The owner of accommodation made available to a seasonal rental company is liable, like his tenant, to pay the fine provided for in areas where this short-term tourist rental activity is restricted, according to a Court ruling of cassation dated May 2, 2024 (Cass. Civ 3, 2.5.2024, 23-21.590).
He cannot in fact ignore, according to justice, that this accommodation will not be the home of its tenant but sublet to tourists repeatedly and for short periods of time, which may be prohibited in municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants and the crown of Paris.
An owner saw the courts reject his arguments while he maintained that these rentals, which result in a change of use, were only the responsibility of the author of the short-term sub-leases. By granting a lease to a real estate professional, manager of a reservation and concierge company whose activity is seasonal rental, the owner also broke the law, the judges concluded. The owner had signed a lease with the tenant specifying that the rented property was not his main residence and providing the possibility for the tenant to sublet it as seasonal accommodation.
One fine per person
They also rejected the tenant’s argument who contested the multiplicity of fines. The law, he said, provides for a maximum fine of 50,000 euros per fraudulently rented premises and not a fine per person, which would lead to a total greater than the maximum of 50,000 euros. But the fine of 50,000 euros is incurred by each person prosecuted, replied the Court of Cassation, that is to say the owner and his tenant author of the sublets. Short rentals to transients result in a change in the use of the accommodation which may be subject to authorization.