Is your commune a zone tendue?

Last updated 21 August 2026AdminLanding Editorial

One label, two lists, three consequences. Check any commune against the official décret 2013-392 lists — and see whether the reduced 1-month notice really applies, or only the vacant-housing tax. Free, no account.

Check a commune Notice-period simulator

Zone tendue checker — free

Enter a commune and see which zone-tendue rules actually apply to it.

Commune or address

Start typing a commune to see whether the reduced notice and the vacant-housing tax apply.

What being in a zone tendue actually means

For tenants: a shorter notice

The best-known consequence: in a first-list zone tendue an unfurnished-lease tenant gives 1 month's notice instead of 3. You invoke it by stating the ground in your congé letter — no proof beyond the address is needed, because the list is defined by decree. This only exists on the first list; a commune that is merely on the 2023 tax list gives no such right, which trips up thousands of tenants a year.

For owners: the vacant-housing tax

If you own a dwelling in a zone tendue (either list) and leave it empty for a year or more, you can owe the taxe sur les logements vacants — 17% of the notional rental value in year one, 34% afterwards. This is the measure the 2023 extension was built for. It is a strong incentive to let, sell, or at least document genuine reasons for vacancy (works, active marketing), which the tax authority may ask you to prove.

Sometimes: rent control

A subset of zone-tendue communes have opted into rent control (encadrement des loyers) — Paris, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Montpellier and parts of the Île-de-France among them. There a new or renewed lease cannot exceed a reference rent (loyer de référence majoré) set by prefectoral order per neighbourhood and dwelling type, with a supplement only for specific features. Rent control is opt-in and local, so being in a zone tendue does not by itself mean your rent is capped.

The two-list trap, once more

The single fact worth remembering: 'zone tendue' names two legally distinct perimeters. The first list (continuous urban areas over 50,000 inhabitants) carries the reduced notice and the tax; the second list (tourist-tension communes, added 2023) carries the tax only. The checker above tells you which one a commune sits on — the distinction that decides whether a 1-month congé is valid.

Quick answer

A French zone tendue is an area of high housing pressure defined by décret 2013-392 (as amended 2023) under art. 232 CGI. It comes in two lists: the first list (~1,434 communes in continuous urban areas over 50,000 inhabitants) gives an unfurnished-lease tenant a reduced 1-month notice instead of 3 AND is subject to the vacant-housing tax; the second list (~2,263 tourist-tension communes, added 2023) carries the vacant-housing tax only — no reduced notice. A subset of these communes have additionally opted into rent control (encadrement des loyers). The vacant-housing tax (TLV) is 17% of notional rental value the first year, 34% from the second. Check a commune's exact status — first list, tax-only, or neither — with the free checker above.

Frequently Asked Questions

The definition, the two lists, notice, the vacant-housing tax, the data source.

What is a zone tendue in France?

A zone tendue is an area where housing demand strongly outstrips supply, defined by decree for the tax on vacant housing (art. 232 CGI). Being in one triggers three possible consequences: the tenant's notice period drops from 3 months to 1, a tax on vacant housing (TLV) can apply, and — in communes that have opted in — rent control (encadrement des loyers). The catch is that these do not all cover the same list of communes.

Why do some communes say 'tax list only'?

Because there are two lists. The first list (art. 232 I 1°, the ~1,434 communes in continuous urban areas over 50,000 inhabitants) carries the reduced 1-month tenant notice. The second list, added in 2023 (art. 232 I 2°, ~2,263 tourist-tension communes), was created for the tax measures only and does NOT grant the reduced notice. Both are called 'zone tendue' everywhere online, which is the single biggest source of error — a tenant on the second list who gives 1 month's notice is legally in the wrong.

How does zone tendue affect my notice period as a tenant?

For an unfurnished lease, the default tenant notice is 3 months. In a first-list zone tendue it drops to 1 month automatically — you just state the ground ('logement situé en zone tendue') in your congé letter. Furnished leases are already 1 month everywhere, so zone tendue makes no difference there. Certain personal grounds (new job, health, RSA…) also give 1 month regardless of zone. Use the free notice-period simulator to get your exact end date.

What is the tax on vacant housing (TLV)?

The taxe sur les logements vacants (TLV) applies in zone-tendue communes to dwellings left empty for at least one year. The rate is 17% of the notional rental value the first year and 34% from the second. Both zone-tendue lists are subject to it — this is the measure the second (2023) list was actually created for. Outside zone tendue, some communes can instead levy the optional taxe d'habitation sur les logements vacants (THLV).

Where does this checker get its data?

From the annex to décret n° 2013-392, as amended by décret n° 2023-822 and adjusted by décret n° 2025-1267 for commune mergers. The checker reads the official INSEE commune codes and distinguishes the first list (reduced notice) from the second (tax only), matching what the service-public.fr simulator returns. It is the same data source the AdminLanding notice-period simulator uses.

Important: AdminLanding is a technology platform, not a legal or tax adviser. This checker matches the commune you enter against the official zone-tendue lists in the annex to décret n° 2013-392 (as amended by décret n° 2023-822 and adjusted by décret n° 2025-1267), for information only. It indicates which measures may apply; it does not decide your notice period, tax liability or rent cap, and rent control is set locally by prefectoral order. Verify with your préfecture, service-public.fr or a qualified professional before relying on it.

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