Since it was passed, the Le Meur Act has redrawn the framework for furnished holiday lets in France, and the Opal Coast is no exception. Between revised taxation, blanket registration and new powers handed to mayors, many owners in Calais, Gravelines and Boulogne-sur-Mer simply want to know what they have to do, and when. Here is a clear, jargon-free summary of what has actually changed.
The Le Meur Act, in one sentence
Act no. 2024-1039 of 19 November 2024, intended to strengthen the tools for regulating furnished holiday lets at local level and better known as the Le Meur Act, pursues two openly stated aims: giving communes back control over where holiday lets are set up, and narrowing the tax advantage gap that existed between short-term and long-term letting.
It abolishes nothing. It regulates. For a serious owner, that is an essential distinction: short-term letting remains perfectly legal and profitable, but it now calls for rather more administrative rigour up front.
Tax: the new micro-BIC balance
This is the most widely discussed part. The micro-BIC scheme, which allows you to declare your rental income with a flat-rate allowance instead of keeping full accounts, has been tightened for furnished holiday lets.
| Type of let | Micro-BIC allowance | Income ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Non-classified furnished holiday let | 30% | €15,000 |
| Classified furnished holiday let | 50% | €77,700 |
| Bed & breakfast | 50% | €77,700 |
| Long-term furnished let | 50% | €77,700 |
Above these ceilings, the régime réel (actual-expenses scheme) applies. Two practical consequences. First, a non-classified studio generating more than €15,000 in annual income moves onto the régime réel, with an obligation to keep accounts but also the ability to deduct actual expenses and depreciation. Second, classification as a furnished holiday let takes on new value: it becomes a genuine optimisation lever, rather than a simple comfort label.
The right habit is to redo the calculation every year, with the figures in front of you. And because every asset situation is different, have your decision validated by an accountant before committing.
Registration becomes the rule for everyone
This is the most structural day-to-day change. The Le Meur Act extends prior declaration to every furnished holiday let, including where it is your main residence let out for a few weekends a year. The switch to the national registration service was set for 20 May 2026.
In practice, you obtain a declaration number that you must display on each of your listings, on every platform. Airbnb, Booking and Abritel remove listings without a valid number: this is no longer a formality to be put off, it is the condition for your property being visible at all.
Penalties have been raised accordingly. Failure to register can give rise to a civil fine of up to €10,000, and a false declaration up to €20,000.
Main residence: the nights ceiling can come down
The long-standing rule is unchanged: a main residence cannot be let as a furnished holiday let for more than 120 nights a year. What is new is that communes can now lower that ceiling to 90 nights a year, by a reasoned resolution, since 1 January 2025.
On the Opal Coast, situations vary a great deal from one commune to another. A seaside resort in heavy demand over the summer and a port town handling mainly cross-Channel traffic do not face the same housing pressures. Before building a forecast around a main residence, call your town hall’s planning department and ask explicitly whether a resolution has been passed.
Energy performance: the DPE enters the equation
The Act introduces an energy requirement that until now applied only to conventional letting. New change-of-use authorisations require a DPE (energy performance certificate) rated A to E, with a tightening to A-D announced for 2034. In addition, an energy decency requirement will apply to furnished holiday lets that are not main residences from 1 January 2034.
The timetable may seem distant. It is not, for an older coastal property, often exposed to wind and damp, where insulation work needs planning and budgeting across several financial years. It is also a double-benefit investment: a better-insulated property costs less to heat out of season and earns better mentions in guest reviews.
Co-ownership and mayors’ powers: two constraints worth knowing
Two provisions often go unnoticed and yet create most of the disputes.
In a co-owned building, newly drawn-up regulations must state expressly whether furnished holiday letting is permitted or prohibited. And the question of that activity must be capable of being put on the agenda of the general meeting. In other words, the subject can no longer be left vague: better to raise it yourself, calmly, before a neighbour raises it against you.
As for communes, mayors have strengthened tools at their disposal: quotas for change-of-use authorisations, compensation schemes, inspections and penalties. The habit to keep is always the same before buying or converting a property: check the local rules, commune by commune.
What the Le Meur Act does not change
It is worth recalling what remains stable, because rumours travel fast among owners.
The principle of furnished holiday letting itself is not called into question. You remain free to let your second home year-round, subject to local rules. Furnished-landlord status, the ability to depreciate under the régime réel, the collection of tourist tax and insurance obligations follow their own logic and are not overturned by this text.
Nor are existing contracts cancelled. A confirmed booking remains a confirmed booking. What changes is the compliance of the property itself, and therefore its ability to stay published on the platforms.
Finally, the Act creates no general nationwide ban. It shifts the cursor towards commune level, which means in very practical terms that the same project can be straightforward in a rural commune of the Audomarois and much more tightly regulated in a hard-pressed seaside resort. The answer is never found in a blog article, ours included: it is found at the town hall for the place where your property is.
What if you have been letting for several years already?
The most common case we come across is the established owner, letting without trouble for five or ten years, who has never had to fill in a single form. The good news is that getting back up to standard is almost always quick. The bad news is that it does not happen by itself.
Work through the file in this order: administrative compliance first, tax second, works last. Reversing that order means investing in a renovation before knowing whether the commune will permit the activity. Allow half a day for the inventory, and note every point of doubt to put to your town hall or your adviser.
Your five-point action plan
- Check that each of your properties has a valid registration number and that it appears on all your listings.
- Ask your town hall about the applicable nights ceiling and about any change-of-use procedure.
- Redo your tax simulation with up-to-date figures, and seriously assess the value of classification as a furnished holiday let.
- Reread your co-ownership regulations, and plan ahead for the discussion at the general meeting.
- Order or update your DPE, and plan any works over three to five years rather than in a rush.
These checks take a few hours. They save months of complications, and above all a listing being pulled in the middle of the season.
At N&C Conciergerie, we support owners in Calais, Gravelines, Dunkirk, Saint-Omer and Boulogne-sur-Mer through this compliance work as well as the day-to-day management of their property. If you would like to review your situation, take a look at our concierge services or simply call us on 06.59.97.61.29. For any specific tax or legal question, we will point you towards your town hall, an accountant or a legal professional.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Le Meur Act ban Airbnb letting? No, at no point. It regulates the letting of furnished holiday accommodation by extending declaration to all, strengthening communes’ powers and adjusting taxation. Letting remains perfectly legal. What changes is the compliance required up front: registration, observing the nights ceiling and checking local rules before publishing your listing.
Do I have to get my furnished holiday let classified? It is not compulsory, but the gap in the micro-BIC allowance between a non-classified and a classified let is now significant, as is the gap in the income ceiling. For a property generating regular income, classification deserves a proper costed simulation. Have it validated by an accountant, since the gain also depends on your actual expenses.
What does an owner letting without a registration number risk? Two things. First a financial penalty: the civil fine can reach €10,000 for failure to register and €20,000 for a false declaration. Second an immediate commercial penalty, often more painful: the platforms remove listings without a valid number, which cuts off your bookings in the middle of the season.
