Airbnb in Paris in 2026: What the Law Actually Allows (and Prohibits)

A 100,000 euro fine for letting a two-bedroom apartment in Le Marais as tourist accommodation without change-of-use authorisation: this is not a hypothetical scenario, it is the ceiling raised to that level by the Le Meur law of 19 November 2024 and applied by the Paris courts. The Paris city hall has initiated more than 500 proceedings since the reinforcement of controls in 2023, and the total amount of fines imposed exceeds 6 million euros. Before considering short-term rental, you need to know precisely what the law allows, and what it penalises heavily.

How many nights a year can you rent your primary residence?

90 nights a year in Paris since 1 January 2025, roughly three cumulative months. Beyond that, even by a single night, you are in violation, and the counter is automatic: platforms transmit the night count to the city hall.

All Airbnb regulation in Paris rests on one fundamental distinction: primary residence or secondary residence. Your primary residence is the property you occupy at least eight months per year (Article 2 of the law of July 6, 1989).

This 90-night limit applies to the entire property, regardless of the number of platforms used. A point often overlooked: if you only rent a room in your apartment while you are living there, there is no duration cap. This is a significant distinction that opens a legitimate supplementary income strategy for owner-occupiers with a spare room.

Registration with the city hall is mandatory and must precede any listing. The 13-digit registration number obtained after this declaration must appear on every online listing. Since 2022, platforms like Airbnb, Booking and Abritel have been legally required to transmit to the Paris city hall the night count per property. The counter is automatic and centralised. It is no longer possible to spread your nights across multiple platforms to circumvent the cap, a practice that was common before 2022.

That cap stood at 120 days until the end of 2024. The Le Meur law of 19 November 2024 allowed municipalities in high-demand zones to lower it to 90 nights, and Paris did so in December 2024: the 90-night cap has applied since 1 January 2025. Cutting the available tourist rental window by a quarter makes the profitability calculation markedly less favourable than before 2025.

Can you rent out a second home on Airbnb in Paris?

Yes, with no cap in nights at all, but only with a change-of-use authorisation carrying mandatory compensation, priced at 300 to 500 euros/sqm in the central arrondissements. Without that authorisation, every night rented is a violation punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 euros.

The 90-night ceiling applies to primary residences only. If you live in the property fewer than eight months per year, or you already own a primary residence elsewhere, the second-home regime applies: the change of use legally converts a residential property into a commercial-use property.

In virtually all Parisian arrondissements, this change of use is subject to a compensation mechanism: to obtain the right to convert a residential unit into tourist accommodation, the owner must simultaneously convert a commercial property of equivalent surface area into housing, in the same arrondissement. This system, designed to protect the housing stock from tourist pressure, carries a heavy cost.

The price of this “commerciality,” meaning the right to convert one square metre from residential to commercial, varies by arrondissement. In the central arrondissements, the most touristic and sought-after, compensation is negotiated between 300 and 500 euros/sqm. A one-bedroom apartment of 40 sqm in Le Marais would therefore require compensation of 12,000 to 20,000 euros. The outer arrondissements (18th, 19th, 20th) have more moderate prices, but tourist demand is significantly weaker, which proportionally reduces the expected revenue.

The economic calculation remains unfavourable: compensation of 12,000 to 20,000 euros must be amortised over the revenue differential between tourist and traditional rental. If this differential is 3,000 euros/year (an optimistic assumption, since the figures below make it negative), amortisation already takes four to seven years, before counting filing costs, the complexity of the arrangement and regulatory risk. In the central arrondissements, compensation therefore absorbs most of the financial advantage of tourist rental for a secondary residence.

What fines do you risk for a non-compliant Airbnb?

From 10,000 euros for failure to register to 100,000 euros for renting a second home without change of use, with 15,000 euros for exceeding the 90-night cap and 20,000 euros for a false declaration. The Paris city hall has initiated more than 500 proceedings since 2023 and imposed over 6 million euros in fines.

