Vacant offices, city-centre homes.
France has millions of square metres of empty offices in its city centres. Converting them into homes is a demanding operation, as administrative as it is technical, which we prepare methodically and transparently.
4.2M m²
Vacant office space in Île-de-France, the Paris region (2024)
Source: BNP Paribas Real Estate
−30 to −40%
Discount on offices compared with residential property in the same districts
Source: CBRE France
2025
A new law now makes it easier to convert offices into homes
Source: French law of 16 June 2025
Our support
From identification to the first rent
Office conversion is a multi-faceted operation: administrative, technical and financial. We support you on each of these dimensions, in coordination with the relevant professionals.
Sourcing and identification
We identify vacant commercial premises and offices in residential areas with strong rental demand: the heart of city centres, student districts, areas well served by public transport. Our criteria: raised ground floor or upper floors, a surface area of 40 to 150 m², a building in residential co-ownership (copropriété).
Feasibility check
Before any acquisition, we analyse the planning documents (PLU, the local urban development plan) and the co-ownership rules, and consult the town hall's planning department. Some zones prohibit a change to residential use: better to know before buying, not after.
Administrative procedure
Changing the designated use (changement de destination) of commercial premises into housing requires a building permit or a prior declaration, depending on the works. We support you throughout the application: preparation, submission to the town hall, follow-up of the review and the legally required public notice. Typical timescale: 2 to 4 months depending on the municipality.
Transforming the premises
Once consent has been obtained, we coordinate the works with vetted third-party contractors: water and drainage networks, partitioning, insulation, electrics to current standards, kitchen, bathroom, furnishing. These contractors carry out the works under their own responsibility and guarantees (professional liability insurance and the garantie décennale, the ten-year builder's guarantee).
Letting and management
On delivery, our property management team takes over: listing with professional photos, tenant selection, drafting of the lease, check-in inventory. You follow everything from your client portal.
The mechanics
The 4 structural advantages of conversion
Lower purchase price
Offices and commercial premises are traded on the basis of their current use value, often below residential prices in the same district. It is this entry discount that gives the operation its economic appeal.
Potential value creation
Once converted, the property is valued as a home, at the residential price per m² of its district. The gap between the total cost of the operation and this residential value represents the operation's potential, which varies from project to project.
Prime location
Vacant offices are often located in the heart of city centres, a short walk from shops, transport and universities. These are exactly the addresses tenants are looking for, with structurally low rental vacancy.
Attractive tax framework
Depending on the tax regime chosen, conversion works can be depreciated or deducted. The exact tax treatment depends on your situation: it should be validated with your chartered accountant before the operation.
Transparency
The risks, and how we anticipate them
Office conversion is a complex operation. We prefer to explain its risks rather than play them down, and to show you how they can be anticipated.
Building permit refused
We systematically carry out an administrative feasibility study before the purchase offer, and the preliminary sale agreement (promesse de vente) includes a condition precedent linked to obtaining consent: without a permit, you can withdraw.
Refusal by the co-ownership
Some co-ownership regulations restrict residential use, particularly on the ground floor. We analyse the regulations and, if a vote at the general meeting is required, it is obtained before signing, never after.
Works budget overrun
The contractors consulted provide detailed quotes before any work begins, and the operation's budget includes a contingency margin. The works remain under the responsibility and guarantees of the contractors carrying them out.
Lengthy administrative timescales
The conditions precedent in the sale agreement protect you: if consent is delayed beyond the agreed deadline or is refused, you can withdraw from the operation under the conditions set out in the agreement.
Target areas
Where we look for opportunities
Montpellier
Strong demand from students and young professionals. Vacant offices in the Écusson and around the Polygone.
Lille
Euralille and Vieux-Lille: office floors with strong residential potential.
Greater Paris
Inner suburbs: Montreuil, Vincennes, Saint-Denis. Direct access to Paris, prices still affordable.
Marseille
Business districts undergoing conversion in the 1st, 2nd and 13th arrondissements. Attractive purchase prices.
Nîmes
Historic centre: ground-floor premises at a marked discount, with sustained rental demand.
Theoretical illustration
The mechanics of a textbook case
A fictitious 65 m² office converted into a two-bedroom flat (T3), to understand the cost structure. The amounts are working assumptions, not promises.
Purchase price (office premises)
€130,000
Assumption: €2,000/m² versus €3,800/m² for residential
Conversion works
€95,000
Networks, insulation, partitions, kitchen, bathroom, furnishing
Fees and operation costs
€20,000
According to the scale detailed on the Our fees page
Total cost price
€245,000
For a 65 m² T3 delivered ready to let
Residential value in the district
≈ €5,000/m²
To be compared with the cost price per m²
Achievable monthly rent
≈ €1,200
Renovated furnished T3 in the city centre, depending on the local market
Purely illustrative example: every real operation has its own costs, timescales and contingencies, and the final value depends on the market at the time of delivery. No performance is guaranteed. The works are carried out by third-party contractors under their own responsibility and guarantees.