We own a property in France which originally belonged to my parents. For the last 30 years they have used it themselves but also lent it to family and friends, free of charge. My mother died last year and we are taking the property over. We now plan to continue to lend it out to family and friends but for a nominal charge - just enough to cover water, electricity and their weekly share of the tax bill. We will make no profit on this and it will not include an amount to cover any sort of repairs. Obviously this last year has been a strange one because the house has been completely empty. Covid! But we have layed this plan for when a return to relative normality is possible.
Does any one know if we should also be charging them a daily ‘taxe de sejours’? In other words, should I be declaring the charge we are now making, to the local mairie, and adding the taxe to what we are billing guests for?
It’s entirely up to you - despite what people might tell you here. There is no obligation for you to pass this on to your guests if you are happy to pay it. I confirmed all this with our Tourist Office in Marmande last year because currently I pay it for my guests.
HOWEVER, the TdS is getting more expensive each year and you might want to consider getting friends and family used to the idea of paying it - especially if at the moment you only make a nominal charge. They may be surprised to find how much you are paying on their behalf!
If you are taking in money relatively regularly, no matter how little, and have people coming and going from your house, then really best to do this properly. So great for asking the question!
So you need to register that you are renting your house as location meublé. Just a simple form you hand in at the Mairie, no charge. You need to ask your tourist office whether you are in an area that charges taxe de séjour (not all do) and the details of tarifs and payment. As Sue says you don’t need to ask your guests to pay it, but it must be paid.
Other things are to tell your insurance company, and make sure that there are very clear instructions about things like fuse boxes and stop cocks. You will most probably be below the tax threshold, but income earned on property in France must be declared in France. So you will need to do a tax declaration if you don’t already, or add the income if you do already do one,
I would also really recommend that you factor in a certain amount for repairs and maintenance, as well as taxe foncières/ d’hab. Your guests will be getting an extremely good deal, and over time you might find that you are putting up friends of friends, rather than direct friends. So when you find they have ruined your favorite X without noticing or telling you, it won’t sting as much.
For a couple of years we lent our house to friends and family and asked that they paid the bills for the time they spent there. It worked out at approx 50 euros a week ( annual tax d’hab, tax fonc, insurance, water & electricity divided by 52) but at least it meant that we weren’t out of pocket.