SEASONAL RENTALS
1. What is a vacation rental?
It may, therefore, be the rental of a main residence or secondary residence. This type of rental can be acquired:
- Through a real estate agency
- From person to person
- Via rental platforms (i.e. Airbnb, Abritel, Amivac, Homelidays, etc.)
The classic residential lease (for long-term rentals) is governed by the Law of July 6, 1989. This law was renewed, and updated by the ALUR Law of 2014 in order to incorporate changes related to seasonal rentals:
- The lease cannot be signed for more than 90 days
- The owner/landlord may indicate a maximum number of occupants allowed
- The owner/landlord has the right to prohibit an animal
- The owner/landlord does not have the right to oblige the tenant to take out insurance
- Seasonal rentals as furnished rentals must meet certain requirements. For example, the property must have the mandatory equipment of a furnished property.
- Seasonal rentals are thus defined as short-term rentals.
2. What should the seasonal rental agreement contain?
- The rental price and payment terms (including security deposit)
- The law does not regulate the security deposit, but the amount of the deposit is generally 20% or 30% of the total amount of the rent. The deadline for return is 3 months (after the departure of the tenant).
- The estimated amount of the tourist tax.
- When the accommodation is rented via an online booking site, the tourist tax is collected directly by the site which transfers it to the municipality.
- The consequences of canceling a reservation.
- The regulations concerning the security deposit and the inventory of fixtures.
The deposit regulations:
- They do not definitively bind either the tenant or the owner/landlord and they can be kept by the latter in case of cancellation.
- When the sums paid have been stipulated as a deposit by the rental agreement, this deposit definitively binds the landlord and the tenant.
- However, the deposit must be returned twice by the landlord upon renouncing the rental (Article 1590 of the Civil Code).
- The tenant may be obliged to pay the full rent in case of cancellation.
- In the event of a dispute before the civil court, the tenant can only be exempted from paying the entire rental fee if they prove that they were forced to terminate due to force majeure.
Important Link: The Rules to Respect in Seasonal Rentals
3. What are the specificities of a seasonal rental in Paris?
- The mayor of Paris makes a distinction between owners who invest in properties as a second home intended for exclusive seasonal rental (which therefore increases the capacity of tourists) and landlords who rent from time to time.
- Taxation does not differ from other French cities, nor does the use of housing.
- As part of the provision of a principal residence, it is possible to rent the property for a maximum period of 120 days.
- When renting a property that is not a principal residence, the owner must obtain prior authorization from the town hall, (via the urban planning department).
- If the owner wishes to transform the use of their property to rent it for more than 120 days, it will then be necessary to propose their other real estate (with an equivalent surface, which must be in the same district and intended only for residential use). This is to preserve the balance between habitat and economic activity.
- The owner will have to request a change of destination in hotel accommodation.
- This regulation also applies in the inner suburbs of Paris and in other French municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants that have regulated short-term accommodation.
Important Link: Can Commercial Space be Transformed into a Residence?
Important Note: The city of Paris is currently not concerned by the obligation of the rental permit, but this is the case for many municipalities in Ile-de-France.
4. What are the tax obligations for seasonal rentals?
- Income tax return - Income resulting from furnished rentals as well as those from subletting are subject to income tax in the category of industrial and commercial profits (BIC).
Important Links:
- Payment of social security contributions - From the moment the rental earns more than € 23,000.00 per year, it is mandatory to register with Social Security (under Self-employed) and to pay social contributions. In certain cases, and thanks in particular to certain derogations, landlords will be able to pay contributions to the general social security scheme.
- Payment of tourist tax - Tenants are asked to pay a tourist tax to the municipality. The cost varies between 20 cents per night and per person (for a guest room) and €3.00 for a furnished rental. This cost may vary depending on the accommodation but also on the municipality.
Important Note: It is possible to sublet a property only with the agreement of the owner.
5. What are the advantages of a private concierge service?
Better visibility
Privileged access to real estate ad distribution networks on +100 international real estate portals.
A better choice of tenant
Rental managers examine the files of each candidate and assess their creditworthiness.
The objective is to ensure a tenant-owner relationship will be as serene and sustainable as possible.
Less time spent on the administrative management of the property
No more wasting time on recurring administrative tasks (i.e. notice, rent receipt, calculation of regularizations of charges, rent reviews, water damage, co-ownership trustee relationship, insurance, and works).
Full compliance
Managing an apartment, a house, a commercial space or a real estate portfolio requires solid legal knowledge and, in particular, real estate.
Thanks to our expertise and experience in furnished rentals in Paris, the A1 Real Estate agency intervenes at every stage of the rental and its management: problem-solving, human relationship with the tenant and the condominium, customer satisfaction, administration, rent payment, cleaning, upkeep and maintenance, small repairs as well as major work via professional stakeholders.
6. Why use A1 Real Estate?
A1 Real Estate is committed to all tasks related to short-term rentals, including
- Creating ads
- Professional photography and virtual tour
- Price optimization
- Reservation management, visitor control, and check-in
- Payment management
- Customer Service and Communication
- Property preparation and in-person housing verification
- Linen and toiletries management
- Reception
- Maintain and maintain the property
A1 Real Estate brings the human relationship at the heart of its real estate activity: sales, furnished rentals or rental management, and real estate concierge services, in Paris.
We are a team of professionals, passionate about real estate, versatile and multilingual, looking for excellence to offer you a memorable experience. That's why our team can take care of every detail, from the arrival of customers to their departure.
What is rental management?
As a reminder, rental management, also known as rental intermediation, consists of entrusting the administration of your property to a management agent, a practice that relieves owners/landlords of the tasks related to renting.
The support of a rental management professional ensures that owners systematically bring the property up to standard in the face of changes in legislation and avoid financial risks.
A management mandate will have to be put in place. It is the contract authorizing a real estate professional to manage the real estate heritage.