Rules of a holiday rental between individuals (furnished tourism)

Verified 20 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

The rental of a furnished accommodation by a holidaymaker must comply with certain rules, including the conclusion of a rental contract. We present you the main rules that the renter and the customer of a furnished tourism must respect.

Before signing the rental contract, the lessor must give the future customer who requests it, a descriptive state furnished tourist accommodation. This written document must contain the following information:

  • The address of the furnished accommodation
  • The name and contact details of the renter
  • The situation of furnished tourist accommodation in the municipality (e.g. distance from shops)
  • The description of the furnished accommodation (house or apartment, number of rooms...), the furniture and equipment it contains
  • The rental price, its payment terms (amount of down payment or deposit, payment of the balance), as well as the amount of the charges if it is not included in the rental price
  • If they exist, the amount of tourist tax and the amount of security deposit
  • If it exists, the registration number communicated by the town hall, as well as the status of the landlord (renter in furnished professional or non-professional furnished rental).

FYI  

The renter freely sets the price of the rental.

The reservation of a furnished tourist accommodation must be the subject of a rental contract written.

The rental contract must be signed in 2 copies. The lessor must keep one copy, the customer must keep the other.

The lease agreement must contain the following information:

  • Name and contact details of the lessor
  • Customer name and contact information
  • Address of the tourist furnished apartment
  • Duration of the rental
  • Dates and times of arrival and departure of the customer
  • Description of the place (location, number of rooms, living space...), inventory of furniture, equipment and services (parking, swimming pool...).)
  • Rental price, terms of payment (including the deposit or depositand the payment of the balance), as well as the amount of the charges if it is not included in the rental price
  • If it exists, the registration number of tourist accommodation, and the status of the lessor (renter in furnished professional or non-professional furnished rental)
  • If it exists, the classification of furnished tourism
  • If available, the estimated amount of the tourist tax
  • If available, the amount of the security deposit, its method and time limit for return
  • If there is, the amount of the intermediary's remuneration (e.g. real estate agency)
  • If it exists, the insurance required of the client
  • If there is, the maximum number of occupants allowed in the furnished tourist accommodation
  • If it applies, the indication that the presence of an animal is prohibited in the tourist furnished
  • The conditions of cancelation of the reservation. If nothing is indicated in the contract, the cancelation conditions to be respected are those provided by the regulations.

Reminder

The renter freely sets the price of the rental.

There is no legal insurance obligation for furnished tourist accommodation intended for seasonal rental.

However, it is strongly recommended that both the renter and the customer take out a insurance adapted to protect against possible claims.

The renter may choose to indicate in the rental contract that the presence of any animal in the furnished accommodation is prohibited.

At the signing of the rental contract, the renter of the furnished accommodation can ask the customer to pay him a security deposit (sometimes called by mistake bond).

The lessor can collect the security deposit.

At the end of the rental, the lessor must return the security deposit in accordance with the conditions laid down in the rental contract.

The lessor may then reduce the security deposit to be returned by the following amounts:

  • Amount of water, heating and electricity consumption, if the lease agreement so provides
  • Amount intended to pay for repairs related to damage caused by the customer (excluding dilapidated or case of force majeure). In return, the customer may require proof of the costs charged to him.

In the event that the security deposit is not sufficient, the lessor may require the customer to pay an additional sum.

Making an inventory of the entry and an inventory of the exit when renting a furnished tourism is not mandatory, but recommended.

We have to do them contradictory, i.e. in the presence of the lessor and the customer, in writing, and in 2 copies. The lessor must keep one copy, the customer must keep the other.

In particular, the inventory of entry must mention all the items that do not match the description furnished tourist accommodation. It must be accompanied by a detailed inventory furniture and objects made available to the customer.

Compare the state of entry and the state of exit avoids disputes, at the end of the rental, when the security deposit is to be returned.

Warning  

If an inventory has been made at the entrance, but not at the exit, the customer can be considered responsible for damage after his departure.

When booking the furnished accommodation, the renter may require the customer to pay him a part of the rental price, in the form of of deposit or deposit. It is for the lessor to protect himself against a possible withdrawal of the customer.

The client or the renter can cancel the reservation for various reasons (family unforeseen events, accident...).)

The rental contract may mention the cancelation conditions by the renter or by the customer.

If nothing is indicated in the rental agreement, the following conditions apply:

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Cancelation by the customer

It all depends on the nature of the amount paid at the time of booking:

  • If it is of deposits, the customer must abandon them. But this rule does not apply in case of force majeurethe customer is then entitled to a refund of the amount paid.
  • If it is a down payment, the customer must pay the full price of the rental, unless the furnished tourist accommodation has been rented. This rule does not apply in the case of force majeurethe customer is then entitled to a refund of the amount paid.

Cancelation by the lessor

It all depends on the nature of the amount paid at the time of booking:

  • If it is of deposits, the lessor must return twice that amount to the customer. But this rule does not apply in case of force majeurethe lessor is then entitled to retain the amount paid to him.
  • If it is a down payment, the lessor must reimburse the customer and compensate him for any moral damage. But this rule does not apply in case of force majeurethe lessor is then entitled to retain the amount paid to him.

If the furnished accommodation does not conform to the description in the rental contract, and therefore the customer does not stay in the furnished accommodation, the customer must ask the renter for a refund of the rental price. For this, it is advisable to send a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

As part of an amicable approach, it is possible to request the intervention of a conciliator of justice.

