Jacques Baudrier, the Communist deputy mayor for housing on the Paris city authority, has revealed plans to propose an amendment to France's next budget to alter the structure of property taxes in the country.
Speaking to the business daily Les Echos, he said: "My enemy is not property owners or landlords, it is second homes and vacant properties."
Paris city authorities have already announced a series of measures to address the capital's severe housing shortage by cracking down on the second homes and vacant properties which between them account for almost 30 percent of the Paris housing stock.
But Baudrier wants local authorities to be given more powers to tax second homes, and says that the Communist party will table an amendment to France's 2027 budget to decouple taxe foncière (which is paid by all property owners) and taxe d'habitation (which is only paid by second home owners).
He said: "We secured a victory on the tax on vacant properties in last year's Budget.
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"However, the government has not amended the taxe d'habitation sur les résidences secondaires (THRS).
"The THRS, which is a key lever, is still too low.
"We wish to table an amendment in the 2027 Budget aimed at decoupling the property tax (taxe foncière) from the tax on second homes.
"At present, if one is increased, the other must also be raised. For our part, we are committed to not increasing taxe foncière. As with the tax on vacant properties, local authorities must have control over these fiscal tools."
His proposal would leave the choice of whether to apply the changes in the hands of local authorities across France.
At present, local authorities in areas with a housing shortage have the power to apply a surtax to second homes, up to 60 percent of the standard charge.
But the local rates for property taxes are set for both types of tax, so a sharp hike in the rate would hit both second-home owners and owner-occupiers.
The acute housing shortage in Paris was a major topic in the most recent mayoral elections, with politicians from across the spectrum offering various solutions to tackle the crisis.
In total 30 percent of housing in Paris is unoccupied - either vacant or a second home - and that figure rises to 40 percent in the 7th and 8th arrondissements.
Baudrier, who has been deputy mayor in charge of housing under Anne Hidalgo since 2023 and then under mayor Emmanuel Grégoire since 2026, said: "People want to live in Paris but can no longer afford to do so. The property market has become a market for luxury and status symbols – much like a Rolex or a Tesla.
"Rental investors and owner-occupiers are being squeezed out. They are competing with wealthier buyers of second homes - these are multiple property owners, who hold an average of 5 to 10 properties. They pay higher prices, often in cash, and are driving up prices."
According to Baudrier, the combination of an increase to the tax on vacant homes, which came into effect early this year, and his proposal to increase tax on second homes could bring 100,000 homes back onto the market in Paris, and up to 1 million across France.
Debates on the 2027 Budget will begin in the French parliament in the autumn, they are likely to be complicated, and Baudrier's amendment will likely be one of many.
Asked about the possibility of creating a super tax on the highest value second homes, as Zohran Mamdani has done in New York, he replied: "I would be delighted to see a progressive tax on second homes based on wealth. But, given French property law, the Ministry of Finance and the political balance of power, that’s not going to happen.
"I’m a pragmatist."
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