Seasonal Rental in Nice: Regulations for Primary and Secondary Residences

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What are the rules to follow when I want to rent out my primary residence?

Your primary residence is the one where you live for at least eight months a year. Legally and fiscally, it corresponds to the "place of residence as of December 31 of the year in which income is received," as highlighted by the General Tax Code. In Nice, you can rent it out as a seasonal rental for a maximum of 120 days per year. Here are the steps to follow.

Check the condominium regulations 

First, you must check that the condominium regulations allow for seasonal rentals. If you want to authorize or prohibit short-term rentals in your condominium, this decision must be unanimously voted by the co-owners at a general meeting. Then, you must amend the condominium regulations, as a simple vote is not sufficient to prohibit it.

Declare my primary residence at the Town Hall for seasonal rental 

Next, you must file a declaration with the town hall, which has been mandatory and free since 2017 when you want to rent out your property as a seasonal rental. This allows you to obtain a registration number that is required for all rental ads. Indeed, under European tax regulations (DAC7 Directive), Airbnb is required to request this information from all hosts whose properties are located within the European Union (except for Ireland).

Maximum duration of a seasonal rental 

Subsequently, you must ensure that your seasonal rental does not exceed the 120-day limit. You must live in your primary residence for at least eight months a year; exceeding the 120-day limit would mean violating this rule. Since January 1, 2019, platforms like Airbnb are authorized to block ads that exceed the maximum number of allowed days.

Contributing to the tourist tax As for the tourist tax, which you may have heard about, it is not paid by property owners. This tax is a contribution collected by the city of Nice from short-term rental guests. Airbnb directly transfers the amounts collected from the tenants but in the name of the owners.

What are the rules to follow when I want to rent out my secondary residence? 

For a secondary residence, which is not permanently occupied, the rules are different.

Change of use for my property 

A secondary residence is used for residential purposes, so it is not authorized to use it for commercial purposes. There are two types of property uses: residential use and any other use (commercial, professional, storage, etc.). To rent out your property as a seasonal rental, Airbnb legislation in Nice requires you to obtain commercial use for the property.

Declare my secondary residence at the Town Hall for seasonal rental 

As with a primary residence, you must also file a declaration with the town hall. This has been mandatory and free since 2017 when you want to rent out your property as a seasonal rental. It allows you to obtain a registration number that is required for all rental ads. Under European tax regulations (DAC7 Directive), Airbnb is required to request this information from all hosts whose properties are located within the European Union (except for Ireland).

As a property owner, do I have to pay the tourist tax? 

The tourist tax is paid to the metropolis by any tenant staying in an accommodation in the area for a short period. To ensure proper payment of this contribution, the metropolis requires the host to act as the tax collector. This is why platforms like Airbnb collect the tourist tax on behalf of property owners and remit it to the metropolis. The host thus becomes responsible for the proper payment of this tax.

What is compensation? 

The mandatory compensation law is a measure adopted by several French cities, including Nice, aimed at regulating the rental market. It requires property owners who wish to rent their property as a furnished tourist rental to compensate by providing another property intended for primary residence. This policy ensures that the number of housing units available for city residents does not decrease due to massive conversion into seasonal rentals.

In Nice, compensation is only mandatory starting from the second property rented out by the same owner, which means that the owner will need to purchase a space equivalent to their property to compensate for the loss of residential space.

Conversion to Commercial Use 

When you obtain authorization to change the use of your secondary residence to a commercial use property, you gain several substantial benefits, including unlimited rental possibilities. Here's a review and clarification of the advantages and obligations that come with this transformation:

Advantages of converting to commercial use 

Converting to commercial use allows you to rent out your property without time restrictions, ignoring the 120-day limit per year. You can rent out your property throughout the year, optimizing your rental income and effectively meeting tourist demand.

Obligations and standards to comply with

1. Enhanced Safety Standards With commercial use, safety standards are stricter. For safety equipment, you must equip the property with smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and, in some cases, sprinkler systems to prevent fires.

Regarding the accessibility of your property, the building must be made accessible to people with reduced mobility, which may require significant adaptation work to comply with current standards.

1. Regular Inspections Commercial use properties are regularly inspected by authorities to ensure compliance with safety and hygiene standards. These inspections may incur additional costs and require careful management to remain compliant.
2. Conversion Costs Converting a residential property into a commercial use property often requires significant structural modifications, meaning renovation work that leads to considerable expenses.

