Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. French property law is complex and individual circumstances vary. Always consult a qualified advisor before acting on any information presented here.
What Just Happened
On 19 March 2026, France’s Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) issued a decision that will worry every UK investor running a short-term rental out of a French apartment building.
The court was asked a simple question: does a law that lets your co-owners ban Airbnb-style rentals by a two-thirds vote — rather than requiring unanimity — violate the constitutional right to property?
The answer: no, it doesn’t.
The ruling (Decision n° 2025-1186 QPC) upheld the relevant provisions of the loi Le Meur of November 2024, confirming that copropriétés can now modify their building rules to prohibit short-term tourist rentals without needing every single owner to agree. A two-thirds majority is enough.
If you own an apartment in a French building and rent it on Airbnb, Booking.com, or any other short-stay platform, this matters.
The Loi Le Meur: What It Is and Why It Matters
The loi n° 2024-1039 du 19 novembre 2024, commonly known as the loi Le Meur (or the “anti-Airbnb law”), is France’s most significant crackdown on short-term tourist rentals in years. Championed by deputies Annaïg Le Meur (Finistère) and Iñaki Echaniz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), it was born out of a housing crisis that the authors described in stark terms: workers unable to live where they work, employees sleeping in cars or campsites in summer to free up their rentals for tourists, tenants evicted so apartments can become meublés de tourisme, students abandoning university because they can’t find housing. In just a few years, close to a million short-term tourist rentals have replaced permanent housing across France. Entire villages have emptied. The problem affects cities of every size — Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes, Biarritz, Annecy, Caen, Ajaccio, and many more.
The law’s stated goal is not to ban platforms like Airbnb, Abritel, or Booking outright — nor to impose the kind of near-total restrictions seen recently in New York or Barcelona — but to find a balance between seasonal tourist activity and the ability of communities to function the rest of the year. It does this through five main levers:
1. Less Favourable Tax Treatment
The law slashes the micro-BIC tax allowance — one of the key “Airbnb tax niches” that made short-term rentals so attractive to investors:
These new rates apply to rental income from 2025 onwards. For 2024 income, the old rates still apply.
Separately, the PLF 2025 (finance bill) introduced a further measure: landlords under the LMNP regime can no longer deduct depreciation (amortissements) when calculating capital gains on resale — closing another significant tax advantage.
2. Mandatory Energy Performance (DPE)
Short-term tourist rentals are now subject to the same energy performance requirements as long-term rentals — closing a loophole that let landlords dodge the rules by switching to Airbnb:
3. Expanded Powers for Mayors
The law significantly strengthens local authorities’ ability to regulate:
4. New Rules for Copropriétés
This is the provision most directly relevant to this article — and the one the Constitutional Council just upheld:
| Before (pre-November 2024) | After (loi Le Meur) | |
|---|---|---|
| Vote required to ban short-term rentals | Unanimity of all co-owners | Double majority: majority of co-owners + two-thirds of tantièmes |
| Practical effect | Nearly impossible — one dissenting owner could block | Very achievable in most buildings |
| Which buildings | Any copropriété | Only those with a clause d’habitation bourgeoise |
| Which properties | All | Secondary residences only — primary residences are exempt |
The clause d’habitation bourgeoise means the building rules restrict apartments to residential use and prohibit commercial activity — it allows liberal professions (doctors’ offices, etc.) but not commercial businesses. This is extremely common in French apartment buildings, particularly older ones in city centres. If your building rules say something like “les lots ne pourront être utilisés que bourgeoisement” or “l’exercice de toute activité commerciale est interdit”, you’re in scope.
Beyond the voting change, the law also requires:
5. The Bigger Picture
The law doesn’t operate in isolation. It builds on measures already in place (prior declaration requirements, registration numbers, tourist tax collection) and complements the loi Climat et Résilience of 2021 and the finance bills for 2024 and 2025. Together, these form an increasingly tight regulatory net around short-term rentals in France.
The Constitutional Challenge
The law didn’t go unchallenged. The case was brought by a property owner in Caen who held several apartments in a building and contested the vote taken at his building’s general meeting to ban short-term tourist rentals. He argued that the loi Le Meur violated two fundamental constitutional rights: the right to property (droit de propriété) and the freedom to conduct business (liberté d’entreprendre). In his view, the restrictions were disproportionate and imposed on property owners an “excessive contribution” to the objective of regulating tourist rentals and fighting the housing shortage.
The Constitutional Council disagreed on both counts. In Decision n° 2025-1186 QPC of 19 March 2026, the court dismissed both the property rights claim and the liberté d’entreprendre challenge. It found that the interference with property rights was “proportionate” because:
The scope is limited. The ban only applies to secondary residences — you can still rent your primary residence on Airbnb (within the usual 120-day annual limit). It only applies to buildings that already have a clause d’habitation bourgeoise. And it only restricts short-term rentals — you remain free to rent the property on a long-term basis. The liberté d’entreprendre claim was dismissed on the same basis: the law doesn’t prevent you from renting — just from renting short-term.
The objectives are legitimate. The court accepted two justifications of general interest: combating the nuisances caused by the constant rotation of short-stay tenants in residential buildings (noise, wear on common areas, security concerns), and addressing the chronic shortage of housing available for long-term rental in French cities. Many housing experts share this view — the explosive growth of short-term tourist rentals is widely seen as one of the drivers behind rising housing costs and the shrinking pool of long-term rental stock in French cities.
The ban is reversible. A future general meeting can vote to lift the prohibition — it’s not a permanent loss of rights.
