HOTEL REGUALTIONS IN FRANCE

[Janiner]

Can anybody help? We are looking at buying a small (12 bedrooms) hotel in the Cantal region and we'd like to know more details about the legal requirements for small hotels. Eg. fire safety, hygiene, provision for disabled guests, toilets etc etc. These are all very strict in the UK but we're struggling to find any 'hard facts' for France. We don't want to buy it and then face a HUGE bill for fire escapes etc etc that we didn't know were needed!!

[Miki]

LAST EDITED ON 12-May-04 AT 04:54 PM (BST)

Hi,

You will need some very serious advice. I do not want to demean anyone, sauf hotel owners but anyone buying a hotel needs official legal advice and this forum, although brilliant for the most part, cannot gaurantee what they are saying is legally binding for your hotel needs.

Take note that the world and their Auntie will need to inspect your hotel before you can even start work on your plans, then an inspection by one and all before opening and all of this is very stringent.

That is all part of the reason why hotels can be picked up fairly cheaply on the French market, you must ask the question, why is it beong sold and how up is the hotel on up to date regulations?

I watched a friend go through nearly 5 years of hell and beaurocracy. All this, even though the family spoke fluent French. It went on for what seemed an age before they finally got the authorities off their backs and could run the business without interference from jumped up sad officials. They saw more courts than Perry Mason in the end.

One small reason for large problems was them using Belgian carpets instead of French and the French were importing them as French hotel standard carpet and given the infamous NF stamp of approval !! Story (ies) too long to tell.

Just be wary and go through it all word by word.

Miki