Renting your main home to tourists in France: 90 or 120 days, registration and fines

Renting your main home to tourists is allowed in France, but within strict limits. According to Service-Public, the official French government information site, the yearly cap ranges from 90 to 120 days depending on the town, where the town hall requires a registration number. Going over the cap can lead to a civil fine of 10,000 euros. Here are the rules to know before listing your home for the Christmas holidays or next summer.

Short-term rental platforms have made the practice very common. Yet many owners and tenants do not know that a main home follows different rules from a second home. Moreover, these rules depend largely on the commune, the smallest unit of local government in France.

How many days a year can you spend renting your main home?

According to the official Service-Public page on letting your main residence as holiday accommodation, the law caps the total number of rental days per calendar year. This cap « varies between 90 and 120 days » depending on the commune.

Note that the cap only applies in communes that require a declaration with a registration number. In addition, the same guest cannot stay more than 90 consecutive days in a calendar year.

What counts as a main home?

Under these rules, it is the home you live in for at least 8 months a year. There are exceptions, however: work obligations, health reasons or force majeure. For example, being away for more than 3 months on a training course allows you to exceed the cap.

Renting your main home: a key in a front door lock — Before handing the keys to holidaymakers, check your town’s rules. Photo: Maria Ziegler / Unsplash

Do you need to register before renting your main home?

In most communes, you do not need to do anything for a main home. However, some large cities make registration compulsory. So ask your local town hall, the mairie, before you publish a listing.

Where the commune applies this system, you receive a 13-character registration number. The town hall issues it straight away after your declaration. Then you must show it in every listing. You can read this guide in French in our original article.

How are the days checked?

If you use a platform, you sign a sworn statement. The platform then deactivates your listing once you reach the cap. Without a platform, the commune can ask you for the number of days let until 31 December of the following year.

What are the penalties?

The fines are heavy. According to Service-Public, a host risks:

up to 5,000 euros in civil fines for failing to make a compulsory declaration;
a civil fine of 10,000 euros for exceeding the cap on days;
up to 450 euros for failing to declare under the simple system, according to the page on holiday lets.

In addition, the host must ask every foreign guest to fill in a police registration form. The host keeps it for 6 months.

Furnished flat in the early morning — A main home let to holidaymakers remains subject to a yearly cap. Photo: Danilo Rios / Unsplash

Tenants, flats and social housing: who can let their home?

Not everyone can let their home to tourists. First, a tenant in the private sector needs the landlord’s written consent. Otherwise, subletting can lead to the end of the lease and to damages.

Second, the law bans holiday letting in social housing. Finally, in a block of flats, check the co-ownership rules. Since 21 November 2024, these rules must state whether holiday lets are allowed.

Tourist tax and income tax: what must you do?

Guests pay the tourist tax, called taxe de séjour. The host collects it and pays it to the commune or to the group of communes. However, if a platform handles the payment, the platform collects the tax.

On the tax side, the host must register with Insee, the national statistics office, to get a Siret business number. This goes through the online business formalities portal. Then, the host declares the income in the supplementary tax return. Depending on the situation, a local business tax called CFE may also apply.

Living room in a rental home — Rental income must be declared for tax. Photo: Med Badr Chemmaoui / Unsplash

Renting your main home: key takeaways

The yearly cap ranges from 90 to 120 days, in communes that require registration.
The same guest cannot stay more than 90 consecutive days.
A main home is where you live at least 8 months a year.
Fines: up to 5,000 euros without a declaration, 10,000 euros for exceeding the cap.
Tenants need written consent; holiday letting is banned in social housing.
Tourist tax must be collected and income declared.

Sources: Service-Public, pages F33175 and F2043 on holiday lets, consulted on 8 November 2026. Featured photo: deborah cortelazzi / Unsplash.