In the taxation of empty/closed houses as a tool to deal with the lack of housing, large municipalities in European countries such as in Belgium and Great Britain, as well as in the municipality of New York, are moving forward.
In Paris, the new Socialist mayor, Emmanuel Grégoire, immediately after his election in last month’s election, made the issue of empty homes a top priority. “It is the right time to sell the vacancies, because the measures that are coming will be very strict”, said the newly elected mayor, if he takes up his duties.
Paris, one in five homes is uninhabited
In Paris, one in five dwellings is uninhabited (274,000 dwellings). These are either genuinely vacant homes (137,000), or secondary or occasional homes, but which remain empty during most of the year (another 137,000 homes), according to 2022 figures from France’s National Statistics Service (Insee).
In the last decade, the percentage of vacant homes has risen from 7% to 10% in Paris. To reverse this trend and return housing to the market, the municipality of the French capital has decided to use a provision of the law in the 2026 budget, which will enable cities facing severe problems to double the tax on empty properties from 2027.
Under this arrangement, when housing demand far exceeds supply, municipalities will be able to increase the annual tax from 17% to 30% of the deemed rental value after one year of the property being vacant. And they will be able, if the property remains vacant for two years, to increase the tax rate from 34% to 60%.
At a rough estimate, for an average apartment, the tax will rise from 2,000 euros to 4,000 euros a year after two years of the property remaining empty, Jacques Baudrieu, Paris’ deputy mayor in charge of housing, told Monde. It is recalled that in 2025, three million vacant homes were recorded in France.
However, not everyone is convinced that the measure will work. “Taxation is one of the tools to combat foreclosure. For some owners, it will have immediate consequences, while for others it will never have any consequences. Especially when the owner is unable to put the property back on the market, either because it is in an inheritance process that is difficult to settle, or because high-cost renovation work is required,” he also explains.
in Monde, Karin Delin, coordinator of the organization “Action against the empty house”.
In the battle against closed housing, the municipality of Brussels targets the owners
The municipality of Brussels has taken more drastic measures to deal with the problem, which mainly affect the owners. It has decided that maintaining a vacant property, for a period of time longer than twelve months, is an offence, which is punishable by a high administrative fine. For example, for a small three-level town house, with a frontage of five meters, the fine amounts to 7,500 euros in the first year, 15,000 euros the following year if the property remains vacant, 22,500 euros the following year, and so on.
Brussels municipal authorities can also exercise a “public management right”, a form of temporary injunction, which enables them to take over the management of a vacant or unsuitable property and make it available to households facing housing needs.
Britain: up to 100% increase in council tax on homes that remain closed for more than a year
Based on official UK government figures, in April 2026, more than 300,000 homes in Britain remain
vacant for more than six months, while the total number of unoccupied dwellings (including secondary dwellings) exceeds one million.
Under the new regulations which came into effect on 1 April 2024, council tax will increase by up to 100% for homes that remain vacant for more than 12 months.
It should be noted that landlords in Britain can pay up to 400% increased council tax if a property is empty for more than ten years (200% after one year, 300% after five years and 400% after ten years).
New York: Mayor Zoran Mamdani taxes expensive unoccupied apartments
On April 15, New York’s Democratic mayor, Zoran Mamdani, announced a tax on luxury apartments worth more than five million dollars (4.3 million euros) that remain unoccupied for most of the year.
The measure is being implemented for the first time in New York state, and is estimated to bring in about $500 million annually.
The city’s goal under Mamdani is for the wealthiest to contribute “according to their share” to the city’s budget, so that the budget reflects the city’s commitment to New York workers who are being driven out of the city by skyrocketing real estate prices.
