The city of Troyes has introduced a new tax on unoccupied homes as part of its efforts to reduce the number of vacant properties. The municipal council approved the measure on Friday, September 25. This tax is not mandatory for all cities, only for those in areas with high housing demand, a situation that does not apply to any commune in the Aube department, where Troyes is located. Valéry Denis, deputy mayor of Troyes, stated that more than 1,800 homes in the city remain unoccupied, with about 1,100 of these located in the Bouchon de Champagne, a protected area. Three-quarters of the vacant homes are owned by people who do not live in Troyes. Mayor François Barouin described the tax as "the first indirect step in a fight against sleep sellers," referring to individuals who own property but do not live there. He criticized the current lack of oversight, calling the situation "dangerous" and "undignified on a human level," and linked it to problems such as prostitution and drug trafficking in some areas. Troyes is not the first city in the region to implement such a measure. Earlier, cities like Montigny-lès-Metz and Luxeuil-les-Bains in the Grand Est region introduced similar taxes. According to INSEE, the national statistics office, in 2020, nearly 273,000 housing units in the Grand Est region were unoccupied, making up almost one in ten homes in the area. This makes the Grand Est the third region in France with the highest rate of housing vacancies, following Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Centre-Val de Loire. The initiative by Troyes reflects a broader concern across France about the growing number of empty homes, which are seen as a misuse of limited housing resources. The city's approach aims to encourage property owners to either occupy their homes or sell them, potentially increasing the availability of housing for those in need.