Le Meur law, 90-day cap, change of use, suspended quotas: what every Nice owner must know before letting or selling.
Illustration : Airbnb in Nice in 2026: rules, taxation and profitability.
Letting a property on Airbnb in Nice is subject, in 2026, to a stricter framework than ever. The law of 19 November 2024, known as the loi Le Meur (the Le Meur law), has reduced the tax advantages of the furnished tourist rental (meublé de tourisme) and toughened the obligations, while the City of Nice has lowered the letting cap for main homes and tried to introduce quotas by district, partially suspended by the courts in early 2026. We take stock, source by source, of what every Nice owner must check before publishing a listing or deciding on the sale of their property.
Three changes stack up in 2026: the loi Le Meur, which reduces the national tax advantage of the furnished tourist rental, the local lowering of the main-home cap to 90 days a year in Nice, and an attempt at quotas by district currently suspended by the courts.
Short-term letting in Nice long rested on a flexible national framework and limited municipal rules. This framework has changed on two levels. At national level, law no. 2024-1039 of 19 November 2024, known as the loi Le Meur, has aligned the taxation of furnished tourist rentals downwards and made registration compulsory everywhere. At local level, the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan authority has strengthened its own tools: lowering the letting cap for main homes and introducing quotas by district.
For an owner, the consequence is concrete. The type of dwelling, main or second home, and its location now determine not only the applicable taxation but also the very possibility of letting. We detail each rule in the following sections.
Every furnished tourist rental must be declared at the town hall and obtain a 13-digit registration number, compulsory across the whole country by 20 May 2026 at the latest. A main home is limited to 120 days of letting a year at national level, a cap that Nice has lowered to 90 days. A second home also requires a change-of-use authorisation.
The first step is the declaration. Before the loi Le Meur, the obligation to obtain a registration number depended on each municipality's choice. The reform ends this patchwork: every host, whether in a main or second home, must hold a national 13-digit registration number and display it on all their listings. Declarations go through a single national online service, Déclaloc, which must be operational by 20 May 2026 at the latest (decree no. 2026-196 of 19 March 2026).
Then comes the duration. A main home, the dwelling occupied at least eight months a year, may be let up to 120 days a year without a change of use classification. The loi Le Meur allows municipalities to lower this cap to 90 days. Nice has exercised this option by city council resolution: the local cap is 90 days a year, applicable to the whole city.
For a second home or a buy-to-let investment, short-term letting in Nice requires prior change-of-use authorisation, processed by the metropolitan authority. The maximum duration of this authorisation has been cut to 3 years for new applications.
| Obligation | Main home | Second home |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration at the town hall | Yes, from the first night | Yes |
| 13-digit registration number | Yes (nationwide by 20 May 2026) | Yes (nationwide by 20 May 2026) |
| Cap on nights let | 90 days/year in Nice | No specific cap on nights |
| Change of use | No | Yes, compulsory |
A third local layer is added in Nice: quotas by district, introduced by municipal regulation and intended to limit the number of authorisations. The scheme provided for a maximum of 671 annual authorisations spread over four zones (Vieux-Nice, Riquier-Port-Mont Boron, Centre-Ville, secteur Ouest). Ruling on an urgent application, the interim relief judge of the Nice administrative court (tribunal administratif) partially suspended enforcement of the regulation on 29 January 2026, on the grounds that the method of calculating the quotas wrongly excluded second homes. The City has lodged an appeal before the Conseil d'État (France's highest administrative court). In the meantime, the filing of applications in these four zones is suspended until 31 August 2026.
The distinction governs everything. A main home may be let up to 90 days a year in Nice without a change of use. A second home requires a change-of-use authorisation, more demanding and subject to the quotas by district when they apply.
A main home is the dwelling where you live at least eight months a year. Its short-term letting is possible up to the local cap of 90 days, subject to declaration and display of the registration number. Beyond this cap, the dwelling is no longer treated as a main home and shifts into the second-home regime.
A second home, or a property dedicated to buy-to-let investment, requires a change-of-use authorisation before any short-term letting. In Nice, this authorisation is limited in time and, in the districts concerned, subject to the quotas when the scheme is in force. A legal point is added: the co-ownership (condominium) may prohibit furnished tourist rentals. The loi Le Meur allows such a ban by a general meeting resolution, at the majority provided for by law. The co-ownership rules must therefore be checked before taking any steps.
The loi Le Meur lowers the micro-BIC allowance (a French flat-rate tax regime) to 50 % for classified furnished rentals (cap of 77 700 €) and to 30 % for unclassified ones (cap of 15 000 €). It requires an energy performance certificate (EPC) rated A to E in order to let, and reintegrates LMNP depreciation (furnished non-professional lettings) into the capital gains (plus-value) calculation 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 (régime réel). The loi Le Meur, applicable to income received from 2025, has reduced the flat-rate allowances of the micro-BIC and their caps.
| Type of letting | Previous allowance | Le Meur law allowance | Revenue cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classified furnished rental / bed and breakfast | 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 thus falls to the same level as that of unfurnished letting. The tax advantage that often justified the choice of short-term letting is markedly reduced. The actual-expenses regime, which allows charges and depreciation to be deducted, becomes worth considering again on a case-by-case basis.
