The furnished accommodation guide

First of all…

What is a furnished apartment?

“Furnished tourist accommodation” is a furnished villa, apartment, chalet or studio, for the exclusive use of the tenant, a passing clientele who stays for a day, weekend, week or month (article L. 324-1-1 of the tourism code).

Furnished tourist accommodation cannot be rented to the same person for more than 12 consecutive weeks.
If you accommodate more than 15 people (number of places in actual beds including convertible sofas), you are subject to the ERP 5th category standards (Establishment Receiving the Public)

Make sure you have authorization from the trustee to rent furnished tourist accommodation in the case of joint ownership.

Your essential steps…

Comply with regulations

Your buildings must comply with current construction, safety and town planning standards.
The regulations for swimming pools, hot tubs and playgrounds differ depending on whether the facilities are for family use or for collective private use.

Declare your furnished accommodation

• The statement is available at this link, CERFA No. 14004*04, in your town hall, on the government website, or by electronic declaration HERE]. The declaration must be redone in the event of a change in accommodation: capacity, major works, etc.
• Remember to send us the acknowledgment of receipt of the declaration.

Exception: if your furnished tourist accommodation is your main residence (i.e. you occupy it for more than 8 months per year), you are exempt from declaration.

The registration number requested by rental platforms applies to cities with more than 200 inhabitants or municipalities that are deliberating on its implementation. The municipalities of Couserans are not yet affected.

Define your status: professional or non-professional

The activity is considered professional (commercial) if there are para-hotel services (breakfast, picnic baskets, linen, cleaning during the stay, etc.), otherwise it is considered non-professional (civil), even if sheets are provided and cleaning is provided at the end of the stay. The amount of annual income will determine the regime under which social security contributions will apply (general regime, micro-entrepreneur or self-employed). Consult the Urssaf website for information on the different regimes.

Declare your social security contributions to theURSSAF and register on www.inpi.fr

It is strongly recommended to:

• Have a police form completed for foreign customers (including the EU)
• to insure against civil liability, damage to property and persons and loss of income (pro)
• to secure your internet access and remind you of its use
• to draw up and have a rental contract signed

Taxes: you are subject to…

• Property taxes, housing taxes, and business property taxes. Exemption from housing tax is possible for second homes if the furnished accommodation is exclusively entrusted to an agent or if it is your primary residence.
• Value Added Tax VAT: If you have para-hotel activities and your turnover is above the current threshold.
• SACEM and SPRE offer reduced rates under certain conditions if you have a music streaming device (TV, radio, HIFI, etc.)

Collect the Tourist Tax

The purpose of the tourist tax is to ensure that the local taxpayer does not bear the costs of tourism alone. In fact, the revenue from this tax is allocated to promoting tourism... It's a virtuous circle! It is paid by people who spend at least one night in the Couserans area and who are not domiciled in the Couserans region.

How to remit this tax?

• Declare online the tax collected from the Couserans Community of Communes Pyrenees.
• You receive a notice of the amounts to be paid
• You pay the tax to the Public Treasury.
• Couserans tourist tax 2026: scale

The overall price of a rental (rental + fees + tourist tax) will be higher for unclassified accommodation, and will be in competition with classified accommodation.
We therefore encourage you to take the star classification approach in order to minimize the cost of the tax. 

Marketing your furnished property

Classification:

• Indicates to the customer a guarantee of comfort, equipment and service.
• at the tax level, from 2025:
• unclassified furnished accommodation: transition from the micro-BIC regime to the actual regime when gross turnover > €15 and tax reduction of 000% of turnover
• classified furnished accommodation: transition from the micro-BIC regime to the actual regime when gross turnover > €77500 and tax reduction of 50% of turnover

• a lower tourist tax price
• better promotion: highlighted in the Tourist Office brochures and on the website ariegepyrenees.com
• access to the marketplace
• Labeled or classified accommodations benefit from a preferential rate for partnership with the tourist office.

• Find out the classification: contact your accommodation representative at the Tourist Office to assess the possibility of classification and determine the classification level to aim for (between 1 and 5 stars).
• Choice of organization: You choose an approved organization which, upon acceptance of the file, carries out a control visit, at which we can be present.
• Classification from 1 to 5 stars, according to a national standard. €200 per furnished accommodation, for 5 years (a reduced rate under certain conditions)

Labeling

The labels are designed to promote the quality of establishments. They are based on specifications including criteria for reception, accommodation facilities – both indoors and outdoors – and interior design.

The label can bring you:

• Promotion provided by the network (brochures and label websites)
• A recognized commitment to quality
• Legal and tax advice
• Sharing experiences with professionals like you.

Switch to online booking!

The marketplace: an asset for professionalizing and marketing your offer online (subject to being classified).

Performance in managing your schedules, saving time: collecting deposits, sending
contract, etc., no commission, subscription at €120 per year.

Secure online booking and payment, in just a few clicks and at any time on:

• Your website
• ariegepyrenees.com
• tourisme-couserans-pyrenees.com
• guzet.ski/fr/

You will find all the details on our dedicated page.

An online booking tool

The Marketplace