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Short answer
You can buy a holiday let in France with a French mortgage, but plan on the loan being affordable without the letting income, because many lenders give it little or no weight for a borrower living abroad. Short-stay lets, the meublés de tourisme let through platforms such as Airbnb, now need a registration number on every listing. In Paris and other large cities a second home also needs permission to be let short term. From 2034 every holiday let must be rated A to D for energy, and the income is taxed in France.
Will a lender count my holiday letting income?
There is no official rule. French lending rules allow rent to count towards income with a discount, but each lender decides how much. Brokers who work with non-residents report that short-let income is often ignored, and the few lenders that consider it want a track record shown in tax returns. The safe plan is a loan that works on your other income alone, with a deposit of around 30%.
Sources: HCSF lending measure; SnowOnly on mortgages for non-residents, June 2026; Pretto on which income lenders count, August 2026.
Do I need to register a holiday let?
Yes. The Le Meur law of 19 November 2024 requires every meublé de tourisme, whether a main or a second home, to be declared through a national online service and to show its registration number on every listing. The law set 20 May 2026 as the latest date, but the national service itself is due to open in the last quarter of 2026. Until it does, communes that already run registration issue numbers, and elsewhere a second home let to tourists is declared at the mairie on form Cerfa 14004. Fines reach €10,000 for not registering and €20,000 for a false declaration.
Sources: ANIL analysis of the Le Meur law; Service-public.fr, July 2026; DGE on the national service, July 2026.
How many nights a year can I let?
If the property is your main home, you can let it as a holiday let for no more than 120 days a year, and since 1 January 2025 a commune can lower that to 90 days. Paris applies 90. A second home has no national cap, but the change of use rules below can stop you letting it short term at all.
Sources: ANIL; Ville de Paris on furnished tourist lets, March 2026.
Do I need permission to let a second home short term?
In some places, yes. Paris, the inner suburbs in the Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, and every commune of more than 200,000 people require a changement d’usage, an authorisation to use a home as a short-stay let. Any other commune can now choose to require it too. Where it applies, a second home needs authorisation however few nights it is let, and communes can cap the number of authorisations by area. In Paris a second home also needs compensation, which means turning an equivalent area of commercial space into housing, and fines run to €100,000. Check the rules with the mairie before you buy.
Sources: Government practical guide to meublés de tourisme, September 2025; DGE on meublés de tourisme.
Can the other owners in my building stop me?
In a copropriété, the co-owners can now ban short-stay lets by a two-thirds majority, where unanimity was needed before, if the building’s rules already ban commercial activity in the flats. The ban cannot apply to an owner’s main home. Building rules written since 21 November 2024 must say whether short lets are allowed, and you must tell the managing agent, the syndic, if you let short term. Read the règlement de copropriété before you offer.
Source: ANIL.
What energy rating does a holiday let need?
From 1 January 2034 every meublé de tourisme in mainland France must be rated A to D on its DPE, unless it is the owner’s main home, and the mayor can ask to see the certificate. Where a change of use authorisation is needed, a new authorisation already requires a rating of A to E. A home rated F or G will need works before it can be let short term in the long run, so factor them into the price.
Sources: ANIL; Government practical guide, September 2025.
How is holiday letting income taxed?
- Holiday lets are taxed as furnished letting income. Under the micro-BIC regime a classified meublé de tourisme deducts a flat 50% up to €77,700 of income for 2025 and €83,600 for 2026. An unclassified one deducts 30% up to €15,000. Above those limits the real regime applies.
- Non-residents pay French income tax at a minimum rate of 20% up to €29,579 of taxable income and 30% above that, for 2025 income, or the average rate on their worldwide income if lower.
- Social charges on furnished letting income are 18.6% from 2025 income. Someone in a social security scheme in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK pays only the 7.5% solidarity levy, according to the French tax authority, although Service-public.fr lists only the EEA and Switzerland, so confirm your position.
- For sales from 15 February 2025, depreciation deducted under the real regime is added back when you work out the taxable gain on selling. A 2027 budget proposal would also cap the depreciation itself.
- Guests pay the taxe de séjour, a local tourist tax. Platforms that take the payment collect it and pay it to the commune for you.
We do not give tax advice. Take advice from a tax adviser who knows both countries.
Sources: impots.gouv.fr FAQ on furnished lets, March 2026; impots.gouv.fr on social charges, July 2026; Service-public.fr on social charges, June 2026; economie.gouv.fr on the 2027 budget bill, October 2026; Service-public.fr on the taxe de séjour, May 2026.
How French Finance helps
We check your case on your income without the letting income, so you know where you stand before you offer, and flag the local rules to check for the property you have in mind. If it fits, and you agree, we introduce you to one of the leading, reputable specialist mortgage brokers and lenders we work with, who packages your application for lenders. We do not give financial or tax advice. Check your options.