properties acquired, or for which a building permit was filed, during this period could have been eligible. It should also be noted that another sub-amendment limited the scope of application to collective residential buildings only, therefore excluding individual houses.
A system focused on new and renovated old
To benefit from depreciation, the goods must have been acquired new. However, a possibility was left for old properties, on the condition that work for a minimum amount of 20% of the value of the property had been undertaken.
A system providing for strict rental conditions
Beyond the conditions linked to the property, the depreciation would only have been accessible in return for a rental commitment of 12 years, the initial amendment proposing a duration of 9 years. In addition, the tenant could not be a relative or ally of the lessor, up to the second degree. Added again by a sub-amendment, this restriction was justified by the observation by the Court of Auditors of the presence of windfall effects within the framework of the Pinel system, which the drafters therefore wished to avoid.
A system aimed at promoting moderate rents
Once all the conditions for benefiting from depreciation were met, the taxpayer still had to know what the applicable depreciation rate would be. In this regard, the final text had no less than 5 different rates, ranging from 3 to 5.5%. In fact, the fixed rate provided for new properties (3.5%) and for old properties (3%) could be increased in relation to the rent requested for the rental of the property. Thus, for a lessor, setting a “social” or “very social” rent would have made it possible to benefit from a depreciation bonus, again variable if it was a new property (+1 or +2%), or an old one (+0.5 or +1%).
In addition, the text specified that, in the case where a moderate rent was established, the income of the tenants of the property must correspond to the ceilings set to usually benefit from these rents.
For the calculation of the amount of depreciation deductible according to the applicable rate, the text provided for taking into account 80% of the value of the property, increased, where applicable, by the value of the work carried out for old properties.
A regulated tax advantage
The text of the amendment initially voted for provided for a capping of depreciation deductible each year at 10,000 euros, an amount ultimately reduced to 8,000 euros by a sub-amendment. It should be noted that this depreciation ceiling was, on the one hand, unrelated to the effective depreciation rate that the lessor would have noted and, on the other hand, that it was assessed on the scale of the tax household, and not per property rented out. Finally, the depreciation generated could not create a land deficit which, in furnished rentals, could be attributable to the overall taxable income.
It now remains to be seen whether these measures will be taken up, in whole or in part, in the Senate, and what modifications they could be subject to.
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