Can a home be transformed into a business premises?

Verified 12 December 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Can you transform your accommodation into a business premises? Yes, provided you obtain the necessary authorizations from the town hall and the general assembly of your condominium (as well as from your landlord if you are a tenant). You will then have to report this transformation to taxes. We'll explain the process.

Step-by-step approach

As a tenant, you cannot transform the rented premises without the owner's written consent. So you have to ask him by letter RAR: titleContent written authorization to transform your accommodation into a business premises.

Without this permission, your landlord may ask you to restore the premises to their original condition. It may also keep the processing carried out for its benefit without you being able to claim compensation for the costs incurred.

If you wish change the assignment of your home being in a condominium, you must verify in your condominium by-law that the proposed transformation does not affect the destination of the building (dwelling exclusively, authorized professions...).

You must then obtain authorization from the general meeting of your condominium. You must ask the trustee by letter RAR: titleContent to place this item on the agenda of the next general meeting of the co-owners. This decision will be taken by an absolute majority, that is, by a majority of the votes of all the co-owners of the building (present, represented and absent).

A building is built for a destination precise, defined in the building permit. The change of destination involves changing the assignment of all or part of a building.

When you turn your home into a business space, it changes destination and sub-destination. It is no longer intended for housing, and more specifically for housing sub-destinations. Depending on your business, the new destinations and sub-destinations are:

  • Trade and service activities: craft and retail trade, catering, wholesale trade, customer-oriented service activities, cinema, hotels, other tourist accommodation
  • Equipment of public interest and public services: premises and offices for the general public of public administrations and similar bodies, technical and industrial premises of public administrations and similar bodies, educational, health and social welfare establishments, art and entertainment halls, sports equipment, places of worship, other facilities receiving the public
  • Other activities in the secondary or tertiary sectors: industry, warehouse, office, convention and exhibition center, kitchen dedicated to internet sales

To transform your accommodation into a business premises, you must apply for a city planning authorization from the City Hall. The type of authorization varies according to the extent of the processing:

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Change of destination

If your change of destination does not involve a change to the supporting structure or facade of your construction, you must make a Advance Work Statement (AD).

The way to complete the RFP differs depending on whether you are in a province or in Paris.

General case

You must file your DP file in town hall:

  • By dematerialized according to the arrangements made by your municipality (inquire on the site of the town hall or on the spot)
  • By letter RAR: titleContent
  • In your own hand
Who shall I contact
On the Internet

You can complete your DP file on the internet:

Support for your city planning authorization request

In Paris

You must file your RFP file with the Basu: titleContent by dematerialized means only:

Office Accueil et Service à l'User (Basu) de Paris: one-stop-shop

Change of destination or sub-destination with facade change

You must request a building permit.

The way to complete your building permit differs depending on whether you are in a province or in Paris.

General case

You must file your building permit application in town hall:

  • By dematerialized according to the arrangements made by your municipality (inquire on the site of the town hall or on the spot)
  • By letter RAR: titleContent
  • In your own hand
Who shall I contact
On the Internet

You can complete your building permit application on the Internet:

Support for your city planning authorization request

In Paris

You must file your building permit application in Canada Basu: titleContent by dematerialized means only:

Office Accueil et Service à l'User (Basu) de Paris: one-stop-shop

Change of destination or sub-destination with modification of the load-bearing structure (load-bearing walls, posts, beams and lintels for supporting the framework and floors)

You must request a building permit.

The way to complete your building permit differs depending on whether you are in a province or in Paris.

General case

You must file your building permit application in town hall:

  • By dematerialized according to the arrangements made by your municipality (inquire on the site of the town hall or on the spot)
  • By letter RAR: titleContent
  • In your own hand
Who shall I contact
On the Internet

You can complete your building permit application on the Internet:

Support for your city planning authorization request

In Paris

You must file your building permit application in Canada Basu: titleContent by dematerialized means only:

Office Accueil et Service à l'User (Basu) de Paris: one-stop-shop

First of all, you need to check if you need a change of use authorization. If this is the case, you must ask the mayor or the prefecture for your permission.

Check if you need change of use permission

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

You are subject to authorization to change your use if your accommodation is located in a municipality meeting the following criteria:

  • Municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants
  • Municipalities of Hauts-de-Seine (92)
  • Municipalities of the Seine-Saint-Denis (93)
  • Municipalities of Val-de-Marne (94).

This authorization may be made compulsory in other municipalities by decision of the municipal council or the community of municipalities. To find out, you need to contact your city hall:

Who shall I contact

The authorization to change use 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.

You do not need a change of use permit if you live as a principal residence in the premises where you carry out your professional or commercial activity. You must not receive customers or goods.

FYI  

If you have filed an application for a city planning authorization (prior declaration or building permit), it is equivalent to a change of use request.

Request Permission

To apply for permission to change use, you must collect a form from the municipality of the municipality in which the building concerned is located:

Who shall I contact

In Paris:

The prior authorization for the change of use is issued, after the opinion of the mayor (in Paris, Marseille and Lyon, after the opinion of the mayor of the borough, by the prefect of the department in which the building is located).

Change of use is permitted under certain conditions conditions laid down by the municipal council, by decision of the community of communes or by order of the prefect of department.

Compensate for change in use

To ensure that a sufficient number of dwellings are maintained in the municipality, a compensation may be required.

It consists in transforming into a dwelling a premises having another use. It compensates for the loss of the dwelling for which you are requesting a change in 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

The authorization is attached to the premises and not to the person. She's definitive. The premises offered as compensation are mentioned in the authorization which is published in the real estate file or entered in the land register.

Once you have completed the conversion of your accommodation into a business premises, you must file a Declaration of Completion and Compliance (ACCA).

The mode of transmission of your ACT differs depending on whether you are in the province or in Paris.

General case

You need to file your DAACT file in town hall:

  • By dematerialized according to the arrangements made by your municipality (inquire on the site of the town hall or on the spot)
  • By letter RAR: titleContent
  • In your own hand
Who shall I contact

On the Internet

You can complete your DAACT application file on the internet:

Support for your city planning authorization request

Form

You can complete your ACAT application using a form:

Declaration of completion and conformity of works

In Paris

You must submit your ACAT file to the Basu: titleContent by dematerialized means only:

Office Accueil et Service à l'User (Basu) de Paris: one-stop-shop

You must declare the conversion of your dwelling into a business premises at the tax department of the location of the property.

You have to do it within 90 calendar days from the completion of processing.

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:

Change in the consistency or use of built and non-built properties (Declaration No 6704)

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