A villa in the Languedoc, in the South of France, can be let to holidaymakers within a clear legal framework. Some steps are taken once, one is about to change, and the tax side depends on where you live. Here is what the official sources say, and what we take care of for the villas in our care. Most of the official pages linked below are in French.
Your villa, in French law
In French law, a villa let to holidaymakers is a meublé de tourisme: a furnished holiday let. The Tourism Code defines it as a furnished villa, flat or studio that guests have to themselves, offered to people passing through who do not make it their home, for stays by the day, week or month.
Service-Public, the government’s information portal, adds that the same guest cannot rent it for more than 90 consecutive days. It also lists the minimum furniture and equipment required: bedding, a hob, a fridge, crockery and so on. A well-kept villa exceeds it by a wide margin.
Before your first guest
These are the steps for a villa that is not your main home.
- Check any co-ownership rules. If the villa is part of a co-ownership (copropriété), its rules may restrict holiday lets: rules drawn up since 21 November 2024 must say whether they are allowed, and older ones depend on their wording.
- Declare the villa at the town hall. In most larger communes, this is a declaration with registration; elsewhere, a simple declaration on form Cerfa 14004. Your town hall tells you which applies.
- Register the activity. For any furnished-let activity, Service-Public lists a free registration with the national business register, through the Guichet des formalités des entreprises, within 15 days of the first let. It gives you a SIRET number, which you use for your tax filings; how it applies to your situation is a question for your tax adviser.
- Show your registration number. Where the town hall has issued one, it must appear in every listing, on platforms as well.
- Give your sworn statement. Any intermediary that publishes your listing, paid or not, must inform you of these steps and obtain your sworn statement that you have completed them before the listing goes live (article L. 324-2-1).
One rule applies only to a main residence: it cannot be let for more than 120 days in a calendar year, except for professional reasons, ill health or force majeure, and a commune may lower that limit, though not below 90 days (article L. 324-1-1). A second home is not concerned.
A national registration service is on its way
France is introducing a single national online service for registering holiday lets. The law of 19 November 2024 provides for it, and the official sources announce its opening for the last quarter of 2026 (Service-Public, Direction générale des entreprises).
When it opens, registration becomes compulsory in every commune, and every owner, without exception, will have to obtain a number for each holiday let. Owners who already hold a number from their town hall will have several months to renew it through the national service; after that, the old numbers stop being valid. Until then, the rules of your commune continue to apply.
The law asks the owner to make this declaration personally on the service. We prepare the details with you in advance and follow the application through, so that your number appears on your listing as soon as it is issued.
The scheme sits within a European framework. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, applicable since 20 May 2026, provides that hosts who list a unit on an online platform must say whether it is subject to registration and, if so, give its number.
The tourist tax
Where the commune levies it, guests pay a tourist tax (taxe de séjour). It is collected from them by whoever receives the rent, whether owner, agent or other intermediary (article L. 2333-33), then paid over to the commune or its local authority. The amount is set locally, within a national range. For a rated villa it is a fixed sum per person per night; for an unrated one, a percentage of the price of the night per person, from 1% to 5% (Service-Public).
With us, it is always included and shown in the price. Under the management agreement, we collect it and remit it for you.
A star rating: optional, but worth weighing
A rating from one to five stars is voluntary and valid for five years, and it is awarded after a visit by an approved inspection body. It changes how the tourist tax is set and how rental income is taxed, so it is worth considering early. Our article on what the stars change for owners sets it out. For the villas in our collection, we aim for at least four stars.
Tax: where to look
We do not give tax advice, and your position depends on where you live. Three official starting points:
- In France, Service-Public explains that income from a furnished let is taxed as industrial and commercial profits (BIC), under rules that differ depending on whether the villa is rated. The page includes a note for non-resident taxpayers.
- In the UK, GOV.UK states that UK residents may need to pay Income Tax on foreign income, including rental income on overseas property, and that relief may be available where income is taxed in more than one country.
- Between the two, the UK–France double taxation convention has been in force since December 2009.
An adviser used to cross-border situations can tell you how these fit together for you.
Who may let your villa for you
Letting property on behalf of others, and managing it, are regulated activities in France when carried out on a regular basis. The Hoguet law of 2 January 1970 reserves them to holders of a professional card, who must hold a financial guarantee and professional liability insurance, and it requires a written agreement between agent and owner: the mandate. Mademoiselle Conciergerie is an estate agency whose professional card covers both property transactions and property management.
What we handle, under the management agreement
For the villas in our care, we take on the paperwork:
- the declaration at the town hall, which we make for you;
- the preparation and follow-up of your registration on the national service;
- the information and the sworn statement the law asks of an intermediary, before your listing goes live;
- the collection of the tourist tax from your guests, and its remittance to the local authority;
- the star-rating application, if you choose to go for it: we put the file together and get the villa ready for the inspector’s visit.
Your own tax affairs remain yours, and your tax adviser is the right person for them; how VAT applies to a holiday villa is set out in our article VAT on holiday lets in France. The rest, from the personal welcome of every guest to teams available to your guests 24/7, is described in our article on hotel-standard villa management. The rules of each commune are set out on our pages for Agde, Béziers and Sérignan.
Join our collection
Our collection brings together villas chosen one by one. Villa Margot, Villa Juxta Maré and Villa Andria give a sense of it. Each house comes in for what it is: its outdoor spaces, its comfort, its setting and the care it has been given.
If your villa shares these standards, you are welcome to join our collection. We consider every villa personally. We then visit the house with you, with nothing for you to prepare. If it joins the collection, the audit follows, then the management agreement signed online, the photo shoot and, finally, the listing going live. Our frequently asked questions answer the first queries; the next ones we are glad to answer in person.
Information checked on 3 October 2026. Regulations change, notably with the opening of the national registration service.
