Buy in France where you holiday: rent it most of the year, live there one month (worked numbers and the rules)

In brief. France is the hardest of the Mediterranean-type markets for this plan, because the rules (registration, change of use, the 120-day cap on a main home, co-ownership bans) matter as much as the price. In our illustration a €175,000 studio in Nice earns about €12,766 gross (7.3% of the price, an upper case) and about €6,131 net (3.3% of the outlay) before income tax; your own month in February costs about €300, in August about €1,502. Our own arithmetic on stated assumptions, not market data; facts checked 4 November 2026.

This article is part of the series buy where you holiday, rent it out, live there one month a year. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Three Frances, three answers

"Buy where you holiday" means three very different things in France.

• The Côte d'Azur (Nice, Antibes, Menton). A year-round tourist coast with a long season, but small, expensive flats and a city (Nice) large enough to fall under the strictest change-of-use rules.
• The Alps (Chamonix, the Trois Vallées, Savoie). Winter is the product: the weeks from December to Easter pay for most of the year, so the owner's month is almost always in the quiet part of the year.
• Paris. The deepest market, but a flat that is not your main home cannot normally be let short-term without a change of use that, in Paris, usually requires compensation. For this plan, treat Paris as closed.

The rest of the article follows Nice for the numbers and the Alps for the weeks. The general method is in how to choose your month and calculate break-even.

The rules that decide whether the plan is legal

Read these before the price: the short-term rental rules in France go deeper.

• A declaration and a number. Letting a furnished home to tourists requires a declaration to the town hall, which issues a registration number; in the communes that have adopted the system, which includes most large cities, the platforms require the number on the listing.
• Change of use. In Paris and other large communes (generally above 200,000 inhabitants), letting a second home short-term needs a prior change-of-use authorisation, and in Paris this usually means compensation: converting other space to housing in the same arrondissement. We did not confirm the local rule for Nice, so ask the town hall before you reserve.
• The 120-day cap applies to a main home, not to a second one. A property you really live in can be let for up to 120 days a year; since the 2024 law (loi Le Meur, no. 2024-1039, published 20 November 2024) a commune may lower this to 90 days. A flat you buy as a holiday home is not your main home, so the cap does not apply to it, but the declaration and change-of-use rules do. The cap is not a licence to let a second home freely.
• Co-ownership. Since the 2024 law a co-ownership may write into its rules a ban on tourist lets in flats that are not the occupier's main home. We did not confirm the majority required, so read the rules and the last general-meeting minutes before you buy: see licences, building rules and insurance.
• Energy rating. A home rated G can no longer be let under a new lease since 1 January 2025, F follows on 1 January 2028 and E on 1 January 2034 (our yield article). One source says tourist lets in tight zones need an A–E rating; we did not confirm it.
• Fines. A source quoted a civil fine of up to €15,000 for breaching a commune's limit; treat it as unconfirmed.

Nice: the numbers

The example is a 35 m² studio for €175,000, about €5,000 per m² (portal asking prices of €4,850–5,000 and a valuation-site average of €5,245 in our France budget guide). Purchase costs 7.5% (inside the 7–8.5% of that guide), so €13,125 on top and an outlay of €188,125. See France property prices and buying costs.

Assumptions (ours, illustrative): short lets all year. Occupancy and nightly rates by month: January 30% at €42, February 35% at €45, March 40% at €48, April 50% at €58, May 58% at €65, June 65% at €75, July 72% at €90, August 75% at €95, September 62% at €72, October 52% at €58, November 38% at €45, December 48% at €56. A manager takes 20% of the revenue, running costs are 12%, fixed costs are €2,550 (property tax €1,100, building charges €1,200, insurance €250).

Result for twelve months of letting: gross €12,766 (7.3% of the price), net €6,131, or 3.3% of the outlay, before income tax. The gross figure is above the 4.5–6% that aggregators report for Nice and well below what platform trackers imply (AirROI reports about $190 a night at 45.7% occupancy for the city, AirDNA about 67%, Airbtics 74%); the trackers cover larger and better-placed flats than a studio at this price, and the methods differ. Read it as an upper case, and the net as before income tax: a non-resident pays French income tax on this rent, and the combined burden in our yield article is roughly 27.5–37.5% of taxable income. In the simplified micro-BIC regime an unclassified tourist let has a 30% allowance (minimum €305) and a revenue ceiling of €15,000 from income year 2025; a classified one has 50% and a ceiling of €77,700. Whether a non-resident can use the regime is a question for a French adviser.

