Short-term rentals in Biarritz: the Basque Country imposes offsetting, one of the strictest schemes in France, reinforced or even impossible in the town centre. Change of use, 120 days, taxation under the loi Le Meur, 2026 checks and how to decide.
Illustration : Short-term rentals in Biarritz in 2026: the Basque Country offset rule.
Letting a furnished tourist rental in Biarritz is no longer a formality. The town applies, along with the 24 municipalities of the Basque Country classified as under housing pressure, one of the strictest schemes in France : the principle of offsetting. To turn a home into a furnished tourist rental, an equivalent floor area of housing must be created in exchange within the same municipality. And in the areas under the greatest pressure, including the centre of Biarritz, this offsetting is reinforced, or even impossible to put together. In 2026, regulation went a step further with reinforced enforcement teams and an automated exchange of data with the platforms. For an owner, the question is no longer only « how much will I earn », but « am I still allowed to let ». Here is the full picture, source by source.
Since 1 June 2023, Biarritz has applied, along with the other municipalities of the Basque Country under housing pressure, a change-of-use regulation based on offsetting. This scheme answers the surge in furnished tourist rentals, whose number more than doubled across the area between 2016 and 2020, at the expense of housing for year-round residents.
Biarritz is one of the French towns where tourist pressure on housing is strongest. Across the area of the Communauté Pays Basque, the number of active furnished tourist rentals went from around 7 150 in 2016 to close to 16 440 in 2020, a rise of the order of +130 % in four years. Close to 95 % of those listings were for entire homes, and a majority were available for more than four months a year : that many properties taken out of the main-home market.
Faced with this trend, the Communauté Pays Basque adopted on 5 March 2023 a change-of-use regulation, in force since 1 June 2023, applying to the 24 municipalities classified as under housing pressure, among them Biarritz, Bayonne, Anglet, Bidart, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye. The regulation has since been tightened to encourage the return of year-round homes.
Biarritz is classified as an area under housing pressure, which is what makes it possible at all to bring in a change-of-use authorisation regime. Across the Basque Country, around 11 000 second homes are estimated to be let as furnished tourist rentals, close to 6,5 % of the housing stock : the share is clearly higher in coastal municipalities such as Biarritz.
Every furnished tourist rental must be declared and given a registration number, compulsory across the whole country by 20 May 2026 at the latest. In Biarritz, a main home can be let for up to 120 days a year without a change of use ; beyond that, as for any second home, a change-of-use authorisation subject to offsetting is required.
The first step is the declaration. Every short-term letting of furnished premises to passing guests must be the subject of a prior declaration 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, extends this obligation to the whole of France : the 13-digit number must appear on every listing by 20 May 2026 at the latest, on pain of the listing being withdrawn.
Then comes the question of the threshold. A main home, lived in for at least eight months a year, can be let short-term for up to 120 days a year in total 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, and that is where offsetting comes in.
| Obligation | Main home | Second home |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration and registration number | Yes (Déclaloc) | Yes (Déclaloc) |
| Night cap without authorisation | 120 days/year | No letting without authorisation |
| Change of use | From the 121st day | From the very first night |
| Offsetting required | No (within the 120 day limit) | Yes, for the authorisation |
To obtain the authorisation to let a second home as a furnished tourist rental in Biarritz, you have to offset : turn premises that were not homes (offices, shops) into housing, of at least an equivalent floor area and located in the same municipality. In the areas under the greatest pressure, including the centre of Biarritz, offsetting is reinforced, or even impossible to put together.
It is the most structural, and the most demanding, measure of the Basque regulation. Where towns such as Annecy cap the number of authorisations through quotas, and where Nice attempted quotas partly suspended by the courts, the Basque Country imposes offsetting : to take a home off the residential market by letting it short-term, the owner must put an equivalent floor area back on that market elsewhere.
In practice, the offsetting premises must meet three conditions : be located in the same municipality as the rental, offer at least an equivalent floor area, and come from premises that were not used as housing (an office or a shop turned into a home). This requirement is heavy : it means buying and converting another property, which in effect reserves tourist letting for the soundest projects.
In the areas under the greatest pressure, in particular the centre of Biarritz and the heart of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the regulation reinforces this requirement : offsetting may be doubled, or simply impossible to put together for want of convertible premises. In those areas, obtaining an authorisation for a second home is the exception.
The distinction governs everything. A main home can be let for up to 120 days a year in Biarritz without a change of use or offsetting. A second home requires an authorisation from the very first night, with offsetting : it is the one most affected by the scheme.
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 days in total, subject to the declaration and the registration number, without having to offset. Beyond that, it moves into the second-home regime and requires a change-of-use authorisation with offsetting.
The second home is at the heart of the Basque scheme, and with good reason : in Biarritz, second homes make up a large share of the housing stock, often concentrated on the seafront and in the most sought-after districts. It is precisely these properties, little occupied over the year, that the authority is seeking to steer back towards permanent housing. An owner buying a property today in order to let it short-term must check, above all, whether they will be able to put together an offsetting arrangement in their area.
The loi Le Meur lowers the micro-BIC allowance to 50 % for a classified furnished rental (cap of 77 700 €) and to 30 % for an unclassified one (cap of 15 000 €). It requires an energy rating of A to E in order to let and brings LMNP depreciation back into the calculation of the capital gain on resale.