Its enforcement system relies on a dedicated team within the Direction du Logement et de l’Habitat, which cross-references data transmitted by platforms with registration records and council tax files. Controls are targeted but systematic in arrondissements with high tourist pressure (1st to 7th, 10th, 11th, 18th).

Sanctions are graduated but all financially severe. Failure to register with the city hall: 10,000 euro fine. A false declaration or a fake registration number: 20,000 euros. Exceeding 90 nights for a primary residence: 15,000 euros. Tourist rental of a secondary residence without a change of use: up to 100,000 euros, with a penalty of 1,000 euros per rental day recorded beyond the formal notice. For the platforms themselves, a non-compliant listing or failure to transmit data to the city hall is penalised at up to 12,500 euros per listing.

These amounts are not theoretical maximums never applied. Parisian courts regularly impose the caps, and case law has tightened considerably between 2022 and 2026. An owner who rents a studio in the 3rd arrondissement on Airbnb year-round without authorization faces a financial sanction that far exceeds the expected rental income.

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Does Airbnb pay more than a traditional rental in Paris?

No, not since the move to 90 nights: on a typical Paris studio, traditional furnished rental brings in 1,835 euros more a year, for an incomparably lighter management load. The legal cap filled to 100% produces 8,550 euros of gross revenue, against 11,400 euros on a standard lease.

Let’s take a 25 sqm studio in the 11th arrondissement, valued at 255,000 euros, which its owner (primary residence) lists on Airbnb for 90 nights per year, the legal maximum since 1 January 2025, at an average rate of 95 euros per night. Gross Airbnb revenue is therefore 8,550 euros for these 90 nights, on the most favourable assumption that the cap is filled in full.

As a traditional furnished rental, this same studio rents for 950 euros/month, or 11,400 euros/year. Traditional rental already generates 2,850 euros more in gross annual revenue.

But the specific costs of Airbnb rental further widen the gap. The platform commission (shared fee model) represents 3% on the host side: 257 euros. Cleaning between each guest is the most underestimated expense. Even if part is charged to the guest, the owner bears consumables (cleaning products, spare sheets and towels, toilet paper, coffee, soap), the time coordinating with the cleaning provider, and cleaning sessions insufficiently covered by the Airbnb surcharge. Net, expect 30 euros per turnover on 25 to 30 stays per year: 750 to 900 euros. The tourist tax, calculated at approximately 5% of the nightly rate in Paris (varies by accommodation classification): 428 euros. Specific short-term rental insurance, which supplements PNO insurance and the often insufficient Airbnb guarantee: 250 euros/year. Accelerated wear on furniture, linen and appliances, subject to a usage rate incomparably higher than traditional rental: at least 500 euros/year.

Total Airbnb-specific costs: 2,185 euros (conservative estimate). Net revenue before tax falls to 6,365 euros. For a traditional furnished rental, after deducting standard expenses (condominium fees, property tax, PNO, rental management, vacancy, maintenance), net revenue approaches 8,200 euros. Traditional rental wins by 1,835 euros/year, or more than 150 euros/month, for incomparably less mental load and time management. No cleaning coordination, no check-in/check-out management, no guest communication, no complaint handling, no laundry service.

Micro-BIC or actual regime: how is Airbnb income taxed?

Under the micro-BIC in almost every case, with a 30% deduction capped at 15,000 euros of revenue for unclassified tourist accommodation, against 50% up to 77,700 euros for classified accommodation since the Le Meur law. The actual regime only pays off beyond that, since it requires an accountant at 800-1,200 euros a year.

This income falls under the BIC (Industrial and Commercial Profits) category, and the choice between the two regimes has a considerable impact on net-net yield.

For an unclassified studio generating 8,550 euros in gross revenue, taxable income is 5,985 euros (30% deduction). At a marginal tax rate of 30% plus social contributions of 17.2%, the tax bill reaches 2,825 euros. Net-net Airbnb yield (6,365 euros minus 2,825 euros) falls to 3,540 euros, or 1.39% of the property value. A savings account does better.

