The increase in the property tax is partly due to inflation because this local tax, paid by the owners, is based on rental values. These are revalued every year, and in 2022, the revaluation reached almost 3.5%. But the surge in property tax also depends on political decisions. Elected officials have their say in setting the amount of this tax. Faced with the crisis, they had to find money. In some municipalities, the abolition of the housing tax, even compensated by the State, could also play a role. The elected officials sought to compensate, and fell back on the property tax. Be that as it may, with an average increase of 4.7% this year, we have reached a record since 1989 according to the National Union of Property Owners (UNPI), which publishes this data.
There are significant differences in the territory. The palm goes to Poissy (Yvelines), where we are at almost 24% increase. 30 kilometers further west, Mantes-la-Jolie shows an increase of 22% compared to last year. In the South, in Martigues, we are at over 19%; Marseilles: 16.3%; Towers: 16%; Strasbourg: 13%; Nantes: 11%. On the other hand, certain municipalities wanted to contain the increase: only 1.8% in Castres, and 0.4% in Saint-Louis, in Reunion.
What to expect for next year? The property tax is likely to continue to increase because the revaluation of rental values promises to be still high, with inflation at 6%. It should even be even higher than in 2021. This would lead to terrible increases.
Bad news for the millions of owners, because nothing is planned for them, unlike tenants, for whom the government has capped rent increases at 3.5% this year. The associations of owners asked for a system of supervision of the increases of this local tax but they were not heard.