Is it best to rent long term or short term seasonal rentals ?

The main advantage of seasonal rentals is to lessen the risk of having a tenant who stops paying rent and that you cannot evict under the highly protective laws in France for long term tenants. Other advantages in a touristic area such as the South of France, is to generate as much income as a long term yearly rental in a much shorter duration of 2 to 4 months, which enables the owner to make use of the property the other months in the low season.

What is the tax rate on rental income ?

Short term furnished rentals of less than 3 months are taxed less than long term unfurnished rentals. In all cases you pay 17% social charges plus income tax. Income tax naturally varies on your tax band, but with seasonal rentals you get a 50% tax deduction Vs. 30% in the case of long term rentals. If you register your short term rental with the mairie as a “location meublé” you get an even better tax deduction of 71% ! A minor additional tax on seasonal rentals is the taxe de séjour.

Who can help manage short term rental of my property ?

The easy way is to delegate all the work to one agent, both in finding the holiday tenants and in managing changeovers, and for this the agent’s will usually charge between 25-30% of the rental. To lower these costs, it is quite easy to find tenants now through internet rental sites such as Airbnb, Amivac or Homeaway, and then find a reliable individual to manage the changeovers. Smartfinder Home can advise and help owners find suitable agents & individuals to do this.

Which areas in the South of France give the best ROI on a property investment ?

The best areas are dynamic towns like Cannes and Nice that enable you to rent an apartment with up to 6% gross return for a 50% occupancy. This compares with villas inland that get rented usually for only the 2 summer months and provide around 3% gross rental return.   

How can I find the best rental property ?

At Smartfinder Home we have advised and helped clients find good rental properties across all the French Riviera and the Var, and not having our own portfolio of properties to sell means we can give you objective advice on the best areas and most popular properties within those areas.