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FIRE

France to bring in new environmental rules on log burners and open fires

Snuggling up in front of the fire or log burner with a glass of wine is one of the highlights of countryside living for many, but a proposed new environmental law aim to change their use in France. Here's what is happening.

Published: 14 April 2021 17:02 CEST
France to bring in new environmental rules on log burners and open fires
Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash

There are already some rules in place on this, including localised bans on particular types of burner, but now Environment Minister Barbara Pompili has published a draft plan to reduce the emissions from domestic wood burning by 50 percent.

The fine particle emissions produced by open fires, log burners and wood-fired heating systems, known at PM 2.5 are harmful to humans and can be carcinogenic.

The ministry said that domestic wood burners are the largest single cause of fine particle emissions, responsible for 43 percent of PM 2.5 emissions and 50 percent of the finer particle PM 1.0 emissions.

The goal is twofold – reduce the number of domestic wood burners in use and ensure that those that are used perform more efficiently, produce fewer emissions and use cleaner fuel.

The recently-adopted climate law includes a target to reduce by half fine particles emissions in the most polluted areas and the protocol on wood burners is a key part of this.

Here’s what it says:

Grants – there are already a variety of grants available in France to make your home more energy efficient and these now include help with the costs of switching from wood burners to a cleaner method of heating. Find out how to access the grants HERE. The target is that 600,000 appliances will have been replaced by 2025.

Energy ratings – the age and energy efficiency of all wood-burning appliances will be included in the energy efficiency rating that tenants and house-buyers get.

Labelling – the energy efficiency and cleanliness rating of wood burners will be improved so that people buying are aware of the risks. This is via the existing Label flamme vert (green flame labelling) scheme. 

But for those who continue to use wood-burners, the ministry wants to ensure that the fuel they are using is as clean and energy-efficient as possible.

Wood sold for burners will soon be required to carry labelling certifying its quality and low water content (so that it will burn efficiently) and whether it came from a sustainably managed forest.

The ministry also wants to increase the ‘formal log market’ ‘ie fuel and kindling sold in shops or from fuel businesses as opposed to gathered or sold or bartered informally, from 20 percent to 40 percent of the market.

So if you already have a fire or a log burner is there a risk of being ordered to tear it out? No, says the minister. In the press release announcing her policy, she says: “The action plan we are proposing aims to work for the climate cause by promoting more efficient wood heating while improving air quality, without opposing them altogether.”

However, some local authorities have put in some stringent measures, such as this Alpine valley that has banned the use of open fireplaces altogether, so if you are doing renovation work check with the préfecture if there are local measures in place concerning wood burners.

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PROPERTY

French property: What is buying ‘en tontine’?

If you're buying property in France, you might be thinking about buying 'en tontine' - this has advantages especially when it comes to France's strict inheritance laws, but can also have tax implications.

Published: 25 March 2024 11:17 CET
French property: What is buying 'en tontine'?

What is it?

The ‘clause de tontine’ sometimes also known as a ‘clause d’accroissement’ is a clause that is inserted into the property deeds when you are buying a house or apartment.

It can only be inserted during the purchase, and cannot be added later.

It’s basically a ‘group purchase’. It’s most commonly used by unmarried couples who are buying together but it can be used by larger groups too – for example a group of friends buying a holiday home together.

You will have to ask a notaire to draw up the tontine clause during the property purchase and it can only be used if 

  • the parties are equally involved in the financing of the purchase
  • the parties involved have a roughly equal life expectancy (for this reason tontine clauses may be rejected if there is a significant difference in age between the purchasers)

What’s the point of it?

The main reason that people use it is to sidestep France’s strict inheritance laws, which assign that a certain portion of every estate must go to children, at the expense of a partner. 

READ ALSO How France’s strict inheritance laws work

For this reason it is particularly used by couples who have children from previous relationships.

On a property with a tontine clause in effect, when one owner dies their share of the property passes in its entirely to the other member/members of the tontine.

This cuts out children from inheritance, but means that a surviving partner is not evicted from their home in favour of the children of the deceased. 

It also has the advantage of making the intentions of the deceased clear, to avoid arguments among heirs after their death.

It should be noted, however, that the tontine clause only takes in the property that it covers – other assets may be subject to French inheritance law so it’s therefore probably wise to arrange a will, to ensure your wishes for your estate are met.

The surviving party can ask a notaire to update the property deeds to show that they are the sole owner, if they want. Be aware there will be a fee, which could reach four figures for the privilege – and it doesn’t actually involve any change to the property title.

Drawbacks

The advantages of the system are clear, especially for blended families, but there are some potential drawbacks too, which mean that anyone considering buying in this way would be well advised to take proper legal advice before they start.

Inheritance tax – while a tontine will help you to avoid restrictions on inheritance, it does not exempt you from inheritance tax. French inheritance tax is structured according to your relationship to the deceased, and people who are neither married nor related to the deceased pay an eye-watering inheritance tax rate of 60 percent.

The only exception to this top rate of inheritance tax is if the property is your main residence and it is valued at under €76,000 – in that case, tax is paid at a rate of 5.8 percent.

Married couples and family members pay a much lower rate or not tax, but if you’re not married to your tontine co-purchaser, be careful that you’re not lining yourself up for a massive tax bill in future years.

Wealth tax – depending on the value of the property, it could tip you over into the ‘wealth tax’ category when you inherit. France’s wealth tax is a real estate based tax and is levied on anyone who has real estate assets (property and land) worth €1.3 million or more.

The calculation includes property held en tontine.

Tax savings – you might hear tontines being advised as a way to limit your French tax liability.

While this used to be true, changes to tax laws means there are no no significant tax advantages to buying this way – the same is true for buying a property via an SCI, which used to represent a tax saving until the law was tightened up.

Disinheriting family members – One side effect of the tontine clause on mixed families is to effectively disinherit any children of the first person to die.

Because the property passed to the survivor, under French law, only their direct descendants – rather than any family by marriage – are entitled to automatic inheritance.

That means that the children of the surviving partner will be entitled to the statutory share of the entire asset (between 25 and 30 percent depending on the number of children), but the children of the first person to die will be entitled to nothing. Obviously you can choose to leave them something in your will, but you can only leave them some or all of the estate which is not automatically given to the children on the survivor.

Divorce/dispute – if the members of the tontine split up or (in the case of friends) fall out, then they can either sell the whole property or agree to buy each other out.

However, if one party refuses to sell, then you have very limited legal options – unlike a standard property purchase a tontine is not regarded as joint ownership, so one partner cannot be forced to sell as part of a divorce procedings, for example.

Basically the tontine can only be ended or changed with the agreement of all parties – so if you can’t agree between yourselves then you may be stuck with it.

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