If the studio is classified as tourist accommodation (visit by an approved body, cost 200-400 euros, criteria grid covering furniture and equipment quality), the deduction rises to 50%. Taxable income drops to 4,275 euros, tax to 2,018 euros, and net-net yield to 4,347 euros, or 1.70%. Slightly better, but still well below a traditional furnished rental under the LMNP regime.

The actual regime, with property and furniture depreciation, can significantly reduce the tax burden. But it requires an accountant (800-1,200 euros/year), BIC accounting, and significantly heavier administrative management. For Airbnb revenue under 10,000 euros/year over 90 nights, the complexity of the actual regime is rarely justified by the tax savings achieved.

In which arrondissements does Airbnb still make sense?

Almost nowhere in Paris, and never mechanically: from the 1st to the 7th, the highest nightly rates (120 to 200 euros for a studio) coincide with the most expensive compensation and the tightest enforcement. The 18th around Montmartre is the only outer arrondissement combining tourist flow with decent nightly rates (90 to 130 euros), but with off-season occupancy below 50%.

Airbnb rental only works economically under very specific conditions: a prime tourist location (near monuments, iconic neighbourhoods, major walking routes), the ability to occupy the property at least 275 days per year as a primary residence (since rental is capped at 90 nights), and a nightly rate high enough to absorb the management cost premium.

The arrondissements where Airbnb rates are highest, the 1st to 7th, with nightly rates of 120-200 euros for a studio and 180-350 euros for a one-bedroom, are also those where change-of-use compensation is most expensive and where the city hall concentrates its enforcement. The more affordable arrondissements (10th, 11th, 18th, 20th) offer nightly rates of 70-100 euros, insufficient to offset the cost differential compared to traditional rental. The 18th around Montmartre is the only outer arrondissement that combines sufficient tourist flow and decent nightly rates (90-130 euros), but competition is fierce and off-season occupancy rates (January-March, November) drop below 50%.

Can you finance a Paris purchase on Airbnb income?

No, and it is the strategic error we see most often. In quick succession the cap fell from 120 days to 90 nights on 1 January 2025 and the tax deduction for unclassified accommodation dropped from 50% to 30%, with the revenue ceiling cut to 15,000 euros: a financing plan built on that income goes stale faster than a mortgage amortises.

At Home Select, we regularly see buyers include hypothetical Airbnb revenue in their financing plan, and we advise against it directly. Beyond those two changes already on the books, condominiums are increasingly prohibiting tourist rental in their bylaws, and the Paris city hall invests more every year in enforcement.

A solid property investment must be profitable based on traditional rental. Tourist rental can provide a welcome supplementary income for a few weeks per year (holidays, business trips), but building a financial plan on a regulatory framework in constant flux is like building on sand.

What does Home Select recommend for investing in Paris?

Structuring the project around a traditional furnished rental under the LMNP regime, never around tourist rental. Yields are predictable, the legal framework is stable, the one-year renewable lease protects the landlord, and the management burden is incomparably lighter than that of tourist accommodation. Our property hunters select properties whose profitability works under long-term rental, with or without Airbnb, the plan holds.

For owner-occupiers who simply wish to capitalise on their primary residence during their absences, Airbnb remains a relevant tool within the 90-night limit. But it is a supplementary income tool, not an investment strategy. And the difference between the two is the same as between renting your car on weekends via Getaround and starting a ride-hailing company.

Parisian property delivers a total performance (rent plus capital gains) of 5 to 6% per year under traditional rental. This is a solid yield, documented by fifteen years of transaction data, that stands comparison with most investments without the logistical, regulatory and tax constraints of tourist rental. At Home Select, across 1,200+ buyers supported since 2011, we have never needed to sell the Airbnb dream to justify a Parisian investment. Market fundamentals are sufficient.

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