Pied-à-terre
A pied-à-terre (French pronunciation: [pjet‿a tɛʁ]; plural: pieds-à-terre; French for "foot/feet on the ground") is a living unit, e.g., apartment or condominium, often located in a large city and not used as an individual's primary residence. The term implies use of the property as a temporary second residence, but not a holiday home, either for part of the year or part of the work week, usually by a rather wealthy person.[1][2] If the owner's primary residence is nearby, the term also implies that the residence allows the owner to use their primary residence as a vacation home.[3]
Pieds-à-terre attracted discussion during the 2010s in Paris and New York, where they are argued to cause a reduction in the overall housing supply.[4][5] A tax on such units has been discussed since 2014.[6]
Legislation of pieds-à-terre
[edit]New York
[edit]In 2014, The New York Times reported 57% of units on one three-block stretch of midtown Manhattan were vacant over half of the year.[7] Many of the buildings mentioned border Central Park and have become known as Billionaires' Row.[7] New York State Senator Liz Krueger, whose district includes Midtown, stated:
My district has some of the most expensive land values in the world—I'm ground zero for the issue of foreign buyers. I met with a developer who is building one of those billionaire buildings on 57th Street and he told me, "Don't worry, you won't need any more services, because the buyers won't be sending their kids to school here, there won't be traffic."[7]
A 2019 bill in the New York State Assembly that would place a recurring tax on luxury pieds-à-terre was blocked after intense pressure from real estate developers and their lobbyists.[8]
On Tax Day in 2026, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed a New York City pied-à-terre tax on second homes worth over $5 million, projected to bring in more than $500 million annually.[9] On May 27, 2026, the New York State Legislature approved the tax, which took effect on July 1, 2026.[10] How much the city will ultimately be able to collect in revenue is a matter of dispute.[11] On September 29, 2026, judge Wayne M. Ozzi of the State Supreme Court on Staten Island ruled that the city must scrap and restart the process of determining which properties are subject to the tax.[12]
Many cooperative buildings in New York City have restrictions on pied-à-terre purchasers or occupancy in their co-op bylaws.[13]
France
[edit]In the Parisian real estate market, mini-apartments measuring a few square metres, often less than 8 m2 (86 sq ft), are sold or rented to people who work or study in Paris during the week but live elsewhere. As of 2010, French cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants have a minimum one-year lease for apartments in order to crack down on pieds-à-terre that are offered as short-term rentals.[4]
Netherlands
[edit]In Amsterdam, a house must be above a certain rental value to be classified as a pied-à-terre. If the owner of such a house lets their children live in it, then all children should be registered in that municipality.[14] In addition to students, politicians and many television personalities own pieds-à-terre in Amsterdam while they live elsewhere.[15][16]
Many ministers and deputies own pieds-à-terre in The Hague while remaining registered in their own municipality.[17]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ Woolsey, Matt (11 May 2007). "Choice Cities for a Pied-A-Terre". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ Kaufman, Joanne (27 August 2021). "Return of the Pied-à-terre". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ↑ Visser, Gustav (2004). "Second homes and local development: Issues arising from Cape Town's De Waterkant". GeoJournal. 60 (3): 259–271. doi:10.1023/B:GEJO.0000034733.80648.88. S2CID 154211350.
- 1 2 Rafferty, Jean (6 July 2010). "To Address Its Housing Shortage, Paris Cracks Down on Pied-à-Terre Rentals". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ↑ McKinley, Jesse; Mays, Jeffery C. (13 March 2019). "How a $238 Million Penthouse Turned a Long-Shot Tax on the Rich Into Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ↑ Mays, Jeffery C. (9 February 2019). "The $238 Million Penthouse Provokes a Fierce Response: Tax It". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- 1 2 3 Satow, Julie (24 October 2014). "Pieds-à-Terre Owners Dominate Some New York Buildings". The New York Times. p. RE1. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ↑ Wang, Vivian (29 March 2019). "N.Y. Had a Plan for a 'Pied-à-Terre' Tax on Expensive Homes. The Real Estate Industry Stopped It". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ↑ "Gov. Hochul, Mayor Mamdani propose NYC pied-à-terre tax on second homes worth over $5 million - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 15 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ↑ Fanelli, James (27 May 2026). "New York Lawmakers Pass Pied-a-Terre Tax". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Berger, Eric (8 August 2026). "Super-rich complain but experts welcome Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Zaveri, Mihir (29 September 2026). "Judge Orders New York to Scrap Rollout of Second-Home Tax and Start Over". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- ↑ Vecsey, Laura (7 April 2015). "What is a Pied-à-Terre?". Streeteasy.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.[unreliable source?]
- ↑ "Mag ik een 2e woning (pied-à-terre) aanhouden in Amsterdam?". Gemeente Amsterdam (in Dutch).
- ↑ "Ex'tent | Eckart Wintzen » Onze collectieve verplaatsingsdrift in feiten en cijfers". 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ↑ "Mijn Amsterdamse pied-à-terre". 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ↑ "Albert Verlinde koopt miljoenenpand in PC Hooftstraat (Foto's) | Quote". 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2024.