Short-term rentals, popularized by platforms such as Airbnb, Abritel, or Booking, have become a major economic activity in France. While they represent an attractive financial opportunity for many owners and tenants, they are now governed by a particularly strict and constantly evolving legal framework. Navigating this regulatory landscape—with its administrative authorizations, night limits, tax obligations, and co-ownership rules—can be complex. Whether you are an individual looking to make ends meet or an experienced investor, this comprehensive guide details all the rules, procedures, and penalties applicable under French law to secure your seasonal rental activity.
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To prevent abuses and address the housing crisis in high-demand areas, the French legislature has strictly defined tourist rentals.
According to *Article L. 324-1-1 of the Code du tourisme (French Tourism Code), meublés de tourisme* (furnished tourist rentals) are villas, apartments, or furnished studios for the exclusive use of the tenant, offered for rent to a passing clientele who make a stay characterized by daily, weekly, or monthly rental, and who do not establish their domicile there.
A fundamental distinction must be made between two situations:
This is the property you occupy for at least 8 months per year (except for professional obligations, health reasons, or cases of force majeure). According to the Law of July 6, 1989, you can freely rent out your primary residence up to a limit of 120 days per calendar year (from January 1 to December 31). Beyond this 120-day cap, renting is prohibited without undergoing heavy administrative procedures to change the property's use.
This is any property you occupy for less than 8 months per year (a pied-à-terre, investment property, etc.). Unlike a primary residence, the short-term rental of a secondary residence is subject to prior authorization in many municipalities, starting from the very 1st day of rental. There is no 120-day limit for secondary residences, but obtaining authorization can be extremely restricted.
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French law grants municipalities broad powers to regulate short-term rentals within their territory. Three main legal mechanisms govern this practice.
In municipalities that have adopted this measure (notably Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, and many medium-sized cities), any lessor of a meublé de tourisme, whether it is their primary or secondary residence, must obtain a 13-digit registration number. This number must obligatorily appear on all online rental listings.
In municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, in the departments of the inner suburbs of Paris (petite couronne: Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne), and in those that have passed a resolution to this effect, renting a secondary residence as a meublé de tourisme requires prior authorization for a changement d'usage (change of use) under *Article L. 631-7 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (French Construction and Housing Code)*.
To obtain this authorization, some cities impose an extremely restrictive compensation rule. This consists of converting commercial or office space into residential space to "compensate" for the loss of residential housing. In Paris, for example, to rent 1 m² of a secondary residence on Airbnb, you may sometimes need to purchase and convert up to 2 m² of commercial premises into housing within the same district (arrondissement).
Even if the law allows you to rent, your building's règlement de copropriété (co-ownership regulations) may oppose it. A clause of habitation bourgeoise exclusive (exclusive residential use) generally prohibits any commercial, professional, or short-term furnished rental activity in the building. Case law from the Cour de cassation (French Supreme Court) is consistent: repeated tourist rentals are incompatible with an exclusive residential use clause due to the nuisances they can generate for the neighborhood.
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To be in perfect compliance with French law, here is the mandatory path to follow:
Before taking any administrative steps, carefully read your building's règlement de copropriété. If an exclusive residential use clause is present, you risk legal action from the syndicat des copropriétaires (co-owners' association).
Subletting on Airbnb is strictly prohibited without the written consent of your landlord and validation of the sublease rent amount (which cannot exceed the main rent amount, in accordance with Article 8 of the Law of July 6, 1989).
Any furnished rental activity, even occasional, requires registration with the Sirene register of INSEE (the French National Institute of Statistics). You must declare your activity on the *INPI One-Stop Shop (Guichet Unique) within 15 days of starting the rental to obtain a SIRET number. This step is mandatory to subsequently declare your income under the status of Loueur Meublé Non Professionnel* (LMNP, Non-Professional Furnished Lessor).
The taxe de séjour (tourist tax) is due by travelers. If you use a platform like Airbnb or Booking, the platform collects it directly and remits it to the municipality. If you rent directly, you must collect it yourself and remit it periodically to the municipality according to the rates in force (generally between 1 € and 5 € per night and per person, depending on the category of the accommodation).
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Income from short-term furnished rentals is not classified as property income (revenus fonciers), but as Bénéfices Industriels et Commerciaux (BIC) (Industrial and Commercial Profits). You have a choice between two tax regimes:
This applies if your annual receipts do not exceed 77,700 € (the current threshold for unclassified meublés de tourisme). You benefit from a flat-rate deduction of 50 % representing your expenses. You are therefore only taxed on 50 % of your receipts under the progressive scale of income tax.
