Pinel Law in Nice: what you need to know in 2026

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Article updated on 16 March 2026, following the entry into force of the scheme that succeeds the Pinel law.

The Pinel scheme, a French rental investment tax incentive, came to an end on 31 December 2024. No new investment can be entered into under this scheme any longer, whether in mainland France, in the French overseas territories, or under its Pinel+ variant.

Even so, the question comes up at the agency every week, and for good reason. Some Nice property owners still hold a property bought under Pinel and want to understand their remaining obligations. Others are only now discovering the scheme and want to know what they missed. Others still want to invest in Nice today and are asking what has replaced it. Winter Immobilier, a family-run agency in Nice since 1958, sets out the position on all three situations.

The essentials to remember

• The Pinel law ended on 31 December 2024. No purchase completed after that date can qualify for the tax reduction, including under Pinel+.
• Investments entered into before that date continue to run their course until the end of the rental commitment.
• Nice was among the eligible towns, classified in a high demand zone, which made it one of the most active Pinel markets on the French Riviera.
• The tax reduction reached 12%, 18% or 21% of the purchase price depending on a 6, 9 or 12 year rental commitment, within a limit of €300,000 and €5,500 per square metre.
• Since February 2026, the Jeanbrun scheme has taken over for new rental investment, built on a different logic: depreciation.

The Pinel law is over, this is not a gradual phase out

One misunderstanding persists, kept alive by the tapering schedule applied to the rates in 2023 and 2024. Plenty of content still implies that only the classic Pinel disappeared and that Pinel+ lives on. That is incorrect.

Both versions stopped on the same date, 31 December 2024. Pinel+ was never a replacement scheme, it was a variant of the same regime, reserved for the best performing homes, which kept the full rates while the classic Pinel rates were being reduced. The two ended together.

Winter Immobilier’s view: this is the first point we correct in client meetings. An investor who still believes they can enter into Pinel+ is building a plan around a scheme that has not existed for over a year and a half.

How the Pinel law worked

Introduced in 2014, the Pinel law was a French income tax incentive designed to encourage the construction of new rental housing in areas where demand for housing outstripped supply. In exchange for a rental commitment, the owner received an income tax reduction, calculated on the purchase price and proportional to the length of that commitment.

The scheme followed on from the earlier Duflot and Scellier laws, but stood apart on a point that mattered to many buyers, the possibility of renting to a parent or child outside the owner’s own tax household.

Tax reduction rates

In mainland France, the reduction reached 12% of the price for a six year commitment, 18% for nine years and 21% for twelve years. These percentages applied to the purchase price, capped at both €300,000 and €5,500 per square metre.

These full rates were reserved for Pinel+ from 2023 onward. The classic Pinel fell to 10.5%, 15% and 17.5% in 2023, then to 9%, 12% and 14% in 2024, its final year.

Conditions to qualify

The property had to be new, bought off plan, or fully renovated. It had to be located in a town classified in a high demand zone. Rent and tenant income could not exceed ceilings set by decree and revised annually. Finally, the property had to be let unfurnished, as the tenant’s main home, within twelve months of completion.

The Pinel Overseas Scheme

The Pinel Overseas Scheme worked on the same principles with higher rates, 23% for six years, 29% for nine years and 32% for twelve years, to encourage construction in France’s overseas territories. It ended on the same date as the mainland version.

The Pinel law in Nice, what it allowed

Nice was among the eligible towns, classified in a high demand zone, along with most of the French Riviera coastline. The Nice market met the very conditions the scheme aimed to support, structurally higher rental demand than supply, a sizeable student population around Valrose and Saint-Jean-d’Angély, and scarce land that limits new construction.

In practice, eligible schemes in Nice concentrated in developing districts rather than the historic centre, where new build supply is almost nonexistent. The €5,500 per square metre cap was also a real constraint on a market where new build prices often exceed that level, which mechanically reduced the base for the reduction on the best located properties.

Winter Immobilier’s view: Pinel worked in Nice, but rarely where buyers expected. The most balanced deals were on mid sized schemes on the edge of the centre, where the price per square metre stayed within the cap. Prestige seafront properties were never really Pinel territory.

If you already own a Pinel property, what still applies

The end of the scheme changes nothing for investments already entered into. The tax reduction continues to apply each year until the end of the term, and the obligations that come with it remain in full force.

In practice, that means three things. The property must remain let unfurnished as the tenant’s main home for the entire length of the commitment. The rent and income ceilings must still be respected at every new lease. And reselling before the end of the term triggers a retroactive loss of the benefit, with the tax authorities reclaiming the reductions already granted.

This last rule allows for limited, tightly defined exceptions, in the case of job loss, disability or death. It does not cover a change of mind, a chance to sell at a profit, or a cash flow need.

Winter Immobilier’s advice: if you hold a Pinel property in Nice reaching the end of its term, the question to prepare is not whether to sell, but when. Coming out of the scheme opens three paths, letting freely at market rent, selling, or switching to furnished letting. The three carry different tax treatment, and the transition is best planned at least a year in advance.

Investing in Nice in 2026, what has replaced the Pinel law

The gap left by Pinel lasted a year. It was filled by Article 47 of the 2026 finance law, which created the Jeanbrun scheme, in force since 21 February 2026.

The logic is different. Where Pinel granted a tax reduction calculated on the purchase price, Jeanbrun is built on depreciation, meaning a fraction of the property’s value is deducted each year. The commitment shortens from a six to twelve year range to a firm nine years, and the scheme targets flats in collective buildings, let at a capped rent.

For a Nice based investor, the most concrete change lies in the maths. Pinel offered a clear cut advantage, a percentage of the price. Jeanbrun requires weighing a depreciation spread over time against a rent deliberately set below market, over nine years. In Nice, where the gap between market rent and the intermediate rent cap is wider than in most other cities, this trade off has to be worked out property by property.

Jeanbrun is not the only option on the table either. Our overview of French real estate tax exemption schemes compares the eight schemes currently open, from the property deficit mechanism to LMNP furnished letting status.

Do you hold a Pinel property in Nice, or are you planning a rental investment on the French Riviera? Our team can review the real return on your project, the tax treatment that applies, and the most favourable exit timeline. Contact us to talk it through, we reply seven days a week.

Pinel law in Nice, frequently asked questions

Can you still invest under the Pinel law in Nice in 2026?

No. The scheme ended on 31 December 2024, in Nice as everywhere else in France. No purchase completed after that date qualifies for the tax reduction, under any version of the scheme. For a new rental investment today, the Jeanbrun scheme applies instead.

Was Nice eligible for the Pinel law?

Yes. Nice was classified in a high demand zone, the category in which the scheme applied. The €5,500 per square metre cap, however, limited the appeal of the deal on the best located schemes, where new build prices often exceeded that threshold.

What happens if I sell my Pinel property before the end of the commitment?

The tax reduction is retroactively cancelled, and the tax authorities reclaim the amounts already deducted. Exceptions exist for job loss, disability or death, but they are interpreted strictly.

My Pinel commitment is ending, what should I do with the property?

Three options open up, letting freely at market rent, selling, or switching to furnished letting. The right choice depends on your tax position, the property’s condition and the rental market in your neighbourhood. In Nice, the gap between the capped Pinel rent and free market rent often makes it worth exploring re-letting before considering a sale.