Two other measures weigh on the equation. First, the energy performance certificate (EPC): to let as a furnished tourist rental, the dwelling must be rated A to E until 31 December 2033, then A to D from 1 January 2034. Second, from 1 January 2025, the depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime is reintegrated into the capital gains calculation on resale, which increases the tax due on exit.
Short-term letting can still generate higher income than conventional letting in the tourist districts of Nice, but the fall in allowances, the 90-day cap for main homes and the administrative constraints have narrowed the gap, especially for unclassified furnished rentals.
The comparison turns on several factors: the occupancy rate, the income per night, the applicable taxation and the management burden. In the central and seaside districts of Nice, tourist demand remains strong, which supports the gross income from short-term letting. But the net income depends on the tax regime and the letting caps.
For a main home let up to 90 days a year, the operation often remains worthwhile as extra income. For an unclassified second home, the fall of the allowance to 30 % and the cost of the change of use bring the net yield close to that of long-term furnished letting, which is simpler to manage. Classifying the rental, which maintains the allowance at 50 %, becomes a profitability lever in its own right.
Investing specifically for short-term letting in Nice has become more demanding: change-of-use authorisation, quotas by district when they apply, less favourable taxation and the EPC requirement. The project remains possible but calls for a prior analysis of the district, the property's status and the tax regime.
Buying to let short-term now means factoring regulatory risk into the yield calculation from the outset. In the four zones subject to quotas, access to an authorisation is not guaranteed and the scheme may be tightened depending on the outcome of the appeal before the Conseil d'État. Outside these zones, the change-of-use authorisation remains required and limited to 3 years, with renewal that is not automatic.
Energy performance becomes a purchase criterion: a property rated F or G cannot be let as a furnished tourist rental and will need works. Lastly, the less advantageous taxation of the unclassified rental invites you to consider classification, the actual-expenses regime, or even long-term furnished letting as alternatives. The trade-off depends on the property and district in view; it deserves to be costed before purchase.
Selling a property operated as a furnished tourist rental remains possible. The point of attention is fiscal: since 2025, the deducted LMNP depreciation is reintegrated into the capital gains calculation, which can increase the tax on resale. An up-to-date estimate helps decide on the right moment.
For an owner who notes the fall in the tax advantage and the growing administrative complexity, selling is an option to consider calmly. The reintegration of LMNP depreciation into the capital gain, in force since 1 January 2025, increases the taxable base for the properties that benefited from it; this factor must be anticipated with a tax adviser.
On the valuation side, a property located in a sought-after tourist district keeps solid demand on sale, regardless of the short-term letting constraints. Knowing the current market value of your property, district by district, is the prerequisite for any decision to sell or hold. We publish sourced analyses and a free estimate to give you that benchmark.
The national cap is 120 days a year for a main home. Nice has exercised the option opened by the loi Le Meur (the Le Meur law) to lower this threshold and applies a cap of 90 days a year across the whole city. Beyond that, the dwelling is treated as a second home and subject to change-of-use authorisation.
Yes. Declaration at the town hall and obtaining a 13-digit registration number are compulsory for any furnished tourist rental (meublé de tourisme). The loi Le Meur extends this obligation to the whole country, through the national online service Déclaloc, by 20 May 2026 at the latest. The number must appear on all your listings.
Not as things stand. On 29 January 2026, the Nice administrative court (tribunal administratif) partially suspended enforcement of the regulation introducing the quotas, on the grounds that their method of calculation wrongly excluded second homes. The filing of applications in the four zones concerned is suspended until 31 August 2026, pending the decision of the Conseil d'État (France's highest administrative court).
The income falls under the BIC (industrial and commercial profits). Under the micro-BIC regime (a French flat-rate tax regime), the allowance drops to 50 % for classified furnished rentals (cap of 77 700 euros) and to 30 % for unclassified ones (cap of 15 000 euros), applicable to income received from 2025. The actual-expenses regime (régime réel), which allows charges and depreciation to be deducted, remains an option to study case by case.
Yes. For a second home or a buy-to-let investment, a change-of-use authorisation is compulsory in Nice before any short-term letting. Its maximum duration has been cut to 3 years for new applications, and renewal is not automatic.
The loi Le Meur requires an energy performance certificate (EPC, the French DPE) rated A to E to let as a furnished tourist rental until 31 December 2033, then A to D from 1 January 2034. A dwelling rated F or G cannot be let as a furnished tourist rental.
For a main home let up to 90 days, it often remains a worthwhile source of extra income in the tourist districts. For an unclassified second home, the fall of the allowance to 30 % and the cost of the change of use bring the net yield close to that of long-term furnished letting. Classifying the rental remains a profitability lever.
Since 1 January 2025, the depreciation deducted under the LMNP regime (furnished non-professional lettings) is reintegrated into the capital gains (plus-value) calculation on resale, which increases the taxable base. This factor must be anticipated with a tax adviser before deciding to sell. An up-to-date estimate of the property's value helps choose the right moment.
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