Can a home be transformed into a business premises?

Verified 07 October 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Yes, you can transform a home into a business premises. You must get permission from your city hall to change destination building (office, trade...). In some municipalities, when you change the use of a dwelling, you must also ask for permission to change the use of the dwelling. The change has to be reported in taxes.

A building is constructed for a specific purpose, defined in the building permit. A change of destination is a change in the assignment of all or part of a building.

There are 5 types of destinations that break down into sub-destinations.

Tableau - Destination Types and Sub-Destinations

Destinations

Sub-destinations

Agricultural and forestry

  • Agricultural holding
  • Logging

Dwelling

  • Accommodation
  • Accommodation

Trade and service activities

  • Crafts and retail trade
  • Restore
  • Wholesale trade
  • Service activities where guests are welcomed
  • Cinema
  • Hotels
  • Other tourist accommodation

Equipment of public interest and public services

  • Premises and offices open to the public of general government and the like
  • Technical and industrial premises of public administrations and the like
  • Educational, health and social welfare institutions
  • Art and entertainment rooms
  • Sports facilities
  • Other public facilities

Other activities of the secondary or tertiary sectors

  • Industry
  • Storage Room
  • Office
  • Convention and Exhibition Center

To change the destination of all or part of a building, a city planning authorization is to be requested from the City Hall.

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Change of destination or sub-destination with facade change

You must request a building permit.

Change of destination or sub-destination with modification of the carrier structure

You must request a building permit.

Other situation

If your change of destination does not involve a change to the supporting structure or facade of your construction, you must make a preliminary declaration of works.

FYI  

if you are a co-owner, you must also obtain authorization from the general meeting of your co-owner. If you are a tenant, you must get the agreement of your landlord.

The change of use consists in transforming a residential premises into a business or commercial premises.

You do not need to be authorized to change your use if you live in the premises where you carry out your professional activity and do not receive customers or goods.

Warning  

in co-ownership, you must consult the co-ownership regulation to verify that the intended use does not affect the destination of the building (dwelling exclusively, authorized professional activity...).

The authorization of change of use is compulsory for dwellings located in a municipality of more than 200 000 inhabitants. The same applies to all the municipalities of Hauts-de-Seine (92), Seine-Saint-Denis (93) and Val-de-Marne (94). This authorization may be made compulsory in other municipalities by decision of the municipal council or the community of municipalities

It concerns all categories of dwellings and their annexes. For example, dwellings, caretaker's quarters, service rooms, official dwellings, dwellings included in a commercial lease and furnished premises are subject to this agreement.

To make your request for a change of use, you must collect a form from the municipality of the municipality in which the building in question is located.

Who shall I contact

In Paris:

In the municipalities concerned by the change of use, the authorizations for change of destination and use will be examined together.

Change of use is permitted under certain conditions conditions laid down by the municipal council or by deliberation of the community of communes. Compensation may be required. It consists in transforming premises with another use into a dwelling to compensate for the loss of the dwelling for which you are requesting a change of use.

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Change of use without compensation

The authorization is given to you granted on a personal and provisional basis. It ends permanently at the same time as your professional activity. It may not be passed on to a person carrying on the same activity or to a purchaser of the premises concerned.

Change of use with compensation

Change of use with compensation

The authorization for change of use concerns the premises and is final. We're talking about real compensation.

Paris

The housing whose use you change and the compensation room are of quality and quality living space equivalent. They must be located in the same arrondissement. You have to transform them at the same time.

The authorization for change of use concerns the premises and is final. We're talking about real compensation.

The change of use of a built property must be reported to the tax authorities within 90 calendar days of their completion. This declaration updates the cadastral rental value of the premises from which the property tax is calculated. You must file your return using the following form:

Model IL Declaration - Change in consistency or assignment of built and non-built properties

This form must be sent to the tax department of the property situation.