In France, short-term rentals are commonly referred to as “locations meublées de courte durée” or “locations saisonnières”. These terms describe furnished properties that are rented out for short periods, typically to tourists or business travelers. Unlike traditional long-term leases, these rentals are designed for stays of less than 90 days and often listed on platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com. In cities like Paris, they are subject to strict regulations, especially when operated professionally or frequently.

‍

In France, a tenant generally cannot legally sublet their rental property as a short-term rental (STR) without the landlord's explicit written permission. This is regulated by the French civil code, and unauthorized subletting can result in legal consequences, including eviction. Here's a breakdown of the key considerations:

Short-term rental

The measure taken by the French government to regulate short-term rental nationally allows municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants to compel renters on digital platforms to declare themselves in town halls which helps the country face the housing crisis. As various municipalities now enact various rules to address the housing crisis. The rules are stricter from municipality to municipality.

​

​

​

If your secondary residential property is located in Paris, you are obligated to respect compensation rules; that is, for every 1 square meter of housing transformed into a short-term rental, you must acquire another 1 square meter of a commercial estate which must be transformed into habitation. This means that an investor that intends to carry out a short-term rental in Paris must buy two properties instead of one, while one is used for short-term rental, the other will be a commercial building that will be transformed for habitation to compensate for the housing shortage. Some boroughs are subject to strict compensation which requires compensation of 2 square meters of a commercial estate for 1 square meter of housing transformed into a short-term rental.

​

​

Non-compliance with this rule in Paris exposes the owner of the property to a fine of up to 50,000 euros per dwelling and a penalty payment of up to 1,000 euros per day per square meter until regularization.

No, there is no national permit but some places require one and the process for obtaining a permit for short-term rentals in France can vary. Below is a general overview of the steps involved, the associated fees, and the required documents for major cities in France:

For further information, please contact;

​

​

Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique

​

Télédoc 151

​

139, rue de Bercy

​

75572 Paris Cedex 12

​

Téléphone: 01 40 04 04 04

​

​

Department of Tourism

​

Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs

​

Email: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/navigation/email-us/