This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The bill described below was adopted by the Senate at first reading only – nothing in it is law yet, and the National Assembly can rewrite any of it. Take advice before acting on a pending text.
Update, 13 September 2026: the Assemblée nationale takes up the bill this autumn. Our article-by-article guide to the full text as adopted by the Senate, including the works-contract mechanics, the summer-comfort chapter and the island second-home surcharge, supersedes the renovation-chapter summary below.
Last Updated: July 2026
On the evening of 8 July 2026, the Senate adopted the government’s Relance et décentralisation du logement bill at first reading [senat.fr dossier pjl25-801]. If you own French property, or plan to, you have probably seen headlines promising a new golden age for landlords. Some of it is real, and some of it is confusion between two different texts. And one Senate amendment quietly tightened the screws on anyone who owns a flat in a copropriété. We have read the coverage so you can find out which is which.
One announcement, two texts, endless confusion
The plan Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Housing Minister Vincent Jeanbrun unveiled in Marseille on 23 April 2026 split into two vehicles, and telling them apart is half the battle [clubpatrimoine.com; locservice.fr].
The first is the fiscal piece – the statut du bailleur privé, nicknamed the dispositif Jeanbrun. That one is already law: it was voted in the loi de finances for 2026 last autumn, as the successor to Pinel [publicsenat.fr]. The second is the bill the Senate just adopted: a renovation and decentralisation text about energy performance, copropriétés and mayors’ powers. It is this second text that heads to the National Assembly in September, and it is also the text that changes obligations rather than tax breaks.
The Jeanbrun statute: already in force, and probably not for you
Because the two texts keep being reported as one, let’s restate what the budget law actually created. Since the loi de finances 2026, a landlord letting an eligible dwelling unfurnished as a long-term home can depreciate it against rental income – 3.5% a year for new-build intermediate rent, 4.5% for social-level rent, 5.5% for very-social rent, on at most 80% of the property’s value, capped at €8,000 of amortissement a year and two dwellings per household [publicsenat.fr; clubpatrimoine.com].
Read those conditions again before celebrating. The statute targets unfurnished long-term lets at controlled rents, mostly new-build. A furnished seasonal flat in Nice does not qualify, and neither does your maison secondaire. If your structure is a furnished LMNP rental, note the second piece of good news by omission: the relance bill does not touch the LMNP regime, and amortissement under LMNP keeps working exactly as before [jedeclaremonmeuble.com] – including the capital-gains reintegration rules introduced in 2025, which stay as they are. Our LMNP guide remains current, and our earlier pieces on the Jeanbrun amortissement and what the bill means for foreign owners cover the mechanics.
What the Senate actually changed on 8 July
The senators did not wave the government text through, and four of their modifications matter to foreign owners.
1. The works threshold became an energy-gain test
The government wanted renovation incentives conditioned on works worth at least 20% of the purchase price. The Senate deleted that threshold and replaced it with a performance criterion: the renovation must move the property up two DPE classes, with an exception for G-rated properties [senat.fr rapport a25-819]. For buyers of older stock, that is a better deal than it sounds: you are judged on the result, not on how much you spent getting there.
2. The copropriété excuse now expires in 18 months
This is the quiet one: until now, a landlord whose assemblée générale refused to vote common-area energy works had a three-year shield against the letting ban on poorly rated flats. The Senate cut that protection to eighteen months [batiweb.com; banquedesterritoires.fr]. If your copro drags its feet on insulation, you inherit the problem twice as fast, which is one more reason never to skip an AG, as we explained after the two-month contestation ruling, and to read how the DPE letting ban was already softened earlier this year.
3. Summer comfort enters the law
With France in its third heatwave of the summer, senators wrote confort d’été into the definition of a performing renovation, made it easier to install external solar protection in copropriétés, and obliged the architectes des Bâtiments de France to weigh thermal comfort in their opinions [batiactu.com]. For owners in protected zones, historic Paris and much of the Riviera among them, that last one could unblock shutters and shading that ABF opinions used to veto.
4. Mayors get the keys
The décentralisation half hands mayors more power over local housing policy [banquedesterritoires.fr]. Expect more local variation in how rules hit owners. It is the same logic that already lets city halls chase short-term lets, as Paris is doing with abusive civil leases.
The scorecard
| Measure | Government text | Senate version (8 July) | Who feels it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renovation condition | Works ≥ 20% of price | Two-class DPE jump (exception for G) | Buyers renovating older stock |
| Copro works refused by AG | 3-year shield vs letting ban | 18-month shield | Flat owners in copropriétés |
| Summer comfort | Absent | In the renovation definition; ABF must consider it | Owners in heat-hit and protected zones |
| DPE collectif | – | Principle adopted | Copropriétés |
| Amortissement (Jeanbrun) | Not in this bill – already law via loi de finances 2026 | New-build unfurnished landlords | |
September is where bills go to change
A first reading is an opening bid, and the National Assembly takes the text up at the September rentrée [aefinfo.fr], and the socialist, communist and ecologist groups voted against it in the Senate, so expect the two-class test, the 18-month shield and the comfort provisions all to be fought over again. Nothing here applies until a final vote and promulgation. If a salesperson quotes this bill to you as if it were current law, walk away slowly.
What we would do this summer
We would do three things, none of them dramatic. If you own in a copropriété with a poor DPE, get energy works on the next AG agenda now – under the Senate text the cost of syndic inertia doubles in speed. If you are eyeing the Jeanbrun amortissement, model it on the budget-law version that exists, not the press coverage, and remember it is a new-build, unfurnished, capped-rent product. And if your renovation plans hinge on the 20% works threshold, pause: the test may become two DPE classes, which rewards different works. We will publish a full owner’s guide when the Assembly settles the final text. And the bill’s summer-comfort strand has since grown teeth of its own: our guide to France’s heat-trap homes and the DPE’s hidden summer indicator covers what that means for buyers and landlords.
FAQ
Is the Relance Logement bill law?
No. The Senate adopted it at first reading on 8 July 2026. The National Assembly examines it from September, and nothing applies until final adoption and promulgation.
Does the bill change LMNP furnished rentals?
No. The furnished-rental regime and its amortissement mechanics are untouched by this bill. The changes that matter to LMNP owners came earlier, through finance laws.
What is the statut du bailleur privé?
A depreciation regime created by the loi de finances 2026 for unfurnished long-term lets at controlled rents, mostly new-build: 3.5% to 5.5% a year on up to 80% of the property value, capped at €8,000 a year and two dwellings.
I own a flat in a copropriété with a bad DPE. What changes?
Under the Senate text, an AG refusal of energy works would shield you from the letting ban for 18 months instead of three years. Get works on the agenda early rather than relying on the shield.
When will the final rules be known?
The National Assembly starts in September 2026. Depending on amendments and a possible commission mixte paritaire, a final text is plausible late 2026 or early 2027.
