Furnished tourist rentals in Annecy in 2026: quotas and Airbnb rules

1. Furnished tourist rentals in Annecy in 2026: what has changed

Annecy is one of the French towns where tourist pressure on housing is strongest. According to the regulation adopted by the Grand Annecy inter-municipal authority on 13 February 2025, the number of active furnished tourist rentals in the municipality went from 1 051 in 2019 to 6 266 in 2024, a rise of 496 % in six years. Across the wider urban area, the stock has almost tripled.

The regulation documents the consequences of that trend: a draining of the supply of housing for residential use, speculation on land and a worsening of rental market tensions, "damaging for residents, in particular families and first-time buyers". The long-term structural vacancy rate is now only 1,1 % of the stock, so that empty homes no longer offer any leverage. It is in that context, and with a population gaining around 7 400 inhabitants a year across the territory, that the city has tightened its rules.

2. Registration, 120 days and change of use

The first step is the declaration. Any short-term letting of furnished premises to passing guests must be declared in advance to the municipality, through the national Déclaloc online service (declaloc.fr), which issues a registration number. Law no. 2024-1039 of 19 November 2024, known as the loi Le Meur (the Le Meur law), extends that obligation to the whole of France: the 13-digit number must appear on every listing by 20 May 2026 at the latest, failing which the listing is removed.

Then comes the question of the threshold. A main home, occupied at least eight months a year, may be let short-term for up to 120 cumulative days a year without a change of use. Beyond the 121st day, the change-of-use authorisation becomes compulsory. For a second home or a property dedicated to letting, that authorisation is required from the very first night.

The regulation adds two conditions to the authorisation: an energy performance certificate (EPC) rated A to E (A to D from 1 January 2034), and compliance with the building's co-ownership rules, which may prohibit furnished tourist rentals. Processing an application takes two months; once that time has passed with no answer, the authorisation is deemed granted.

3. The quotas by zone: the heart of the Annecy scheme

This is the most structuring measure of the regulation. Where most towns simply impose the change of use, Annecy adds a maximum number of authorisations per area, set on the basis of article L.631-7-1 A of the French construction and housing code.

Two points are decisive for an owner. First, those thresholds include authorisations already granted under the previous regulation: the counter does not start from zero. Second, the authorisation is temporary (4 years), personal and non-assignable: it passes neither with the property nor to another home, and its renewal requires a new application, itself subject to the quota. A single owner, whether an individual or a company, may hold only one authorisation.

When the threshold for a zone is reached, the application is refused and the owner joins a waiting list managed in chronological order. They must confirm the application every year, between 1 March and 30 April, to stay on it. The right to let as a furnished tourist rental thus becomes, in Annecy, a scarce and contested resource.

4. Main home or second home

A main home is the dwelling where you live at least eight months a year. Letting it short-term remains possible for up to 120 cumulative days, subject to the declaration and the registration number. Beyond that, it moves into the second-home regime and requires a change-of-use authorisation.

The second home is at the heart of the Annecy scheme, and with good reason: the regulation notes that second homes let as furnished rentals account for most of the pressure on the housing stock, concentrated in the old town and along the lake shores. That is precisely where the quotas are tightest (460 in zone A). An owner buying a property today in order to let it short-term in those areas may therefore be refused the authorisation if the quota has already been reached.

5. The taxation of furnished rentals since the loi Le Meur

Income from a furnished tourist rental falls under industrial and commercial profits (BIC), with a choice between the micro-BIC regime and the actual-expenses regime. The loi Le Meur, applicable to income received from 2025, has reduced the flat-rate allowances of the micro-BIC and their ceilings.

For an unclassified furnished rental, the micro-BIC allowance drops to the level of unfurnished letting: the tax advantage that often justified short-term letting is markedly reduced. The actual-expenses regime, which allows charges and depreciation to be deducted, becomes worth examining again. Two further measures apply: the EPC must be rated A to E until 31 December 2033 and then A to D from 2034, and since 1 January 2025 depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime is brought back into the calculation of the capital gain on resale, which increases the tax bill on exit.

6. Annecy before the courts: a framework that held

This is what sets Annecy apart from towns such as Nice. In 2023, the inter-municipal authority had voted quotas that took effect on 1 June; after an application by property management professionals, the administrative court of Grenoble suspended them in mid-July 2023, finding that the legal framework of the time did not allow such a restriction.

The loi Le Meur of 19 November 2024 gave municipalities the legal tools that had been missing. On that basis, Grand Annecy re-adopted its regulation on 13 February 2025. This time, the urgent-applications judge of the administrative court of Grenoble dismissed the requests for suspension: the regulation has been fully applicable since 1 June 2025. In Nice, by contrast, a quota scheme was partially suspended by the courts in early 2026, and remains contested. Annecy therefore stands as a case where local regulation cleared the judicial hurdle.

7. Let, wait or sell: how to decide

The first scenario, letting short-term, means obtaining an authorisation in your zone. If the quota there has been reached, the wait can be long and the outcome uncertain: it is better to check availability before any purchase intended for that use.

The second, switching to conventional letting, long-term or furnished on an annual basis, becomes competitive again: residential rental demand is strong in Annecy, driven by the housing shortage and the closeness of Switzerland, and that choice falls outside the change-of-use regime.

The third, selling, remains supported by one of the most expensive markets in France outside Paris. Whichever way you lean, the decision starts with a reliable market value, calibrated on the actual transactions in your district. You can get a free estimate below.