Hello everybody
I have a registered meuble de tourisme business - micro enterprise. I have a little problem at the moment and would appreciate your thoughts. I have had repeated business over the past number of years from an English firm who give professional expertise to a local company. They normally rent 2 - 3 weeks every month and I put them through as holiday rentals, pay my cotisations and taxe de sejour.
My present problem is that they are now stuck here - they are still working, as it is an essential business and I have given them a monthly price. This is likely to run is to a 5-6 month rental.
I understand that
- I am not meant to be renting ( presumably the fact that it is now their semi permanent home would override this )
- season rentals have a max of 90 days
The apartment that they are in is not one of my seasonal lets - it is normally kept for family.
To date I have not collected any money from them as I do not know how I should declare it.
Should it be paid into a separate account aside from my business? And if so how would it be taxed - social contributions?
Or would it be still okay to treat as holiday let?
Thanks
Sounds a bit complex to me Padraig. Professional advice required?
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why are they stuck here ??? cross border workers are allowed back and forth… or is that after 11th May…
I would have thought that if you are receiving money… it is rent… and should be declared as such along with all necessary cotisations etc etc…
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Stuck because of their contract - travelling back and forth virtually impossible.
didn’t they travel before?
It could well be that they need to find a “proper” rental property if they are to be here longer-term.
Well, you’ve said yourself… seasonal rentals have a max of 90 days…
wouldn’t they be better with a 6 month lease agreement …??? will they be allowed to stay that long ??? which country are they from ??
I can’t really give you specific advice. But it may help to know that we run a gîte using “holiday” short term let contracts and a furnished longer term rental within the same business structure. Doesn’t seem to be a problem for the tax man, as they’ve never refused the tax we pay…
But the location meublé short term contract is usually for a year, renewable. Of course people can give notice earlier, but you can’t get them out unless serious breach. And what they rent from you is their home so they pay taxe d’habitation (if not exonerated from it).
I think, and you need to check this our with a professional, that if these people do have a permanent residence elsewhere then you can give them a rolling 90 day contract as they will not be renting your place as their permanent home. And they will have no rights as they would with a short term (year) contract, and do not pay taxe d’hab (you pay CFE instead)
Oh, and despite confinement rentals can be open for key workers. 5% of them in our region are.
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Very helpful Jane, thank you. I will try and get someone to advise on the rolling contract. It would suit best Otherwise I will prepare a short term contract for the lat.
I’ve dug a little deeper in my memory bank, and google, and its the loi Hoguet that set the 90 day limit. So I told you wrong, it MUSTN’T be a rolling contract. Quite the opposite. You will have to issue consecutive contracts. The big issue is these location saisonnière can only be given to people who have a permanent residence elsewhere, and that’s the thing that causes the major problems.
There have been cases in the South of France where it has been accepted by judges that a six months let is ok as a location saisonnière, but it seems because of the specific geography that the winter season on the coast is 6 months, But surely life in the time of Coronavirus would be acceptable as a reason to extend too?
Hi Jane… glad you came back on that…
I know where a land-deal went sour after judges ruled that a contract, even though done afresh each year, (which included a clause saying that this was not a continuous contract)… … Huh… was indeed “rolling-contract”… and it all ended up very badly for the Owner.
Re property…
Perhaps a gap-in-time… when the folk vacate the property… between contracts might work… but it is a difficult area…
There has been an extension to the “can’t chuck 'em out” winter period… but I don’t think that will still hold… after 11th May (déconfinement)… 
We don’t even know which country these folk come from.
Okay very useful Jane - Yes, they have a permanent address which they will be returning to when there is a little more easement and their replacement can come. I think in this case that longer than 90 days should be acceptable. A lot of taxe de sejour though!
@niacla
Padraig… are these French Residents… ???
It’s an English firm…
Ah… and perhaps they do not employ Brits who already live in France… ah well… more complications… 