As an international homeowner on the French Riviera, you have lots of opportunities to rent out your property. To learn all about the legal process of renting out a property, keep reading!
If you own a holiday home in the South of France, renting out your property on a short or long term basis when youre not there is a good way to get an extra income! Here we tell you everything you need to know.
Choosing a Tenant
There are a lot of people looking for a place to rent, whether it’s long or short term. It’s important to choose your tenant carefully, as it’s very difficult to get rid of someone once they move in. The landlord is encouraged to ask for certain information from the tenant, as a verification process before signing a contract. The information could be:
- Income Tax Declaration – as a general rule, the tenant should earn 3 times the rent
- Employment Contract – it is safer to aim for someone with a CDI (fixed long term) contract
- Previous Address
The Rental Contract
The rental contract depends on whether it’s a furnished or unfurnished property. There are some conditions to be aware of as you can see in the following steps.
Furnished Property
- The Duration of the Contract
When you rent out furnished property the contract duration is for one year and automatically renewed, but only if the tenant stays for more than 8 month. However, an important note is if it’s a student the duration of rent is limited for 9 month and can’t be renewed.
- The Deposit
The landlord can request a deposit that corresponds to max two months rent from the tenant.
- Notice
First, it’s good to know, if the tenant decides to give notice it should always be notified by a registered letter. The tenant can break the contract with one month notice.
In case the landlord wants to break the contract it is only possible under certain conditions such as if the landlord wants to sell the property or live there himself.. The landlord has to let the tenant know at least 3 months before the end of the contract.
- Contract Type
It’s obligatory to have a contract between the tenant and the landlord. The contract is called Contrat de location and you can find an example through Service-Public (in French). Each party must receive a copy of the contract. It doesn’t need to be registered anywhere, but if you want it can be registered with an official notary as an acte authentique. Make sure the rules of rental of a furnished property are provided in the contract.
- Holiday Rental
Another option to rent out your furnished property, could be through Airbnb. You have the possibility to rent out for a short term period such in the holiday seasons. Airbnb aide (available both in English and French) explains the specific process in France. However you still have to make sure you follow the French law. Service Public guides you through the rental duration for a furnished property.
Unfurnished Property
- The Duration of the Contract
For an unfurnished property the contract duration can be for 3 years. Afterwards, the contract is renewed automatically unless the tenant or the landlord gives notice.
- The Deposit
The rules for the deposit can maximum be the amount of one month of rent before taxes.
- Notice
A tenant who wants to move out must give three months notice. If it’s the landlord who wants to break the contract the notice period is minimum 6 month before the end of the contract.
- Contract Type
For an unfurnished property you can use a contract, also called Contrat de location (in French).
More Information
Once you have followed the important steps, under the conditions of the French law, it’s a good investment. ServicePublic.fr have further guides that can help with the rental process. Finally, it’s highly recommended to get property insurance for both the tenant and the landlord!
