Tourist let or seasonal let in France: what does your villa fall under?

By the Mademoiselle team 3 October 2026 5 min read

A laptop on a wooden table, its screen showing a beach, a straw parasol and two sun loungers

If you own a villa in France and plan to let it to holiday guests, you will meet two French expressions: location saisonnière (seasonal let) and meublé de tourisme (tourist furnished let). They sound alike and are often used for one another. They come from different laws, and it is the second that decides your formalities. Here is how to tell them apart, from the official sources.

What is the difference?

Location saisonnière is a notion from the Hoguet law, which regulates the property profession. It describes how you let: for a short period, 90 consecutive days at most, not renewable (Légifrance, in French).

Meublé de tourisme comes from the Tourism Code. It describes what the house is in the eyes of the law: a furnished villa, apartment or studio, for the exclusive use of the guest, offered to passing visitors who do not make it their home, for stays by the day, week or month. The State’s practical guide of September 2025 treats the two terms as generally equivalent, but recommends “meublé de tourisme”, which is the term of the Tourism Code (guide, in French).

Does my villa qualify?

Three criteria, which an exceptional villa meets naturally:

Exclusive use. The villa is let in full: you are not there during the stay.
Passing guests. Our guests come to stay, not to live. That is what separates a tourist let from a residential lease.
A short stay. By the day, week or month, never more than 90 consecutive days for one guest.

A minimum of furnishings is also required, including bedding, hob, fridge and crockery. A villa of this kind goes far beyond it.

Three levels not to confuse

Seasonal let: the way of letting, for a short stay.
Tourist furnished let: the legal status of the house. Declaration, registration number and tourist tax attach to it.
Classified tourist furnished let: one to five stars, a voluntary step valid for five years.

A villa is a tourist furnished let as soon as it fits the Tourism Code definition, classified or not. The classification does not change the declaration duties or the registration number. Our article on the star rating sets out its effects.

What applies to your villa?

Declaration at the town hall (mairie). Until the national online service opens, a villa that is not your main home is declared at the town hall of the commune: either a simple declaration (Cerfa form no. 14004) or a declaration with a registration number, depending on the commune.
National registration. The law of 19 November 2024 makes it general. When the national service opens, announced for the fourth quarter of 2026, it will be compulsory everywhere and will no longer go through the town hall. Each villa will receive a number to show on its listing: see our article on the registration number.
Main home. A main home may be let for no more than 120 days per calendar year, with exceptions, and a commune may lower that ceiling, though not below 90 days. A second home is not subject to that limit.
For every stay. A written rental contract signed in two copies, and a description of the property given on request before signing (Service-Public, in French).
Tourist tax (taxe de séjour). Collected from guests, then paid over to the commune or the group of communes. For a classified villa the amount is fixed, per person and per night; for an unclassified one it is a percentage of the nightly price per person, from 1 to 5%, capped.

Some communes add rules of their own: your town hall will tell you which apply.

What we do for you, under a mandate

French law reserves letting and property management for others to holders of a professional card, and asks for a written agreement, the mandate. Mademoiselle Conciergerie is an estate agency holding that card (transactions and management); our article on the carte G explains what that means for you.

Under the mandate, we declare the villa at the town hall, then collect the tourist tax from our guests and pay it over. National registration the law entrusts to the owner “in person”: we prepare the file with you, then add the number to each of your listings. Your tax matters stay your own: your tax adviser is the right person, as every situation is different. VAT, which applies to some villas, is explained in our article on VAT on holiday lets, and the year’s dates in our tax calendar.

The local rules for your commune are on our pages for Agde, Béziers and Sérignan.