The 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, applying to income received from 2025, has reduced the flat-rate allowances of the micro-BIC and their caps.
| Type of letting | Previous allowance | Allowance under the loi Le Meur | Income cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classified furnished rental / guest rooms | 71 % | 50 % | 77 700 € |
| Unclassified furnished tourist rental | 50 % | 30 % | 15 000 € |
| Unfurnished long-term letting | 30 % | 30 % | 15 000 € |
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 clearly reduced. The actual-expenses regime, which allows charges and depreciation to be deducted, becomes worth looking at again. Two further measures apply : the energy rating must be A to E until 31 December 2033 and then A to D from 2034, and since 1 January 2025, the depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime is brought back into the calculation of the capital gain on resale, which increases the tax due on exit.
In 2026, Biarritz went a step further in enforcing the regulation : the enforcement teams were reinforced, and the exchange of data with the platforms (Airbnb, Booking) is now automated. Compliance, long difficult to check, is becoming far more systematic.
Regulation is only worth as much as its enforcement. Until now, going beyond the 120 days or letting without authorisation remained difficult to detect. In 2026, the town has reinforced its enforcement resources and automated the cross-referencing of data passed on by the letting platforms, which makes it easier to identify homes in breach.
For an owner, the consequence is clear : the risk of a penalty, once theoretical, becomes tangible. Letting « quietly » beyond the thresholds or without authorisation now exposes you to a check and to penalties. Getting your position in order, or choosing another way of letting, is no longer something to put off.
A regulation that applies today can always change : new resolutions, adjustment of the offsetting rules, legal challenges. Before taking any step, check the state of the scheme and the offsetting conditions in your area with the Communauté Pays Basque and the town hall of Biarritz.
Three scenarios are open to an owner in Biarritz depending on the property and its area : putting together an offsetting file if the project is worth it, switching to long-term or standard furnished letting to escape the change-of-use rules, or selling in a market that has stayed very expensive (around 7 673 €/m² for an apartment in 2026).
The first scenario, offsetting in order to let short-term, means buying and converting premises into housing within the same municipality. It is heavy and costly, reserved for highly profitable projects ; in the centre of Biarritz, where offsetting is reinforced or even impossible, this route is often closed.
The second, switching to standard letting, long-term or year-round furnished, escapes the change-of-use regime : residential rental demand is strong in Biarritz, carried by the shortage of permanent homes and the appeal of the area. It is the route of least constraint.
The third, selling, remains supported by one of the most expensive markets in France outside Paris : around 7 673 €/m² for an apartment, and more still for houses and villas close to the coast. Whichever way you lean, the decision starts with a reliable market value, calibrated on the actual transactions of your district. You can estimate it free of charge below.
Yes, but under strict conditions. A main home can be let for up to 120 days a year without a change of use, with a registration number. For a second home, a change-of-use authorisation is compulsory from the very first night, subject to the offsetting principle: an equivalent floor area of housing must be created in exchange within the same municipality. In the centre of Biarritz, this offsetting is reinforced, or even impossible to put together.
Offsetting means turning premises that were not homes (offices, shops) into housing to make up for the home taken off the residential market by short-term letting. The offsetting premises must be in the same municipality and offer at least an equivalent floor area. It is the heart of the regulation of the Communauté Pays Basque, in force since 1 June 2023 and applying to 24 municipalities classified as under housing pressure, including Biarritz. It is one of the strictest schemes in France.
The change-of-use regulation of the Communauté Pays Basque applies to 24 municipalities classified as under housing pressure, among them Biarritz, Bayonne, Anglet, Bidart, Guéthary, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Ciboure, Hendaye and Urrugne. In the areas under the greatest pressure, such as the centre of Biarritz and the heart of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, offsetting is reinforced, which makes obtaining an authorisation particularly difficult for a second home.
A main home, meaning the dwelling you live in for at least eight months a year, can be let as a furnished tourist rental for up to 120 days a year in total without a change of use or offsetting. You must nevertheless declare it and obtain a registration number through the Déclaloc online service. Beyond the 121st day, you move into the second-home regime, with a change-of-use authorisation and offsetting.
Yes. Every short-term letting must be declared at the town hall and given a registration number, through the national Déclaloc online service. The loi Le Meur of 19 November 2024 extends this obligation to the whole of France: the 13-digit number must appear on every listing by 20 May 2026 at the latest, on pain of the listing being withdrawn. In Biarritz, checks were stepped up in 2026 with automated cross-referencing of platform data.
The loi Le Meur, applying to income received from 2025, lowers the allowances of the micro-BIC regime (a French flat-rate tax regime): 50 % for a classified furnished rental (cap of 77 700 euros) and 30 % for an unclassified one (cap of 15 000 euros), against 71 % and 50 % previously. It also requires an energy rating of A to E in order to let (A to D from 2034) and, since 1 January 2025, brings the depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime back into the calculation of the capital gain on resale, which increases the tax due on exit.
Letting a second home as a furnished tourist rental without a change-of-use authorisation or offsetting carries a civil fine of up to 50 000 euros per dwelling and an obligation to return the property to residential use. Going beyond 120 days for a main home and the absence of a registration number are also penalised. In 2026, tighter checks and the automated exchange of data with the platforms make these breaches far easier to detect.
It depends on your property and its area. Putting together an offsetting file in order to let short-term is heavy and costly, often reserved for highly profitable projects and rarely possible in the centre. Switching to long-term letting or year-round furnished letting escapes the change-of-use rules and answers strong rental demand. Selling remains supported by one of the most expensive markets in France, at around 7 673 euros per m² for an apartment in Biarritz in 2026. An accurate valuation of your property is the starting point of any decision.
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