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LIVING IN FRANCE

What are the rules on home exchanges in France?

Home exchanges are an up-and-coming way to spend a holiday, offering a low-cost alternative to Airbnb and hotels. Here are the rules about them in France.

Published: 29 August 2024 08:11 CEST
What are the rules on home exchanges in France?
Photo by Maria Ziegler on Unsplash

Home exchanges are becoming popular across the world.

They represent a budget-friendly alternative to renting a hotel room or an Airbnb, where one person swaps their home with another for a short period of time. 

Many people will do so using a website, such as HomeExchange, Kindred or Swaphouse. These platforms usually offer some sort of vetting, such as asking for proof of ID and address.

What are the rules in France?

France has strict rules about renting, including for short-term rentals. In many cases, you would need to register with local authorities, and pay tax on your earnings.

READ MORE: What you need to know about renting out your French property on Airbnb

As for home exchanges, they are not regulated. As long as there is no money being exchanged, then it is more or less equivalent to inviting a friend to come stay at your house.

According to the French insurance company Allianz, “home exchanges are not taxable, as no financial transaction takes place between hosts and guests in this context.”

Both owners and tenants can engage in ‘home swaps’, but tenants must inform the landlord, according to the French government website Service-Public.

Tenants should also check to verify that there is not a clause in the lease preventing home exchanges.

If you do not go through a website that creates a formal, signed agreement, you should make one yourself. Be sure to specify the dates of the home exchange, as well as other expectations.

Home insurance

The main aspect you will need to consider is your home insurance contract and how to protect yourself from any possible damage.

The first step would be to check your home insurance contract to see whether home exchanges are covered. If so, you simply need to inform them of the identity of the occupants who will be staying in your home.

If your insurance does not cover home exchanges, then you should contact them to negotiate a new amendment, which would involve adding a supplementary document to your contract.

For those using an online platform to facilitate the exchange, you should also read the terms and conditions for the website for damages and responsibility.

READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to renting property in France

You may want to request that the family staying in your home have a ‘holiday civil liability’ insurance (garantie responsabilité civile villégiature). This could cover them in the event of a fire or water damage.

As for yourself, you will want to ensure that the other party has informed their insurance company you are staying in their home and purchase a holiday civil liability cover for yourself as well.

This may already be part of your home insurance, and if not you may be able to add it on.

Swimming pools

If you own a swimming pool, be sure it is up to all safety standards. If there is an accident and you have not followed the safety rules, then you could be held liable.

READ MORE: What rules do swimming pool owners in France have to follow?

French construction and housing code specifies that personal pools should be fitted with at least one of these four standard safety devices;

  • Fencing or walling around the pool, with access by a gate which can be locked (so for example if you have a pool in your garden you should make sure that the garden has a fence or wall around it with a lockable door or gate)
  • Alarms fitted which go off when the water is disturbed
  • Pool covers fitted that meet safety standards (ie can be walked on without the person falling in)
  • Pool shelters (eg a rigid cover, roof or folding roof) that meet safety standards.

All of the above must meet French or EU standards – and you can be fined up to €45,000 if your pool does comply with safety regulations. You can find more specific rules for each safety device here.

Member comments

  1. I am sure that any fine for non-compliance with safety regulations would only be awarded if the home owner did not comply with the regulations and not as stated, above.

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For members

TAXES

What to do if you’re struggling to pay a French tax bill

Income tax bills come due in France from September 26th, while property owners will also be receiving property tax bills in the autumn – but if you’re worried about your ability to pay, options are available.

Published: 12 September 2024 10:30 CEST
What to do if you’re struggling to pay a French tax bill

France is a highly taxed country, so if you live here you probably already accept the fact that you will be paying a lot of tax.

But if you’re struggling to pay the bills, you have options, and in most cases the initial advice is the same – contact your local tax office and ask for help.

Income tax

If you’re registered with the online tax portal and make your declarations online you will have already given your bank details to the tax office and they will take the money out of your account directly (after sending you a bill so you know how much will be going out).

If you owe more than €300, the money will be taken in four instalments – this year the payment dates are September 26th, October 25th, November 25th and December 27th.

Defer payment

If you’re concerned about your financial situation you may request a deferment (a délai de paiement) from tax authorities, giving you more time to pay what you owe. 

