Airbnb and furnished tourist rentals in Bordeaux in 2026: compensation, 90 days and taxation

1. Letting a furnished tourist rental in Bordeaux in 2026: what has changed

Short-term letting in Bordeaux long benefited from a flexible framework. That time is over. At national level, law no. 2024-1039 of 19 November 2024, known as the loi Le Meur, has levelled down the taxation of furnished tourist rentals and made compulsory registration general. At local level, the City of Bordeaux, a pioneer of change-of-use rules as early as 2021, has toughened its regulations further through two resolutions in 2025.

For an owner, the consequence is clear. The status of the property, main home or second home, and its location determine not only the applicable taxation, but also whether short-term letting is possible at all. We set out each rule in the sections below.

2. The main home: 90 days and registration

A main home is the property you occupy for at least eight months a year. The law allows it to be let short term for up to 120 days, but lets municipalities lower that cap to 90 days. Bordeaux has used that power : the local cap is 90 days a year, voted on 8 July 2025 to support the supply of housing.

The second step is the declaration. Every furnished tourist rental, whether a main or a second home, must have a registration number, which must appear on every listing (website, sign, press) and on the letting contract. The loi Le Meur extends this obligation to the whole country through a national online service, by 20 May 2026 at the latest.

3. Change of use and compensation for a second home

This is what sets Bordeaux apart from most large cities. Turning a second home into a furnished tourist rental means removing a home from the residential market ; the city therefore requires compensation : recreating an equivalent floor area of housing elsewhere, in the same sector, from premises that were not used for housing (an office or a shop), and located above the ground floor.

In practice, this rule means buying or converting commercial or office premises into housing, in exchange for the right to let your property short term. The cost and the complexity of the operation make it a very high barrier to entry for a private investor, comparable to the commercial-space mechanism in Paris.

The change-of-use authorisation is granted by the mayor of Bordeaux. When it is obtained with compensation, it is attached to the property itself and is permanent : that is the counterpart of the compensation effort required.

4. Reinforced compensation in central Bordeaux

The city adjusts the requirement by area. In the tightest sector, the historic centre and its surroundings (sector A), compensation is reinforced to double : two m² of housing recreated for one m² of housing converted into a furnished tourist rental. The stated aim is to protect permanent housing in the inner centre, where tourist pressure is strongest.

There is one exception : if the compensation floor area is delivered as social housing, the doubling does not apply. The rule is thus designed to steer the effort towards creating affordable housing in the central districts.

These sectors overlap with the most touristic parts of the city, from the Triangle d'Or and the Quinconces (where the average price goes above 5 100 €/m²) to the Saint-Pierre district and the Chartrons. That is precisely where short-term letting is most sought after, and where the regulatory lock is tightest.

5. The taxation of furnished tourist 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, which applies to income received from 2025 onwards, has cut the flat-rate micro-BIC allowances and their ceilings.

For an unclassified furnished rental, the micro-BIC allowance falls to the same level as that of unfurnished letting. The tax advantage that often justified the choice of short-term letting is thus sharply reduced. The actual-expenses regime, which allows costs and depreciation to be deducted, becomes worth examining again case by case.

Two further measures weigh on the equation. First, the energy performance certificate : to be let as a furnished tourist rental, the property must be rated A to E until 31 December 2033, then A to D from 1 January 2034. Second, since 1 January 2025, depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime is reintegrated into the capital gains calculation on resale, which increases the tax due on exit.

6. Returns: short-term letting against conventional letting in Bordeaux

The return on short-term letting depends on the occupancy rate, the revenue per night, taxation and the management burden. The historic centre and the quays attract strong tourist demand, which supports gross revenue. Net revenue, however, is eaten into by the lower allowances and, for a second home, by the entry cost of compensation.

The market context adds another factor. After a decade of surging prices, the Bordeaux average has fallen by around 11 % between 2021 and 2026, to 4 309 €/m² (DVF data, the French database of notarised property sales, single source Immover). In that climate, tying up a large amount of capital in a heavily constrained short-term operation compares unfavourably with unfurnished or long-term furnished letting, which is simpler and steadier.

7. Selling or letting differently: the options

For the owner of a second home for whom compensation closes off short-term letting, two alternatives exist without a change of use : long-term furnished letting (a one-year lease, or a mobility lease of one to ten months) and unfurnished letting. Both escape the compensation requirement and offer steadier income, at the price of a lower return per night.

Selling is the other option to consider calmly. The reintegration of LMNP depreciation into the capital gain, in force since 1 January 2025, increases the taxable base for properties that benefited from it ; this factor must be anticipated with a tax adviser. In a Bordeaux market in retreat, knowing the current value of your property, district by district, is the prerequisite for any decision.

To place the value of your property in Bordeaux from actual transactions in your district, you can use our valuation tool below, free of charge.