Declaration of real estate: 2026 rules

Updated April 2026 - The déclaration of real estate has become a must-do appointment for every property owner in France. Since 2023, the French tax authorities require every holder of a residential property to report their occupancy status via the "Manage my real estate" service on impôts.gouv.fr. In 2026, this filing obligation tightens: the monthly rent amount must now be reported for every rented property, under penalty of a fine.

The déclaration of real estate is a tax obligation established by Article 1415 of the French General Tax Code (Code general des impôts), as amended by the 2023 Finance Act. It allows the tax administration to know in real time the occupancy of each residential premises, in order to determine the basis for the housing tax on second homes and vacant properties.

Specifically, each owner must indicate for each lot:

• who occupies the property on January 1 of the year;
• since what date this occupancy began;
• the nature of the occupancy (main résidence, second home, vacant property, rented premises);
• and since 2026, the monthly rent amount when the property is let.

This filing obligation is separate from your income tax return. It is autonomous, annual, and concerns millions of households.

The property déclaration covers all owners of residential property located in metropolitan France and overseas departments:

• natural persons owning property in their own name;
• joint owners holding property in joint ownership;
• usufructuaries with the right to use the property;
• SCI (civil real estate companies);
• commercial companies owning housing;
• furnished landlords non-professional (LMNP) or professional (LMP);
• social landlords and local authorities owning housing.

If you own even a single studio, apartment, house or service room, you are concerned. Commercial premises, isolated garages and cellars not suitable for habitation are not covered.

The process is exclusively online, via the Manage my real estate service accessible from your personal or professional space on impôts.gouv.fr. No paper version is available.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Log in to your space on impôts.gouv.fr with FranceConnect or your usual credentials.
2. Access the service "Manage my real estate" from the "Manage my withholding tax" section or via the search function.
3. Review the pre-filled list of your properties. The administration displays the lots it already knows from the property register (formerly the land registry file).
4. Verify each property: the désignation (habitation, dependency), the identity of occupants, entry and exit dates.
5. Enter the rent for properties rented on January 1, 2026 — this is the new requirement for this campaign.
6. Validate and confirm all your déclarations.

Hayot Expertise Advice: The biggest source of error is not total omission. It is the poorly classified property: unfurnished rental declared as furnished, unjustified vacancy, tenant change not reported or co-ownership lot pre-filled inaccurately. Take the time to cross-référence your leases with the displayed data.

Until 2025, it was sufficient to indicate the nature of the occupancy. Since the 2026 campaign, the tax authorities require the monthly rent amount for every property let on January 1. This data helps to verify the calculation of the housing tax on second homes and to strengthen control of rental income taxation.

This reporting requirement covers:

• unfurnished rentals (rental income régime);
• furnished rentals (BIC);
• seasonal rentals such as Airbnb;
• shared accommodation (colocation).

For properties vacant on January 1, no rent needs to be declared. However, you must justify the vacancy by specifying the departure date of the last occupant and the reason for the vacancy (searching for a tenant, works, etc.).

In spring 2026, the official communication from impôts.gouv.fr indicates a deadline set for July 1, 2026 to declare the situation as of January 1, 2026. This deadline may vary from year to year — in 2025, the deadline was June 30. It is therefore essential to check the information published on impôts.gouv.fr from May onwards.

Our recommendation: do not wait until the last week of June. The more lots you have, the more time it takes to verify the data. An owner of five properties with different occupancy situations can easily spend an hour on the complete verification.

This filing obligation is in addition to other real estate matters we regularly deal with, such as real estate tax consultation, LMNP in 2026 or SCI at IS or IR arbitration.

The risk of non-compliance is very real. Article 1770 terdecies of the French General Tax Code provides a fine of 150 euros per property in case of:

• failure to declare;
• omission of a property;
• late déclaration;
• inaccuracy or incomplete information.

For an owner of three rented apartments who fails to report the rents, the potential fine would therefore be 450 euros. For an SCI holding ten lots, the risk rises to 1,500 euros.

The tax administration also has the right to make ex officio corrections. If the declared data is manifestly inconsistent with the information it holds (registered leases, income tax returns, property register), it may proceed with reassessments on the housing tax or taxes on rental income.

SCI: who declares?#

The SCI must make the déclaration of real estate from its professional space on impôts.gouv.fr. It is the manager or legal representative who acts on behalf of the company. The déclaration of occupants must be consistent with:

• the legal ownership of the property in the name of the SCI;
• the company's tax returns (form 2072 for SCIs taxed under personal income tax);
• the accounting kept where applicable (SCI subject to corporate tax).

A common mistake is to declare the partners as occupants when the property is actually rented to third parties. This inconsistency can trigger an audit.

Furnished landlords (LMNP / LMP): heightened vigilance#

Furnished landlords must be particularly attentive. The situation declared on the "Manage my real estate" service must correspond to:

• the actual furnished rental activity;
• effective occupancy periods;
• operating documentation (leases, inventory reports, invoices);
• the income tax return (form 2042-C PRO and, where applicable, 2033).

Since recent regulatory changes, furnished landlords must also be registered with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) and keep full accounting. Any discrepancy between the occupancy déclaration and the activity declared to the tax authorities constitutes a red flag for the administration.

Joint ownership and usufruct#

In case of joint ownership, one of the co-owners makes the déclaration on behalf of all. In case of usufruct, it is the usufructuary — not the bare owner — who is required to declare the occupancy of the property, since they have actual enjoyment of it.

We help our clients make their déclaration of real estate more reliable, particularly when they have multiple properties, an SCI structure or a furnished rental activity. Our service covers complete verification of pre-filled data, consistency checks between occupancy and taxation, and securing your déclarations before submission.

You can also visit our page dedicated to LMNP accounting and our expertise in holding company taxation.

Entrust the review of your real estate obligations

The déclaration of real estate is a seemingly simple subject, but quickly becomes time-consuming as soon as assets become more diversified. In 2026, with the addition of mandatory rent reporting and strengthened cross-checking controls, the right approach is to treat this obligation as a global consistency check between occupancy, taxation and wealth strategy. Do not wait until the last week of June, verify each lot carefully and keep a record of your déclarations: these are the three golden rules for peace of mind.

(Official sources: impôts.gouv.fr - Manage my real estate service, Service-Public.fr - déclaration of occupancy of housing, article 1770 terdecies of the General Tax Code, article 1415 of the CGI, BOFiP - real estate filing obligations)