The saltwater lake at Hossegor and the Landes coast.
On the Basque coast, holiday letting has become as much a political subject as a legal one. Change of use, compensation, quotas, municipal inspections: what was tolerated five years ago no longer is, and the decisions are taken commune by commune.
We act for owners, concierge companies and operators of residences on the structuring of their business, on regulatory compliance and on the tax treatment of how they hold the property — and, where the commune challenges them, before the court.
Declaration to the town hall, registration number, display on the platforms, the limit of one hundred and twenty days for a main residence: the obligations differ from one commune to another and according to whether or not the property is your main residence.
In the communes that require it, turning a dwelling into a furnished holiday let calls for an authorisation, sometimes coupled with an obligation to provide compensation. We put the application together and challenge refusals where they are irregular.
Management mandate, estate agent status, professional licence, financial guarantee, information obligations: a concierge company that collects money on behalf of others is carrying on a regulated activity, as many discover during an inspection.
General terms, collection of the tourist tax, transmission of data to the communes, liability for damage or cancellation: the platform’s contract settles most of it, but not everything.
How the property is held determines the tax on the income, the tax on the capital gain and the ease of passing it on. An SCI subject to income tax cannot carry on a furnished letting business on a regular basis without tax consequences: the choice is made before the purchase.
The micro or the actual-expenses regime, depreciation of the property, professional or non-professional furnished landlord status, the treatment of the depreciation on resale: this is the item that makes the net yield vary twofold.
A residential-use clause, whether absolute or not, may prohibit short-term letting. Owners’ general meetings on the Basque coast are taking up the subject more and more: we analyse the rules before the purchase and defend before the court.
Municipal inspection, formal notice, a civil fine that can reach several tens of thousands of euros, restoration to the former use: we assist the owner during the procedure and before the court, where an irregularity in the local procedure is often a serious argument.
The right moment
A structure decided before the purchase sets ten years of tax treatment. Taken up after the event, it means selling the property to your own company — and paying the duties a second time.
The subject is the same. It is when it is dealt with that makes the cost.
How we work
You set out the situation, we say frankly whether we are the right people and what the work would involve. No commitment at this stage.
It describes what is done, what is not, the basis on which fees are calculated and the timetable. Nothing starts without your written agreement.
One lawyer holds your file; each question is dealt with by whichever of us handles it every day. You have only one person to call.
Formalities, filings, deadlines: the firm takes over and keeps you informed until the file is closed.
Frequently asked questions
That depends on three successive filters: the rules of your commune, the co-ownership rules, and your lease if you are a tenant. Each of them can prohibit or limit short-term letting independently of the other two. The declaration to the town hall is not an authorisation as regards the first two.
A civil fine imposed by the tribunal judiciaire at the request of the commune, the maximum amount of which has been raised in recent years, together with an order to restore the property to residential use, backed by a daily penalty. The communes of the Basque coast pursue these actions actively.
An SCI subject to income tax which carries on a regular furnished letting business moves to corporation tax, with heavy consequences on resale. The family SARL makes it possible to keep the industrial and commercial profits regime while bringing together several members of the same family. The choice depends on the plan for holding the property and passing it on.
The actual-expenses regime allows the property to be depreciated and so neutralises a large part of the taxable income. The rules for calculating the capital gain applying to the non-professional landlord have changed: the point deserves to be checked before choosing between the micro and the actual regime, since it alters the equation over the period of ownership.
As soon as it manages property on behalf of owners, collects the rents or acts as intermediary in the letting, it carries on an activity governed by the loi Hoguet and must hold the property management licence, with financial guarantee and insurance. Many operators on the coast trade without one, and find out at the first dispute.
A clause reserving the building strictly for residential use prohibits any business activity, including furnished holiday letting. A qualified clause allows it subject to conditions. A general meeting cannot, by majority, prohibit an activity that the rules allow: that requires an amendment to the rules, passed unanimously.
That requires a change of use in planning terms, a prior declaration or a permit depending on the case, and compliance with the commune’s rules. The reverse operation — turning a dwelling into commercial premises — follows different rules. Both are checked before the preliminary sale agreement is signed.
Practice areas involved
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