Holiday Rentals

[Viki]

Hi There

I have just found this forum and after several months of reading books about relocating to France, there are still a few questions that my books don't appear to be answering.

We are moving to Normandy in the next few months (fingers crossed the sale of our house goes through!) and have a place to live at my parents house.  Our plan is to find a house, fairly close to theirs, to rent out as a holiday home.  I ruled out long lets!

Although I can see there are a lot of legal requirements with long term lets, the books /articles I have read do not have anything about holiday lets. Are there any legal requirements associated with this?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

 

[nimportequoi]

I don't think there are any legal requirements as such, except for swimming pools. However, if you join an organisation such as Gites de France or Clévacances, there are rules regarding the accommodation that have to be adhered to, but they will give you details of this. If you choose to be independent, you will need to have your own rental terms and conditions which can be applied in a French court of law, plus insurance for responsibilité civile which your insurance company should be able to organise for you. Most of the insurance companies in France do not cover you for damage done by guests - some do, but the premium is quite high I believe. If you choose not to have this, you need to make sure you take a good security deposit from guests and make them aware that it is their personal insurance which is necessary to cover damage in excess of the security deposit.

[Quillan]

Actually there are legal requirments a copy of which can be aquired from the Ministere De L'Economie des Finances et de L'Industrie. These are legal requirments to which Gite de France and Clévacances add and are as follows. (Please note this is a litteral translation so the grammar is not the best)

“Les Locations Saisonnières en Meubles” is regarded as a seasonal hiring the hiring of a building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room) for the maximum duration of ninety consecutive days and not renewable.

General provisions

GLAZED ANNOUNCE

You may choose any method of advertising or combinations of advertising you wish.

Your advertisement must be describe honestly and precisely including it’s location and facilities (proximity of the sea, ski slopes etc), and should also include the number of rooms and if it is furnished (by this they mean bedding).

Caution

An inaccurate advertisement is illegal.

(W67-128 Decree of February 14 1967)

Any person who offers the seasonal hiring of a building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room) and provides obviously incorrect information in their advertising is liable to a fine of 3750 Euros, which can reach 7500 Euros in the event of repetition.

The descriptive state

Before signing the hiring agreement you are obliged to give to the future tenant a description of the current state of the building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room) according to the standard for given form. This description must describe the basic condition of the building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room) and should be suplimented with a list of bedding (where appropriate), kitchen equipment and the conditions of insurance. It should also describe the locality of the nearest shops and other basic facilities such as public transportation, doctor etc.

Caution

The absence of such a description is liable to a fine up to and including 1500 Euros.

(R113-1 Article of the code of the consummation).

To find the standard form on the Internet www.minefi.gouv.fr/DGCCRF/0_dossiers/concurrence/fichespro/2location.pdf

­DOWN PAYMENT OR DEPOSIT?

To ensure the reservation you agree with your future tenant the payment of either a down payment or a deposit on the total price of the hiring.

How will you name this payment?

The down payment is where the tenant pays by several payments till the total is reached.

A deposit is where the value of the hiring is split in to two parts one of which is paid to secure the hiring.

What occurs to this payment if the reservation is cancelled?

By the tenant.

In the case of a down payment the tenant looses and payments already made.

In the case of a deposit the tenant is liable to the total of the two parts except in the event that is beyond their control.

By the Hirer? :

In the case of down payments the hirer must return double the payments already received.

In the event of a deposit must return the deposit and may be asked for compensation.

The contract.

The contract of hiring must be written.

Any offer or seasonal hiring must take the written form and must contain the price and a description of the building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room). (article L.324-2 of the code tourism).

The contract must be given to the tenant prior to them taking possession of the building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room).

The contract should be dated and contain both yours and the tenant’s names and addresses and the address of the building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room). It should also contain the duration of the hiring. The note should be produced in duplicate and you must retain a copy for two years.

Caution

The absence of a contract or the failing to keep a copy for two years will result in a fine capable of reaching 15,000 Euros. (Article L.312-3 of code tourism)

classification

To develop your hiring, you can ask for the classification of your building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room)

How to obtain a classification?

You should contact either your mayor, the office of tourism or your local prefecture.

SAFETY

You must take care that anything you have installed in your building (apartment, villa, bungalow, room) meets current conformity.

general safety

Ensure periodical inspections of the significant points as regards safety of electrical and gas appliances, swimming pools, adventure playgrounds etc by a person who is suitably qualified to carry out such inspections. You should preserve evidence of these checks.

You should immediately carry out any works that are mentioned during the inspections and preserve proof of these works.

Caution

Your must be commiyed to your responsibility.

Beds

If you hire bed linen you must guarantee that they answer safety requirements.

You are required to reproduced in a visible way all safety notices on the bed. This should state that the bed conforms to current safety regulations and that the bed height is not appropriate for a child of less than 6 years.

Bed linen

Articles of bed linen (cushions, pillows, feather beds, eiderdowns and mattress covers.), must have satisfied the tests of in flammability.

Check that the products which you use in your hiring carry at the time of purchase the term "conforms to the requirements of the W2000-164 decree".