Land lease scheme (BRS): income caps, reduced VAT and combining with the zero-rate loan

The legal principle: the land stays with the trust, the household buys only the building

The land lease scheme (BRS) was created by order no. 2016-985 of 20 July 2016, ratified by article 117 of Act no. 2017-86 of 27 January 2017, and codified at articles L. 255-1 to L. 255-19 of the French Construction and Housing Code (CCH). A land trust (organisme de foncier solidaire, OFS), defined at article L. 329-1 of the French Town Planning Code, keeps ownership of the land and grants the household a lease of 18 to 99 years over real rights, for the household's main residence (article L. 255-1 of the CCH).

Access is subject to income and price caps set by the OFS (article L. 255-2 of the CCH), which may set stricter thresholds than the regulatory cap.

5.5% VAT instead of 20%, under conditions

Article 278 sexies, I, 13 of the CGI, created by Act no. 2016-1918 of 29 December 2016 and extended by Act no. 2018-1317 of 28 December 2018, applies a 5.5% VAT rate to new-build homes bought under a BRS. The cumulative conditions are: income caps set by annex III of the order of 26 March 2004 (revised every 1 January), sale-price caps set by annex II of the same order, occupation of the dwelling as a main residence for at least 8 months a year, and a land lease signed by the OFS within 5 years of acquiring the land, conditions maintained for 15 years.

The 2025 income caps, by zone and household size

These are the income caps of the social home-ownership loan (PSLA), applied to the BRS by the same order of 26 March 2004, as amended by the order of 23 December 2024. The official zoning covers five regulatory zones (Abis, A, B1, B2, C), not a simple split between Paris, the Paris region and the rest of France: several provincial cities, such as Lyon, Marseille, Nice or Annecy, are classed A or Abis, on a par with some towns in the Paris region classed B1 or B2.

Lower notary fees, combining with the zero-rate loan, controlled resale

Transfer duties are assessed only on the price of the building, since the land stays with the OFS and is not sold, which mechanically lowers notary fees. No single official flat rate is published: the amount depends solely on the price of the building.

The BRS can be combined with the zero-rate loan (pret a taux zero, PTZ, articles L. 31-10-1 and following of the CCH), under the usual first-time-buyer conditions: not having owned a main residence, including through an earlier BRS, in the previous two years. From 1 April 2025 until 31 December 2027, the PTZ is open to new-build housing nationwide, with no zone restriction.

Resale is controlled: the price, or the maximum value of the real rights, is capped at its updated initial value under terms set by decree (article L. 255-5 of the CCH). In practice the land trust approves the next buyer and can buy the property back if no eligible buyer comes forward.