But the customer also has the possibility to enter the Dreets: titleContent or the DGCCRF: titleContent, or to engage a legal proceedings.

Who shall I contact

  • If you wish to report a difficulty encountered with a merchant

    On the internet

    You can use the site Conso Signal.

    The DGCCRF and the merchant concerned will be informed of your approach.

    By phone

    0809,540,550

    Number not overtaxed

    Opening hours:

    • Monday and Tuesday: from 8.30am to 12.30pm and from 1.15pm to 5.15pm
    • Wednesday: 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm
    • Thursday: from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
    • Friday: from 8:30 am to 4 pm

    By post

    DGCCRF - ReplyConso - BP 60 - 34935 Montpellier Cedex 9

The lessor can use different solutions to repair the damage caused by the customer.

These may include:

  • Use the security deposit to pay the repair works,
  • Make a declaration of loss to the insurance,
  • Engage in an amicable approach with the client, if necessary with the intervention of a conciliator of justice,
  • Engage a legal proceedings against the customer.

FYI  

The customer has the obligation to use the tourist furniture reasonably, and to take responsibility for the damage it has caused (excluding dilapidated or case of force majeure).

The customer who keeps in the furnished accommodation without the permission of the renter and when the rental has ended is a squatter. Steps must be taken to evict or forcibly evacuate the squatter. It is forbidden to force the squatter to leave the premises by oneself.

FYI  

In case of squat, the winter truce does not apply. The eviction or forced evacuation of the squatter can take place at any time of the year.

To obtain the eviction or forced evacuation of the squatter, 2 types of procedure are possible: the accelerated procedure or, otherwise, the procedure before the judge.

Accelerated procedure

The person whose home is squatted (tenant or owner-occupier) or a person acting on his behalf or the owner of the squatted dwelling may apply forced evacuation squatters.

For this, the applicant must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Prove that housing is his home or its property, for example by means of invoices, tax documents, a certificate provided by a neighbor
  • Prove that the accommodation has been rented as furnished accommodation (registration number of the furnished accommodation, rental agreement...))
  • Make it known by a judicial police officer or by the mayor or by a commissioner of justice (formerly judicial officer), accommodation is squatted (keeping in the premises at the end of the rental contract).

Before starting the procedure:

FYI  

If the owner cannot prove his right to property because he no longer has access to his dwelling, the prefect of department, within 72 hours, asks the tax administration to tell him to whom the squatted dwelling belongs.

Who shall I contact

Then, the applicant shall address the prefect of department so that formal notice squatters to leave the accommodation. The applicant may instruct a lawyer to draft the application to the prefect of the department.

The prefect of the department makes his decision taking into account the personal and family situation of the squatter. It must make its decision within 48 hours of receiving the request.

FYI  

In case of refusal, the prefect of department must indicate the reason for this refusal.

The formal notice indicates the period within which squatters are obliged to leave the dwelling. In the case of a squatted home, the delay is at least 24 hours, but in other cases, the delay is at least 7 days.

The formal notice is:

  • notified squatters,
  • displayed in the town hall and on the building concerned,
  • notified to the applicant (optional).

If the squatters do not vacate the premises within the prescribed period, the prefect of the department must evacuate the accommodation without delay by the police, unless the applicant has objected.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their forced evacuation can take place throughout the year.

Before the judge

The owner can request the expulsion of squatters.

For this, he must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Take a lawyer who will refer the matter to the judge (i.e. ask the judge to authorize the expulsion of the squatters and order them to pay compensation for occupancy of the premises)
  • Prove than housing belongs to him (title deed, tax documents, invoices...))
  • Prove that the accommodation has been rented as furnished accommodation (registration number of the furnished accommodation, rental agreement...))
  • Prove that housing is squatted (keeping in the premises at the end of the rental contract). For this, it is recommended to load a commissioner of justice to go to the site to draw up a report

The lawyer must seize for interim measures the protection litigation judge on which the squatted housing depends.

The owner must then instruct a commissioner of justice to send the squatters a summons to the hearing (assignment).

Please note

At the hearing, the landlord has the right to obtain the eviction of squatters, without entering into a discussion about the right to respect for their private and family life, or their right to occupy decent housing.

The owner must appoint a commissioner of justice to signify to the squatters the judgment rendered.

If the squatters do not leave the dwelling within one month of service, the owner must instruct a commissioner of justice to deliver to the squatters a command to leave the premises.

As soon as the Commissioner of Justice has issued the command to leave the premises, squatters must leave the accommodation, they can not benefit from any delay.

In the event that the squatters remain in the dwelling, the commissioner of justice must ask the prefect of the department for the assistance of the public force to evict them from the dwelling.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their deportation can take place throughout the year.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • DGCCRF 0809 540 550 - ResponseConso

    Are you having a problem following a purchase? Do you have a question about a point of law before buying or ordering?

    You can get an answer from an agent of the DGCCRF: titleContent by calling the 0809,540,550.

    Opening hours of the service:

    Number not overtaxed

    • Monday and Tuesday: from 8.30am to 12.30pm and from 1.15pm to 5.15pm
    • Wednesday: 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm
    • Thursday: from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
    • Friday: from 8:30 am to 4 pm

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