You’ve made the decision to buy a rental chalet and embark on this exciting new journey. You’ve done your research and found a property you love, in a location that works. The sale’s completed and the decor looks immaculate. Now you’re thinking: what do I need to rent my chalet out? How do I transition my holiday home into a fully-fledged rental business?
Below, we highlight five key areas in which we support our owners letting out a chalet or apartment in France. We have a broad range of local contacts for French speakers. In addition, we have recommended business partners and service providers for French and non-French speakers.
Let’s look at the requirements for letting out a holiday chalet, and how we can help:
1. Registering Your Business
What do I need to rent my chalet out? Let’s start with the essentials. Our “Legal requirements for letting a holiday rental property in France 2021” series offers a comprehensive overview of the regulations and laws owners should observe.
Part 1 relates to registering your business with the local commune. Other licenses and registrations required are listed in part 2. Owners of properties with pools will be interested in part three of the series. Part 4 considers the safe use of hot tubs, saunas and hammams (recommendations not legal requirements).
2. Other Legal Obligations
As part of our onboarding process, we advise new owners on who to contact to meet additional legal obligations such as:
- TV licensing
- Obtaining a SACEM license to broadcast music
- Official classification (star rating)
- Declaration and payment of tourist taxes
- Setting up a regime to best suit your individual financial portfolio, from tax, social security and legal standpoints.
We also always keep abreast of changes in local and national rules and laws regarding operating rental property businesses.
For example: Arrete no. PAIC-2019-0150, relates to restrictions and penalties regarding open fireplaces and emissions. These restrictions are coming into play from 1st January 2022 in some parts of the French Alps.
3. Safety and Insurance
Do you have a selection of contacts that you or your local manager can call on for maintenance and safety-related issues? We’re talking chimney sweeps, boiler maintenance contracts, heating engineers, fire prevention advice, fire extinguisher checks and supplies, CO2 monitors. What about the supply and maintenance of pool covers, advice on blocking access to saunas and hammams, and the safe use of hot tubs?
You should inform insurers that you run a rental property from your holiday or second home. You’ll also need to set up limited liability insurance – some companies also offer cover for loss of earnings. Here at OVO Network, we have a comprehensive damage cover insurance exclusively available for our owners.
4. Business Management
Let us help you tackle admin! OVO Network systems facilitate the efficient business admin for your property rental business.
Our solution, systems, and team assist with website creation, photography, advertising, marketing and enquiry management, payment collection, and more.
Once your property sites and adverts are launched, we’ll liaise with local managers to offer support and training as required.
If you’re new to property rentals, our sales team will advise you on the most suitable of our business solutions for you. Account and Revenue Managers will suggest appropriate pricing to help you achieve your goals.
5. Your Local Team
One of the key considerations when asking: what do I need to rent my chalet out? Is that your dedicated local team is essential to the success of your property rental business. Remember, managers and local chalet teams must be registered to work legally. They must also fulfill their designated roles appropriately.
Properties need to be operating smoothly for all concerned: guests, managers, cleaning teams, owners, and their families. This will ensure happy holidays, excellent feedback, and repeat bookings! Our property management team can help you with local manager contacts, training, our Manager Charter, and a whole lot more.
The icing on the cake? Local Managers and owners can pool their experiences and networks to create fantastic up-to-date advice for guests. This could be restaurant recommendations, ski and bike hire, guides, cool cafes, and bars, to name a few!
We do our bit too, with bi-monthly newsletters highlighting what’s going on in our key destinations.
