You own a villa in the south of France and live somewhere else. You would like someone to look after it and welcome your guests, and you have probably met two kinds of provider: “concierge” services, and estate agencies. The difference matters more in France than you might expect, because French law reserves some of this work to licensed professionals. Here is what that means for you, in plain terms.
Does a French villa need a licensed manager?
Not if you do everything yourself: an owner who lets his or her own villa is not covered. The rule applies to those who act in the owner’s place: someone who presents the villa to guests, takes bookings, sets prices, collects money or runs the property on the owner’s behalf must hold a professional card (carte professionnelle) issued by the chamber of commerce (CCI). It comes from a French law known as the Hoguet law (Légifrance, in French).
Two mentions on that card matter for a holiday villa:
- T (transactions): putting owner and guests in touch, taking bookings, concluding the rental contracts.
- G (gestion immobilière, property management): running the villa for the owner and receiving the money that comes with it.
The federation of French estate agents (FNAIM) sums it up for holiday lets: the professional should hold a card with both mentions, and a financial guarantee covering the funds held for others. What matters is what a provider actually does, not the name it gives itself.
What a concierge without the card can do
A concierge service without the card provides hands-on services, on site, at the owner’s request: welcoming guests, handing over keys, cleaning, linen, small repairs, help during the stay. It is a genuine trade, and often well done.
It stops there. Without the card, a provider may not, according to the law and to FNAIM’s reading of it:
- present your villa for rent on its own website or social media, or take bookings directly;
- manage your listings and set your prices on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo;
- receive or hold money on your behalf: stays, deposits, security deposits, tourist tax;
- call in tradespeople, order quotes or handle an insurance claim for you.
The boundary is judged on what is done, not on what is intended. A court in Tours, in January 2025, declared void the contract of a concierge service without a card that set prices, ran the calendar and listings and welcomed guests, even though the quality of its work was not disputed.
What stays with you if there is no card
With a provider without the card, you remain, in practice, the manager of your villa, wherever you live. You or someone you appoint handles the listings, calendar and prices, the bookings and the written rental contract, the payments and security deposit, the taxe de séjour (the tourist tax, collected from guests and paid over to the local authority) and the police registration form for non-French guests, the villa’s registration with the town hall, the guests themselves before, during and after the stay, the tradespeople and any insurance claim. Some owners enjoy this. Many discover, in the first season, how much time it takes, particularly from another country.
What the carte G changes
An agency holding both cards (T and G) can take over all of it, under a written mandate (mandat), the contract by which you appoint it to act in your name. It presents the villa on its own website and channels, takes bookings, sets prices, collects payments, coordinates the teams, deals with claims and reports to you. It also provides the on-site service itself (welcome, cleaning, linen) with its own teams.
| You | Concierge without the card | Agency with the carte G | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome, keys, cleaning, linen | Possible | Yes | Yes |
| Listings, prices, calendar | Yes | No | Yes |
| Direct bookings | Yes | No | Yes |
| Contract, payments | Yes | No | Yes |
| Security deposit | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tourist tax, police form | Yes | No | Yes |
| Teams, tradespeople, claims | Yes | No | Yes |
| Reports to the owner | Not applicable | No | Yes |
What protects you with a carte G
The card is a framework you can check. It means:
- a financial guarantee that reimburses the funds held for you, and professional liability insurance;
- a bank account used only for the funds received from guests;
- a written mandate that states the scope of the agency’s powers, how money is received and paid over, and the fees;
- a register of mandates, with the registration number written on your copy;
- accounts rendered to you at least once a year.
At Mademoiselle Conciergerie, which holds the card (transactions and management), the sums collected for your villa are covered by our financial guarantee. Details are in our legal information. The mandate is signed online, and you have online access to your calendar, accounts and documents. These rules protect your funds and guarantee you regular accounts. They promise neither results nor income.
How do I check a professional card?
- Ask for the card number. It appears on the professional’s contracts and letters, with the name of the guarantor.
- Search for it in the public register kept by CCI France, by name or card number (register of property professionals, in French).
- Read the mentions. To receive your funds, the “gestion immobilière” (G) mention is required; a “transactions” card alone does not allow it. Check the expiry date as well.
- Ask for the certificates of financial guarantee and insurance.
The card shows a legal framework, not the quality of a service: read the mandate too.
Fees: compare what is included
Compare what each fee covers and what is left for you to do. A concierge without the card may look cheaper on paper; add the time, the tools and the providers you will coordinate yourself. With an agency, direct booking changes the picture: on average, 30 to 40% of our bookings are made direct, so without a platform commission on those stays. That does not mean without cost: our fees are those of the mandate, set out in writing in our owner brochure, on our property management page.
Which choice for which owner?
You want to stay in control. You are happy to run listings, guests, teams and claims, and you look for a reliable local relay. A concierge without the card can suit you, provided each keeps to its role.
You want to delegate entirely. You live far away, or your work takes your time, and you simply want your statement. You need an agency holding the card, the only kind allowed to run everything for you. That is the choice made by the owners in our collection: they receive their accounts, and we take care of the rest.
Next steps
Several points in this article connect to others: the registration number that every listing must carry, the difference between a tourist furnished let and a seasonal let, the tax calendar and our guide to renting out your villa in France. For the steps from first meeting to first guests, see Entrusting your villa to a property manager.
Join our collection
Each villa in our collection is chosen one by one, like Villa Camarines in Agde, Villa Andria in Béziers or Villa Juxta Maré in Sérignan. If yours shares that standard, you are welcome to join our collection.
Information checked on 9 October 2026. This article informs and does not replace personal advice: for a specific situation, a lawyer is the right person.
