Change of use and quotas: French mayors' new powers over short-term rentals
Since the Loi Le Meur, it is no longer only Paris or Lyon that regulate furnished tourist rentals: any town can now require change-of-use authorisation, set quotas or reserve areas for main residences. Councils often vote these rules at the end of the year. Here is what every owner should check before winter.
What does change of use actually mean?
Legally, a home has a residential use. Letting it repeatedly for short stays to transient guests who do not make it their home amounts to changing its use under the French Construction and Housing Code. Where the town has activated this mechanism, the mayor's prior authorisation is required before the property can be let as a holiday rental. A main residence remains outside the scheme, within the 90-nights-a-year limit, so the rule targets second homes and properties bought for short-term letting. Change of use is separate from the registration number, which identifies the furnished rental, and from the co-ownership rules, which may also restrict the activity. These are three independent locks: having one does not exempt you from the others, and change of use is the one most often overlooked when buying. Checking all three before signing protects both your income and the resale value of the property.
What the Loi Le Meur changed for towns
Until 2024, change-of-use authorisation was mandatory in large cities and could only be introduced elsewhere under specific conditions. The law of 19 November 2024 opened this tool to every town that wants it, by a simple council resolution. It also allows towns to cap the number of authorisations, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and to designate areas in the local urban plan where new buildings must be main residences. Mayors can also lower the annual letting limit for main residences to as little as 90 days. In the high-pressure areas of the Alps and around the lakes, several local authorities have started using these powers to protect housing for permanent residents and seasonal workers. The result is a very patchy landscape: two neighbouring towns can apply completely different rules, which is why checking the resolution in force locally is essential before buying, renovating or listing a property.
Temporary authorisation or compensation: the two regimes
In practice, towns often distinguish between two situations. Temporary authorisation, personal and time-limited, is generally reserved for private individuals letting a small number of properties; it is not attached to the home and lapses if the property is sold. Compensation, a heavier regime, requires converting an equivalent floor area into housing, often a shop or office, in the same area. This is the regime applied to investors and companies in the most pressured districts, such as central Lyon. The cost of compensation can represent a significant share of the purchase price, which completely changes the yield calculation. Penalties are a real deterrent: fines of up to €50,000 per home converted without authorisation, plus daily penalties until it returns to residential use. Inspections have increased as registration numbers are cross-checked against listings published on the platforms, so non-compliant listings are now far easier to spot.
Your action plan before winter
Start by checking your town hall's website and the latest council resolutions: introduction of change of use, quotas, length of authorisations. If your property is a second home let regularly, make sure you hold the required authorisation and note its expiry date so you can plan the renewal. If you are planning a purchase, make this check a precondition, just like the co-ownership rules and the energy performance certificate: a property that cannot obtain authorisation is not worth the same price. Finally, keep all your supporting documents, including your registration number, as you will be asked for them during an inspection or on resale. At SmartStay, we check the regulatory status of every property before it goes live, follow local changes across Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Lyon, and alert our owners as soon as a town changes its rules, so your winter bookings are never put at risk.
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