Legal framework for guest rooms in France

The guest rooms’ activity grows very fast at the moment and is part of the hosting activity in the French tourism especially in the countryside. The French tourism’s code now defines the legal framework related to the guest rooms renting activity in order to improve consumer’s protection and adhere to competition fairness rules.

Guest rooms renting activity definition :
The guest rooms renting activity consists in hosting tourists against payment in furnished rooms which are part of your home for one or several nights with mandatory services. This guest rooms renting activity is limited to a maximum of 5 guest rooms for a total hosting capacity of 15 people maximum.

It includes the night spent and the breakfast. Guest rooms are located in the owner’s main or secondary home (main or ancillary building) and the reception must be physically ensured by the owner.

Guest rooms must be in accordance with the following comfort characteristics :

• Give access to a bathroom and toilets
• Be in accordance with the current regulation in terms of hygiene, security and health
• The guest room renting provides at least bed sheets

The use of the name “guest rooms” is now reserved to the guest room’s activity aforementioned. Therefore an owner renting more than 5 rooms or hosting more than 15 people cannot use the “guest rooms” designation.

Town Hall declaration process
Any individual who wants to exercise this guest rooms renting activity after the 4th of August 2007 must perform a Town Hall declaration before opening his activity.

Any individual who exercised this guest rooms renting activity before the 4th of August 2007 (3 August 2007 decree publication date in the Journal Officiel) must perform a Town Hall declaration on the 31st of December 2007 at the latest after put his guest rooms in accordance with the new regulation. The renting declaration of one or several guest rooms is to be addressed to the Town Hall of the city in question either by email, by registered letter or physical delivery.

The declaration mentions the declarant’s identity, the owner’s home identification, the guest room’s number, the maximum of hosts who can be hosted and the guest rooms renting periods. Any change related to these pieces of information inside the declaration must be done in a new declaration.

The CERFA Town Hall declaration form concerning guest rooms renting activity can be downloaded from www.tourisme.gouv.fr or directly accessible from Town Halls. It has a part for the declaration and a part for the guest rooms renting opening declaration receipt.

To ensure better consumer information the declared guest rooms list will be available from Town Halls.

Reminder of few regulations applicable to the guest rooms renting activity : Whether qualified as guest room renting (in accordance with the characteristics of guest rooms renting activity definition from 3 August 2007 decree) or not (especially the renting of more than five rooms or hosting of more than fifteen people) the guest rooms renting activity follows several regulations :

• Fiscal (income tax, tourist tax, corporate tax, property taxes...)
• Social (contributions and subscriptions)
• Health and security (fire, alcohol licence)
• Fairness towards consumers (prices display, invoice delivery...)
• Registration at the “Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés” (RCS)

It is often according to the situation that regulations are applicable to guest rooms renting activity :

• Depending on the regular or exceptional nature of the guest rooms renting activity and on the owner status concerning the RCS registration
• Depending on hosts number
• Depending on the guest rooms renting activity income for the choice of fiscal situation