Which month for yourself, and what it costs

Net result if you take one month for yourself and let the other eleven (fixed costs do not change):

• January: gross rent €391, you give up about €266; 5,865 net a year (3.1% of the outlay).
• February: gross rent €441, you give up about €300; 5,831 net a year (3.1% of the outlay).
• April: gross rent €870, you give up about €592; 5,539 net a year (2.9% of the outlay).
• October: gross rent €935, you give up about €636; 5,495 net a year (2.9% of the outlay).
• June: gross rent €1,463, you give up about €995; 5,136 net a year (2.7% of the outlay).
• July: gross rent €2,009, you give up about €1,366; 4,765 net a year (2.5% of the outlay).
• August: gross rent €2,209, you give up about €1,502; 4,629 net a year (2.5% of the outlay).

On the coast the gap between months is smaller than on the Adriatic, because Nice has demand through the year (January is the low in every tracker we found, the peak is between July and September). That is the good news: a February or October stay costs a few hundred euros. August costs about €1,502, around a quarter of the year's net. See running a holiday home from afar.

What breaks the model

The same studio with weaker assumptions, twelve months of letting, net before income tax:

• Base case: €6,131 (3.3%).
• Occupancy 10 points lower in every month: €4,578 (2.4%).
• Nightly rates 10% lower: €5,263 (2.8%).
• Both together: €3,865 (2.1%).
• A manager at 25% instead of 20%: €5,493 (2.9%).

Because the fixed costs of a French flat (property tax, building charges) are paid whatever the occupancy, a weaker year hits the net much harder than the gross. After income tax at a combined rate of roughly 27.5–37.5% the result is lower again.

The Alps: weeks, not months

A ski flat is a different model. Knight Frank's guide describes the Alpine letting season as having grown from 10–15 weeks a decade ago to around 30 weeks today, and for Chamonix suggests about 20 winter weeks (December to Easter) and 10 more across the rest of the year. Its example: a three-bedroom chalet worth about €1 million, let for 30 weeks, grosses about €80,000 and nets about €40,000 before tax. The guide also says there is no limit on the nights a second home can be let in the French Alps, subject to the way you own it. That leaves about 22 weeks that are free, so you can take your month in June or September without touching the winter.

Developers sell "leaseback" in the Trois Vallées with returns of 3.6–5.2% and up to 8 owner weeks a year (listings for Les Menuires). These are sellers' claims; read guaranteed rental schemes: the catch before you sign. The owner's winter weeks are usually the most expensive ones.

Compared with a long let

The quieter alternative is a long let of a flat you will use only in your own month, or no letting at all. Our yield article puts Nice at roughly 4.5–6% gross and Marseille at about 5.4%, which after costs is closer to 3.4–3.9% before income tax; the gross figure of 7.3% for Nice short lets in our illustration is higher because short lets earn more per night and cost more to run. The return does not make this plan; the location and your own month do. If you want a month on the coast every year and a flat that covers most of its costs, this is realistic; if you want yield, Marseille, Montpellier or Grenoble are better places for a long let.

Taxes and costs in short

• Rent is taxed in France even if you live abroad (rates and social charges in the yield article); the treatment of your own days is in taxes on the rent and on your own days.
• Buying costs of 7–8.5% are normal for a resale (notary fees and transfer duties). The property tax averaged about €1,070 in 2026.
• When you sell, see capital gains tax on a property sale in France.
• Check the resale checklist and the co-ownership minutes. Furnishing and linen are described in what guests expect.

Mistakes we see

• Buying in a large city for short lets without checking change of use.
• Treating the 120-day cap as a licence for a second home; it is a rule for a main home.
• Ignoring the co-ownership rules and the last meeting minutes.
• Buying a cheap flat with a poor energy label (G, F) that can no longer be let.
• Taking the best-case yield from a tracker for the whole year.
• Forgetting that the owner's August is the most expensive month.

Checklist before you buy

• The town hall: declaration, registration number, change of use for your address.
• The co-ownership rules, the last three meeting minutes and the works planned.
• The energy rating and the cost to improve it.
• A realistic calendar and the net with your own month, before and after income tax.
• A manager with an owner-stay clause: how to block your month.
• A French notary and, if you are not resident, a tax adviser: notary or lawyer.

FAQ

Can I let my second home in France for as long as I want? Not freely. You need the declaration and number, possibly a change of use in a large commune, and the co-ownership must not forbid it. The 120-day cap is for a main home.

Does the 120-day rule apply to a flat I use for one month a year? No, that flat is a second home; the rules that apply to it are registration, change of use and the building's rules.

Is Paris realistic for this plan? Generally not, because of the change-of-use and compensation requirement.

Which month is cheapest to take? On the coast January to March; in the Alps June or September, outside the ski weeks.

What about the tax on the rent? France taxes it even if you live abroad, with a combined burden roughly between 27.5% and 37.5% for EU or EEA residents in our yield article; ask a French adviser about your case.