You will also face administrative costs; the process of obtaining the necessary authorizations and regularly monitoring the standards also entails significant expenses.

And why not combine seasonal rental with student rental? 

Seasonal rental is a profitable activity during the "high" season, typically between 3 and 4 months of the year. The rest of the time, the profitability of seasonal rental decreases significantly off-season, and the hassle of frequent turnovers combined with the potential accelerated deterioration of the property leads many property owners to choose the combination of Seasonal Rental for 3 months (June, July, and August) and Student Rental for the remaining 9 months.

What are the benefits of renting to a student?

1. High rental demand Nice hosts approximately 45,000 to 50,000 students each year, 60% of whom are looking for housing in Nice! Spread across various higher education institutions, including 6 Faculties (Law, Medicine, Sciences, Humanities, Arts, and Education Sciences) and several specialized schools, engineering and business schools.

This represents approximately 30,000 potential tenants searching for housing over a relatively short period! With the academic year starting between September and October, all these students need to be housed beforehand, putting pressure on the rental market during the three months leading up to the start of the academic year.

1. Attractive rental yield and significant financial guarantee Due to the much higher demand compared to the long-term rental market, rental prices are naturally driven up, which, while detrimental to the students, reinforces the inequalities in access to housing.

Indeed, students, who generally have no income due to their status, are required to have at least one guarantor whose income must be four times the rent amount, as well as to pay a security deposit equivalent to two months' rent excluding charges. Guarantees can only be combined for this specific type of lease.

1. Tax attractiveness Unlike seasonal rental, which cannot benefit from the LMNP (Non-Professional Furnished Rental) regime due to its professional rental framework (change of use for commercial seasonal rental activity), student rental is compatible with this very advantageous tax regime! This allows you to spread out tax regimes and optimize your taxes to avoid exceeding thresholds that would significantly increase your tax rate.
2. And let's not forget the contribution to the local economy Renting to a student contributes to the vitality of the neighborhood. As their primary residence for a few months, the student will consume locally and support the development of local shops and other services, indirectly increasing the property's value!

Special Offer from the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis 

The city of Nice encourages secondary residence owners to contribute to student housing during the academic year. Here are the details of this advantageous offer:

The student rental lease lasts for 9 months. This lease has significant benefits for secondary residence owners; indeed, when you offer your secondary residence for student rental, you have the option to rent your property as a seasonal rental during the three summer months (July, August, and September) without requiring a change of use for your property! You will therefore remain classified as non-professional, retain the LMNP tax regime, and avoid the various constraints associated with commercial seasonal rental for a property other than your primary residence.

But certain conditions must be met. First, you must sign a student rental contract for the period from September to June. Note that this rental must comply with the rent ceiling imposed by the Nice City Council. The owner must commit to charging a maximum rent for students, with the following maximum rents excluding charges:

• T1: €500
• T2: €650
• T3: €800
• T4 and above: €1200

More information here: https://www.nicecotedazur.org/services/logement/autorisations-de-changements-dusage/location-mixte/

As with all seasonal rentals, you must declare your activity to the town hall in advance to obtain your registration number.

Complying with the rent ceiling is essential to benefit from this offer. This ceiling is intended to ensure the affordability of student housing, thereby helping to address the shortage of affordable housing for students.

Why entrust the rental of your property to Winter Immobilier? 

Are you the owner of a secondary residence and want to take advantage of this beneficial offer that allows you to alternate between student rental and seasonal rental? Don't hesitate to entrust us with the management of your property during the student lease term. Our rental management service allows you to rent out your property while avoiding all the administrative and human constraints associated with this activity. We handle your property or properties for rent in Nice and oversee all administrative operations.

As a property owner, you simply need to hand us the keys to your property and let us take care of finding tenants, drafting leases, managing administration, technical issues, etc. We help you optimize your rental investment in Nice while allowing you to enjoy more free time. With our expertise managing over 550 rental properties in Nice and its surroundings, Winter Immobilier, with over 65 years of experience, offers a wide range of tailor-made services. We also handle difficult rental cases (those involving eviction procedures or unpaid rent).

Founded in 1958, our real estate agency in Nice is a family business where three generations have succeeded each other at the helm, passing on their knowledge of the Nice real estate market from father to son. To discover how Winter Immobilier can enrich your experience as a property owner and maximize your returns, we invite you to explore our services at your convenience. For any appraisal or simply to discuss the possibilities offered by your property, feel free to contact us. See you soon!