Airbnb subletting by a tenant: what French law allows and what you risk as a landlord
A tenant who lists the flat on Airbnb over the holidays, or an operator offering to rent your property in order to sublet it by the night: short-term subletting is everywhere, in Lyon as in the ski resorts. It is nonetheless tightly regulated, and French courts now rule almost systematically in the landlord's favour. Here are the rules to know before you authorise, forbid or take action.
The basic rule: never without your written consent
For a property let as a primary residence, furnished or not, article 8 of the French law of 6 July 1989 leaves no room for doubt: the tenant may sublet only with the landlord's written consent, including on the price. The sublet rent, per square metre, may not exceed the rent the tenant pays. An Airbnb listing published without that authorisation is therefore a breach of contract, even for a few nights and even if the lease says nothing about subletting. The Le Meur law of 19 November 2024 tightened this further: when registering a furnished tourist rental with the town hall, now compulsory in a growing number of communes, a tenant must provide proof of the owner's authorisation. For properties outside the 1989 law, such as a commercial lease or a seasonal let, the contract sets the rule: where it is silent, assume subletting is forbidden and have it spelled out in writing before any dispute arises.
What your tenant risks, and what you can recover
Since a ruling by the Cour de cassation on 12 September 2019, income from unauthorised Airbnb subletting is treated as civil fruits belonging to the owner. In practice, the landlord can demand repayment of every euro the tenant collected, sometimes tens of thousands over a few years, on top of termination of the lease and damages. Lower courts, notably in Paris and Lyon, now apply this case law consistently. To act, you need evidence: screenshots of the listing with dates and prices, guest reviews, a bailiff's report, statements from neighbours or the building manager. The process usually starts with a formal notice, followed by a claim before the judicial court. Be aware, however, that the owner is not entirely shielded. A co-ownership whose rules ban tourist lets, a commune that finds an unlawful change of use, or an insurer discovering an undeclared activity may also turn against the landlord, which is why acting quickly matters so much.
Authorising subletting: rarely the best deal
Some owners prefer to regulate rather than forbid, for instance for a tenant who wants to let the flat during their holidays. It can be done through a lease amendment specifying the period, the number of nights, the authorised platforms and compliance with the primary-residence cap of 120 nights a year, which communes may lower to 90. But the landlord gains nothing financially: the law prevents them from receiving more than the main rent, and it is the tenant who pockets the margin between the monthly rent and nightly rates. The same applies to rent-to-rent offers, where an operator proposes a guaranteed rent in exchange for subletting your property by the night: you carry the regulatory risk and the neighbour complaints, while they keep most of the revenue. If your property suits short-term rental, it is almost always more profitable to take it back yourself, with a property manager running operations for a commission, rather than let a third party capture the difference.
Lyon, Annecy, ski resorts: what to do in your situation
In Lyon and Villeurbanne, vigilance is essential: the student and business clientele makes subletting tempting, and the city actively checks listings without a registration number. If you suspect a tenant, start by searching for your address and photos on the platforms, speak to the building manager and build a file before any confrontation. If you plan to recover the property to let it short-term, first check the co-ownership rules, your commune's change-of-use regime and the lease end date: a notice to repossess or to sell cannot be served in order to run a tourist rental, so you must wait for the tenant to leave or negotiate an amicable departure. In the resorts, where primary-residence leases are rarer, the issue mainly concerns long seasonal leases and seasonal-worker housing; here too, a clear clause prevents disputes. At SmartStay, we support owners who take back their property to turn it into a declared, insured and professionally managed furnished tourist rental.
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