If you’re asking for a deferment, you can do so online:

  • Log on to your personal space at impots.gouv.fr, and access “messagerie sécurisée” (secure messaging);
  • Click on “écrire” (write);
  • select “j’ai un problème concernant le paiement de mes impôts” (I have a problem paying my taxes);
  • then “j’ai des difficultés pour payer” (I am having trouble paying);
  • Select the tax concerned and follow the instructions on the form.

If you prefer to deal with the matter face to face, you can visit your nearest tax office.

Whether you are asking online or in-person, you must provide a completed difficultés de paiment form – find that here – plus;

  • your tax demand;
  • a bank statement;
  • supporting documents showing your incomings and outgoings (such as pay slips, rent bills, utility bills, etc).

Be aware that deferment requests are handled on an individual basis.

Write off a bill

In certain cases – if you have recently been made redundant, for example – you may ask for tax relief (known as a remise gracieuse), in which part or all of your bill is written off.

Your request for a remise can be made online, using the secure messaging system mentioned earlier. Alternatively, you can go to your nearest tax office in person.

You should fill out a completed difficultés de paiement (payment difficulties) form, and attach or take along corresponding documents.

  • Tax authorities will take into account, in particular, an unforeseeable loss of income (unemployment, for example);
  • Other exceptional circumstances (such as the death of spouse, separation, disability) or abnormally high expenses (illness);
  • a disproportionate difference between the size of your tax bill and your level of income.

Ability to pay

When you apply for a deferment or relief, your ability to pay is analysed, taking into account, among other things:

  • your assets and the resources of people living with you, whether taxable or not (social benefits, municipal assistance, RSA, etc.);
  • essential household expenses (food, healthcare, insurance, housing, transport to and from work, etc.);
  • whether your expenses match your resources and the composition of your household.

Be aware that, if your expenses exceed your financial capacity solely because of your lifestyle choices, your application will be rejected.

Furthermore, depending on your situation, the granting of tax deferment or relief may be subject to :

  • prior payment of outstanding taxes;
  • the filing of a tax return, if you are not fully up to date with your tax obligations;
  • a waiver of any litigation relating to the taxes concerned by the application.

Usually, requests for deferred payment or tax relief are processed within two months. If you have not received a reply within this period, you should assume your request has been rejected. 

But this period may be extended to four months if your situation is complex. In this case, the administration must inform you of this extension before the initial two-month deadline expires.

Property tax

If you own property in France, autumn is also the time when you will be getting property tax bills (tenants no longer pay property taxes after the phasing out of the taxe d’habitation.

All property owners get a bill for taxe foncière while second-home owners will also get a bill for taxe d’habitation – find a full explanation of the system HERE.

Many people have noticed a steep rise in property tax bills in recent years, due to changes in the tax system. If you think your bill is incorrect, here’s how to challenge it.

If the bill is correct, but you are having difficulty paying you can contact your local tax office as described above to request a deferment of the bill. Property tax can also be paid in monthly instalments, rather than all at once.

There are also some groups who are exempt from paying, or entitled to a reduced rate.

It’s sometimes mentioned that older homeowners in France are exempt from taxe foncière (property owners’ tax). This is wrong, but depending on your situation, assistance in the form of a reduction or an exemption may be possible. 

If you are over 75 years old on January 1st of the tax year, you can benefit from an exemption from property tax for your main residence (not a second home). Two additional conditions must also be met.

Concerning the occupation of the accommodation:

  • you live alone or with your spouse or civil partnership partner;
  • you live with dependents for the calculation of income tax (children, dependent persons).

Concerning your financial resources: 

  • the amount of your reference tax income from the previous year must not exceed a certain ceiling specified by article 1417-I of the General Tax Code, which is set by a decree published each year;
  • The income limits not to be exceeded depend on the number of parts retained for the calculation of income tax;
  • Holders of the solidarity allowance for the elderly (ASPA) or the supplementary disability allowance (ASI) are exempt from the financial resources requirement.

If you are over 65 and under 75 on January 1st of the tax year, you can benefit from an automatic reduction of €100 on property tax on your main residence.

Two additional conditions must also be met:

  • you occupy your accommodation under the conditions listed in the exemption from property tax for persons aged over 75;
  • the amount of your reference tax income from the previous year does not exceed a certain ceiling specified by article 1417-I of the General Tax Code.

Neither of these exemptions can be used for second homes. Since the taxe d’habitation is now only paid by second-home owners the opportunities for a deferment or exemption are very limited, since the tax office assumes that second-home owners are financially stable.

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