This wasn’t the first time the court was asked about this issue. Back in 2014, the Constitutional Council had actually struck down a similar measure — but that earlier version was much broader, applying to all copropriétés and covering primary residences as well. The loi Le Meur was more carefully drafted: by narrowing the scope to secondary residences and buildings with a clause d’habitation bourgeoise, it survived where its predecessor did not.
The constitutional provisions of the loi Le Meur were declared fully compliant with the Constitution, with no reservations or conditions attached.
Does This Affect You?
This ruling affects you if all four of the following are true:
If you own a standalone house, a property in a building without a clause d’habitation bourgeoise, or you only do long-term rentals, this ruling doesn’t change anything for you.
What Happens If Your Building Votes to Ban
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: once the assemblée générale (annual general meeting) of your building passes a resolution to ban meublés de tourisme by a two-thirds majority, the prohibition becomes part of the building’s règlement de copropriété.
At that point, continuing to operate a short-term rental in the building is a breach of the rules. The syndicat des copropriétaires (or individual co-owners) can take you to court to enforce compliance. This typically means an order to cease the activity, potentially with a daily penalty (astreinte) for non-compliance.
There’s no explicit transition period or grandfather clause in the law for existing rentals. If you’re already operating an Airbnb and the building votes to ban it, you’re expected to stop. This is one of the areas where future litigation may provide more nuance — courts may consider whether an owner who invested in reliance on the previous rules deserves some form of protection — but for now, the legal position is clear: the ban applies.
You don’t need to vote in favour. You don’t even need to be present at the meeting. Article 26 requires a double majority: a majority of co-owners by number and at least two-thirds of the tantièmes (the voting shares allocated to each unit). But if enough of your neighbours want this, that threshold is entirely reachable.
What You Can Do About It
If you’re a UK investor with a French apartment that you rent short-term, here are your options:
1. Check your building rules now. Get a copy of your règlement de copropriété and look for a clause d’habitation bourgeoise or clause d’habitation exclusivement bourgeoise. If it’s not there, the two-thirds voting mechanism doesn’t apply to your building.
2. Attend general meetings. The assemblée générale is where these votes happen. If you don’t attend (or appoint a proxy), you lose your voice. In many buildings, absenteeism means a motivated minority can push things through.
3. Build alliances. If other owners in the building also benefit from short-term rentals, coordinate. The two-thirds threshold is high enough that a well-organised minority can block it.
4. Switch to long-term rentals. The ban only covers short-term tourist lets. A furnished rental under a bail mobilité (1–10 months) or a standard one-year furnished lease (bail meublé) is not affected. For many investors, the net yield difference between Airbnb and a well-managed long-term furnished rental is smaller than they think — especially once you factor in management costs, vacancy, cleaning, and platform commissions.
5. Take legal advice before the vote. If you suspect a ban is coming, a French property lawyer (avocat spécialisé en droit immobilier) can review your building rules, assess whether the clause d’habitation bourgeoise genuinely applies, and advise on any procedural challenges available to you.
6. Consider your exit. If short-term rental income was central to your investment case and a ban looks inevitable, it may be worth reassessing the property’s value under a long-term rental scenario. Selling before a ban takes effect preserves optionality for the buyer — and your asking price.
FAQs
Can my building ban Airbnb if there’s no clause d’habitation bourgeoise?
Not through the two-thirds voting mechanism introduced by the loi Le Meur. Without this clause, a ban on short-term rentals would still require unanimity — which is practically impossible. However, individual co-owners can still bring legal action if your rental activity causes proven disturbances (troubles anormaux de voisinage).
Does this apply to my primary residence?
No. The law explicitly exempts primary residences. You can continue to rent your main home on Airbnb for up to 120 days per year (or 90 days — some communes can now set a lower limit under the loi Le Meur), regardless of any building vote.
What about properties held through an SCI?
The rules apply to the property itself, not the ownership structure. If your SCI owns an apartment in a copropriété with a clause d’habitation bourgeoise, the building can still vote to ban short-term rentals from that unit.
Can the ban be reversed?
Yes. The Constitutional Council specifically noted that the prohibition is reversible. A future general meeting could vote to lift it, though you’d presumably need the same two-thirds majority.
I already have bookings. Do I have to cancel them?
The law doesn’t include a transition period. If the building votes to ban short-term rentals, the expectation is that you stop. In practice, courts may show some flexibility around existing commitments, but relying on this is risky. Take legal advice specific to your situation.
Is this just a Paris problem?
No. While the political pressure came largely from Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, and other tourist-heavy cities, the loi Le Meur applies across all of France. Any copropriété meeting the conditions can hold the vote. That said, buildings in areas without a housing shortage are less likely to bother.
This article was last updated on 31 March 2026. The legal position described is based on the loi n° 2024-1039 du 19 novembre 2024 and the Conseil constitutionnel’s Decision n° 2025-1186 QPC of 19 March 2026.
Related Posts You Should Read
- The Complete Guide to Airbnb Investing in France – Everything you need to know about running a short-term rental in France, including the regulatory landscape this ruling reshapes.
- How to Create a SCI in France – Setting up a French property company for your investment, and how the copropriété rules interact with SCI ownership.
- The Golden Cage of the French SCI – The constraints of holding property through an SCI, including the impact of changing rental regulations.
- French Property Market Analysis – Current market data and trends for French property investment.
- Capital Gains Tax on French Property – What you need to know about taxation when selling French property, relevant if regulatory changes force a change of strategy.
