🇫🇷 France · market guide 2026

Buying a holiday home in France: yield, taxes and rental rules

France offers everything from Paris apartments to Alpine chalets and Provence farmhouses. Demand is deep, but acquisition costs are high and the 2024 Le Meur law tightened both night caps and tax breaks. This guide gives you the numbers investors actually need for France — typical yields, acquisition costs, rental income tax and the short-term rental (STR) rules — plus a free calculator and Terrivio's automated analysis for any SeLoger and Leboncoin listing.

Free yield calculator

Adjust the inputs — results update instantly. Defaults reflect a typical listing in this market.

Purchase price (€)
€280,000
Acquisition costs (%)
8.0%
Average nightly rate (€)
€140
Occupancy (%)
58%
Variable costs (% of revenue)
25%
Fixed costs per year (€)
€4,800
Gross yield
10.6%
Net yield
5.8%
Gross annual revenue
€29,680 (212 booked nights)
Net operating income
€17,460 per year
Monthly cashflow (before financing)
€1,455 per month
Break-even occupancy
13%

Net yield = NOI ÷ (price + acquisition costs). No mortgage assumed; add your own financing.

What does a holiday rental in France earn?

Across the markets Terrivio tracks, gross yields in France typically range from 4–7% and net yields from 1.5–4% after operating costs and acquisition costs. The spread between the two is the whole story: platform fees, cleaning, management, utilities, insurance and local taxes usually consume 35–50% of gross revenue.

Worked example: a €280,000 property at €140 per night and 58% occupancy books about 212 nights and grosses roughly €29,680 a year (10.6% gross yield). After 25% variable costs and €4,800 fixed costs, NOI is about €17,460 — a net yield of 5.8% on the total investment of €302,400.

Purchase costs and taxes in France

Budget roughly 8% on top of the asking price for acquisition costs. The main component is the ≈7–8% notary & duties (resale) · 2–3% (new-build). These costs are sunk on day one, which is why Terrivio divides NOI by the total investment — not the asking price — to compute net yield.

Rental income falls under micro-BIC (30% allowance for unclassified rentals, capped at €15,000; 50% for classified) or the réel regime with depreciation (LMNP). Social charges of 17.2% apply on top of income tax for non-residents.

Tourist tax: €0.65–15 per night + 10–25% departmental surcharge. It is normally collected from guests but affects your competitive nightly rate.

Short-term rental rules in France

Every meublé de tourisme needs a registration number. Primary residences may be let 120 nights a year (mayors can cut this to 90); secondary homes in Paris and many large cities require a change-of-use permit, often with compensation.

Regulation is the biggest single risk in European STR investing. Terrivio's risk score weights regulatory risk at 25% and flags night caps, licence requirements and enforcement intensity for every analysed listing.

Where to look: cities and portals in France

Popular short-term rental locations include Paris, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux, Annecy and Chamonix. Each has a different seasonality profile — Terrivio shows the 12-month revenue curve so you can see how much of the year carries the return.

Listings are mostly published on SeLoger, Leboncoin, Bien'ici and PAP. Terrivio reads these portals directly: paste the listing URL and the pipeline extracts price, size, rooms and location automatically.

How to analyse a France listing with Terrivio

  1. Copy the listing URL. Open the property on SeLoger or another supported portal and copy the address bar URL.
  2. Paste it into Terrivio. Terrivio scrapes the listing, geocodes the address and pulls market ADR and occupancy for the segment (property type, bedrooms, location).
  3. Review yield and cashflow. You get gross and net yield, NOI, monthly cashflow, break-even occupancy and 10-year IRR — using France-specific acquisition costs and taxes.
  4. Check risk, tax and rules. The report shows the 10-dimension risk score, the recommended tax regime for France and the STR rules that apply to the exact city.

Frequently asked questions

Is a holiday home in France a good investment in 2026?

It depends on the micro-location and on regulation. Typical net yields are 1.5–4%; the best results come from locations with year-round demand and clear licensing. Always model the net figure, not the gross.

How much are purchase costs in France?

Plan for roughly 8% of the price: ≈7–8% notary & duties (resale) · 2–3% (new-build), plus notary, registry and agent fees where applicable.

Do I need a licence to rent out short-term in France?

Every meublé de tourisme needs a registration number. Primary residences may be let 120 nights a year (mayors can cut this to 90); secondary homes in Paris and many large cities require a change-of-use permit, often with compensation.

Which France property portals does Terrivio support?

Terrivio analyses listings from SeLoger, Leboncoin, Bien'ici and PAP and 40+ other European portals. Paste any listing URL to start.

Analyse a real listing in 60 seconds

Paste a Funda, Idealista, Rightmove or ImmoScout24 URL. Terrivio returns net yield, cashflow, risk score, tax and STR rules for 13 European countries. Launching 6 October 2026.

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All figures are indicative estimates for orientation only and do not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Verify local rules with a qualified adviser. Last updated: 2026-09-09.