This is mandatory if your receipts exceed 77,700 €, or optional if your actual expenses (loan interest, property taxes, electricity, co-ownership charges, platform fees, depreciation of the property and furniture) are higher than 50 % of your income. This regime often allows you to reduce the taxable base to 0 € thanks to the mechanism of depreciation (amortissement).
If your short-term rental receipts exceed 23,000 € per year for a passing clientele, you are considered a professional lessor for social security purposes. You must register with the Sécurité Sociale des Indépendants (SSI, Social Security for the Self-Employed) or the general scheme and pay social security contributions (approximately 35 % to 45 % of profits or receipts, depending on the chosen option).
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> Example: Marie rents out her primary residence in Lyon during her holidays, for 40 days in the year. She collects a total of 6,000 € in rent on Airbnb.
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> * Procedures: Marie previously obtained her registration number on the Lyon town hall website.
> * Taxation (Micro-BIC): She benefits from the 50 % flat-rate deduction.
> * Taxable Income: 6,000 € x 50% = 3,000 €.
> Final Tax: If Marie's marginal tax rate (tranche marginale d'imposition* - TMI) is 30 %, she will pay:
> * Income tax: 3,000 € x 30% = 900 €.
> Social levies (prélèvements sociaux*): 3,000 € x 17.2% = 516 €.
> * Total Due: 1,416 € in taxes and levies on her 6,000 € of receipts (representing an effective tax rate of 23.6 %).
> Example: Thomas owns a studio in Nice (secondary residence) which he rents to tourists. He generates 18,000 € in annual receipts. His actual expenses (loan interest, property tax, electricity, co-ownership charges, platform fees) amount to 8,000 €. The accounting depreciation of the studio and furniture is calculated at 7,000 € per year.
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> * Procedures: Thomas obtained authorization for a change of use from the Nice town hall and registered with the Registry of the Commercial Court. Since his receipts are below 23,000 €, he does not pay social security contributions.
> Taxation (Actual Regime - Régime Réel):*
> * Receipts: 18,000 €
> * Deduction of expenses and depreciation: 8,000 € + 7,000 € = 15,000 €
> * Net Taxable Income: 3,000 € (instead of 9,000 € with the automatic 50% deduction of the Micro-BIC).
> * Final Tax (TMI at 30 %): (3,000 € x 30%) + (3,000 € x 17.2%) = 1,416 €.
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The State and municipalities have significantly increased inspections. Penalties are civil or administrative and can be cumulative.
| Infraction | Penalty Incurred | Legal Basis |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Failure to register with the town hall (where mandatory) | Civil fine up to 5,000 € | Article L. 324-1-1 of the Code du tourisme |
| Exceeding the 120-day limit (primary residence) | Civil fine up to 10,000 € | Article L. 324-1-1 of the Code du tourisme |
| Failure to obtain a change of use (secondary residence) | Civil fine up to 50,000 € per property, with a daily penalty (astreinte) of up to 1,000 € per day and per m² until compliance is achieved | Article L. 651-2 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation |
| Unauthorized subletting by the tenant | Termination of the lease, eviction of the tenant, and order to refund all collected sublease rents to the landlord | Consistent case law (Cour de cassation) |
| Failure to declare income for tax purposes | Tax reassessment, late payment interest of 0.2 % per month, and a surcharge of 10 % to 80 % for omission or fraud | Code général des impôts (French General Tax Code) |
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To carry out your short-term rental activity with peace of mind, absolutely avoid these common pitfalls:
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Yes. The 120-day per year limit only applies when you rent out the entire property. If you rent a private room in your home (meaning you are present in the property during the traveler's stay), you can do so all year round without any duration limit.
Yes, obligatorily. In application of anti-fraud laws, platforms like Airbnb or Booking automatically transmit the gross amount of transactions you received, along with your identity and contact details, to the French tax administration (DGFiP) every year. These amounts appear pre-filled on your tax return.
The French Parliament recently tightened the rules for meublés de tourisme (notably through a bill aimed at addressing imbalances in the rental market). This text allows town halls to lower the rental cap for primary residences from 120 days to 90 days per year, and reduces the tax deduction of the Micro-BIC regime to 30 % (instead of 50%) for unclassified furnished rentals in high-demand zones (zones tendues).
Classification as a meublé de tourisme (from 1 to 5 stars) is a voluntary process carried out by an accredited body. Its cost varies between 150 € and 300 €. The benefit is mainly fiscal: it allows you to benefit from a more advantageous tax deduction (up to 71 % depending on geographical areas) and potential exemptions from the residence tax (taxe d'habitation) and the business property contribution (cotisation foncière des entreprises - CFE) in certain rural areas.
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Legal information for guidance only, not personalised legal advice. For your specific situation, ask your question free of charge on AvocatAI — answers based on French law, in your language.