Financing all or part of your expenses by renting out your own accommodation is possible… under certain conditions. Here are the 10 rules to follow if you want to rent out your house or apartment during your vacation.
Rent your accommodation while you are away? More and more French people are attracted by the flexibility of this formula: they choose their tenants and set the price according to the period.
The environment, an essential criterion
If you live in Paris, its inner suburbs or a large tourist city, your accommodation will interest holiday makers . Same thing if you live near a spa town, by the sea, in a mountain resort, or near historical sites. What matters is the environment.
Worried abstain
Before we continue, let’s get things straight. This formula will not suit you if you are naturally anxious , because you will leave your Principal residenceto strangers. Even if the specter of vandal tenants is more fantasy than reality, refrain if you are afraid of constantly thinking about the disasters that could occur.
Modern comfort
Even punctual, a rental must meet the standards of modern comfort, starting with the installation of electricity and plumbing . You can shelter what you want to preserve, but do not leave only old things: wobbly furniture, twisted cutlery, smashed beds.
Put yourself in the place of your tenants : would you accept accommodation without charm or decent furniture? Similarly, check that the doors, locks, remote controls, devices work well and think about equipping yourself to possibly accommodate children.
Be specific and predictable
By renting your “home”, you are civilly responsible for what could happen if security elements were to fail.
When the tenants arrive, explain or have explained the operation of the installations (electricity meter, water supply, gas, household waste, etc.), and provide them with the instructions for use of the appliances as well as a telephone number. phone to contact you. The more specific and personable you will have been with yourtenant, the better things will go.
Insure your accommodation
Contact your insurer to let him know that you plan to occasionally rent out your home and check with him that your tenant/home insurance-what-are-the-tenant’s-obligations-428914″ target=”_blank”>insurance contract housing , in particular the “owner’s civil liability ” guarantee , would work well with regard to your tenants, for example in the event of bodily injury or material damage.If necessary, take out an ad hoc extension of guarantee.
Find a tenant
Essential for booking holidays, the vast majority of French people consult websites. Take advantage of their audience to find your future tenants. Turn to the choice to:
sites specializing in vacation rentals (papvacances.fr, leboncoin.fr, etc.) which abound and make it possible to reach a large number of people.
collaborative rental platforms such as Airbnb or Abritel-HomeAway. They connect individuals who, on the one hand, offer a seasonal rental and, on the other, are looking for a place to stay during their holidays. They also intervene to secure the payment of rents and to facilitate the resolution of disputes in the event of difficulty. Note: in return for their service, they charge a percentage of the rent collected, which varies from 3 to 8% depending on the actors.
What about seasonal rentals?
For a seasonal rental, going through a real estate agency will cost you at least 20 to 30% rental management fees , to be deducted from the amount of expected rent.
Meet your obligations
You can rent your main residence (housing where you live for more than 8 months of the year) furnished for a short period of time without any other formalities than those described below, within the limit of 120 days per year . Attention ! Beyond that, you will have to make a change of use.
Check with your town hall before renting your main residence: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and about fifteen cities located in tight areas require an online declaration of furnished tourist accommodation for all short-term rentals. This allows you to obtain a number that must appear on all online rental advertisements. Failing this, ad sites and matchmaking platforms must refuse your ad.
Attention ! Any omission is sanctioned by heavy pecuniary penalties . Thus the absence of a registration number, when this is compulsory, is liable to afineup to €5,000. As for exceeding the 120 days of rental per year of your main residence in a city with the obligation to register, it exposes you to a fine of 10,000 euros maximum .
If you go through an internet platform, it must inform you of your obligations (declaration, authorization of the owner in the event ofsous-location, etc.). It is also required to disconnect your ad as soon as the 120-day cap is reached. And must also keep a count of the number of nights rented and send it to the municipalities that request it. Moreover, it is responsible for collecting the tourist tax.
If you are a tenant, before embarking on the seasonal rental of your main residence, you must first obtain the written authorization of your landlord to be able to sublet your accommodation . Failing this, besides this may result in bail-344155″ target=”_blank”>theterminationof your lease, you may be ordered to pay back to your landlord the amount of the rent received during these “juicy” sublettings , possibly accompanied bydamages and interests. This is what the Court of Cassation recently recalled, in a judgment of September 12, 2019 (appeal no. 18-20727). It condemned the tenants, who sublet their apartment without the knowledge of their lessor, to reimburse him the sums collected under the sublet, that is to say nearly 30,000 euros.