Bed & Breakfast

Bed and breakfast

Article L. 324-3 of the French Tourism Code defines chambres d’hôtes as “ furnished rooms located in the home of an inhabitant with a view to welcoming tourists, in return for payment, for one or more nights, accompanied by services “.
The notion of “chambre d’hôtes” covers rooms located in premises belonging to the owner engaged in the business of renting out “chambres d’hôtes”, which may, where applicable, be located close to the owner’s main home (Commission mixte paritaire Assemblée nationale-Sénat, session of March 16, 2006). In fact, the guest room must be located in the inhabitant’s home, i.e. in his or her main or secondary residence, whether in the same building or in an annex1. In any case, theguest must be physically presentin the home.

Reception conditions

Renting out bed and breakfast accommodation, whether year-round or seasonal, is a commercial or agricultural activity. It involves certain obligations.

group supply of overnight accommodation + household linen + breakfast
limit of 5 rooms and 15 people
welcome provided by the owner
access to a shower room and WC

Declaration at the town hall

A prior declaration must be made to the mayor of the municipality in which the property is located (article L. 324-4 of the French Tourism Code).

The declaration must specify

the identity of the declarant,
identification of the residence of the dwelling,
the number of rooms to be rented,
the maximum number of people likely to be accommodated, and the projected rental period(s).

If any of these details change, a new declaration must be submitted to the town hall (article D. 324-15 of the French Tourism Code).