France Short-Term Rental Rules, Explained

France generalised short-term rental registration nationwide under loi Le Meur of 19 November 2024, and cut principal-residence caps in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice from 120 to 90 nights. Hosts must register, obtain a Declaloc number and display it, with mandatory display from 20 May 2026, and fines of 10,000 to 50,000 EUR apply under loi Le Meur for breaches. Those national lines are only the start: each commune can add its own rules, condo rules can restrict letting further, and tax treatment depends on the letting pattern. A host who knows only the national law will miss the commune rule that often decides a case.

Think of French hosting as national frame plus local picture. The frame sets registration, display, caps for principal residences in the four named cities, and enforcement scale. The local picture adds change-of-use authorisation in larger cities, condo decisions, and the practical steps of the commune declaration. Check both layers for the exact address before listing, and date both checks.

Loi Le Meur, passed on 19 November 2024, reshaped French short-term letting by generalising registration, tightening caps in the four major cities, and raising the enforcement stakes. It did not create a single French licence that covers every situation. Instead, it strengthened the declaration system, linked registration to platform duties, and gave authorities and communes clearer tools to pursue unregistered or over-cap letting. The law's effect is therefore felt through commune procedures and platform checks as much as through its own text.

Hosts should read loi Le Meur through its implementation, not only through summaries. Commune declaration forms, Declaloc numbers and platform number fields are where the law becomes a daily task. A host who understands the law's purpose but has not completed the commune declaration has not complied. The guides in this cluster separate the law, the declaration, the city caps and the taxes so each step can be completed in turn.

Registration in France produces a 13-digit Declaloc number for the property. That number must be displayed on listings, with mandatory display from 20 May 2026 aligning with the EU framework timetable. The number identifies the property and its declaration, not the host in general, so a host with several properties needs a number per property, and each listing shows the number for the property it advertises. A number copied from one property to another is a false display, even if both properties belong to the same host.

Display should be checked as a guest sees it, on every platform and in every advert. Platform fields can be completed without becoming publicly visible after an edit, and direct adverts can be overlooked entirely. A host who checks display once at launch and never again will miss edits that drop the field. Recheck after every listing edit and at least once per season.

Principal-residence caps in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice now stand at 90 nights, down from 120, under loi Le Meur. That cap counts principal-residence letting: a host letting their own main home for short periods while away, for example. Second homes face a different regime, centred on change-of-use authorisation in cities where it applies, and on commune and condo conditions. Confusing the two regimes is the most common French error: a 90-night cap does not authorise a second home, and a second-home authorisation does not grant a principal-residence cap.

Counting matters within the cap. Hosts should track nights let, not nights booked or nights advertised, and should confirm how the commune counts the year and whether any nights are excluded. A tracker that starts on the wrong date or counts cancelled nights will mislead the host at exactly the moment accuracy matters most, near the cap. Keep the tracker per property, updated monthly.

French short-let tax depends on classification, especially the furnished letting categories, and on whether the property is a principal residence or a second home. This cluster gives tax in general terms only, because rates and thresholds depend on the host's pattern and on current tax law, and a single rate quoted for all hosts would mislead. Hosts should keep stay-level income and cost records from the first night, and take advice where the pattern is mixed or multi-property.

Energy performance and building rules add further layers. Energy requirements for rentals are tightening in France generally, and short-let properties are not exempt from the wider rental energy picture. Condo rules, known as copropriete rules, can restrict or ban short letting in a building even where the commune allows it. Check the condo rules and any energy obligations for the property before investing in short-let furnishing.

Fines of 10,000 to 50,000 EUR under loi Le Meur signal that registration, display and cap breaches are treated seriously. Enforcement can come from the commune, from platform verification, and from neighbour or condo complaints that trigger an investigation. A host with registration, display, cap tracking and stay records in order can answer most enquiries quickly. A host missing any one of those elements will find even a minor query becomes a lengthy correspondence.

The cautious French host therefore keeps four files per property: declaration and Declaloc number, cap tracker, stay and income log, and building or condo permission. Recheck the commune portal and service-public.fr guidance before each season, since commune procedures and national guidance continue to evolve. This guide is general information only, last verified on 26 October 2026, and is not individual legal or tax advice.