Lodging While Traveling: Choosing the Right Option for Your Stay Length

Between a few nights and several months, the right accommodation doesn't come with the same contract or the same rules. This article helps you choose the option that fits your stay length, spot the thresholds that change everything (28 nights, 90 days), and know what a landlord can or cannot ask of you before you sign. The detailed contract rules here are those of France; platform rules can vary by country and offer, so check them when you book.

Choosing an option based on your length of stay

For a short stay, seasonal rental is the standard option. It cannot exceed 90 consecutive days^[1]: beyond that, you need a different type of contract. A furnished tourist rental, meanwhile, is rented to transient guests who don't establish their residence there, for a stay by the day, the week, or the month^[1].

For a stay of several months, the mobility lease is intended for temporary occupants: students, employees on temporary assignment, or people in professional training^[2]. It runs from 1 to 10 months and cannot be renewed^[2]. In a residence for employment purposes, its duration can range from a minimum of one week up to 18 months^[2].

If you book through a platform like Airbnb, the threshold to remember is 28 nights: from that point on, the "long-term" cancellation policy applies^[3].

• A few nights, fewer than 28: seasonal rental or furnished tourist rental (seasonal rental remains possible for up to 90 consecutive days).
• 28 nights or more on a platform: long-term payment and cancellation conditions.
• More than 90 consecutive days: a seasonal rental is no longer possible, so you need a different option; the mobility lease (1 to 10 months) exists, but it is reserved for temporary occupants (students, employees on temporary assignment, or people in professional training)^[2].

Short stays: seasonal rentals and furnished tourist rentals

In French municipalities that have introduced registration, all furnished tourist rentals, whether primary or secondary residences, must display a registration number on every listing^[1]. Platforms are required to take down listings that don't include one^[1]. A listing without a number in such a municipality is therefore a warning sign.

In these same municipalities, a host cannot offer a furnished rental declared as their primary residence for more than 120 days a year, except for professional obligation, health reasons, or force majeure^[1].

Long stays: mobility lease, furnished rentals, and platforms

The mobility lease

When keys are handed over and returned, an inventory and a detailed statement of the furnishings must be made, signed by the owner (or the real estate agent) and by the tenant, then attached to the lease^[2]. Keep your copy: it will protect you when you move out.

The owner may ask for a security deposit. In that case, the tenant can use the Visale guarantee, including if they are a student^[2]. Visale is a French scheme: access depends on your situation, so check before counting on it.

You can end the mobility lease at any time, with one month's notice^[2]. A simple email is not enough to give notice: it is not valid, even if the recipient replies to accept it^[2]. A registered electronic letter is valid, provided the individual recipient has accepted this method of delivery in advance^[2].

Stays of 28 nights or more on Airbnb

For a booking of more than one month, the platform charges the first payment, then each following period 10 days in advance^[3]. The price is locked in as soon as the booking begins^[3]. You can also pay a monthly installment slightly early, within the 7 days before the due date^[3].

Subletting, private accommodations, and extended stays

As a tenant, you may only sublet your home with your landlord's written consent^[1]. The same rule applies to a mobility lease^[2]. If you take over a sublet, ask to see this consent before you pay.

For long stays, a travel directive from Canada's National Joint Council, which governs official travel for public servants, recommends encouraging business residences, apartments, and non-commercial private homes for stays beyond 30 consecutive days in the same place^[4]. It specifies that staying in a non-commercial private home is a practice to be encouraged^[4].

This text only applies to the employees concerned; by analogy, you can reasonably think that, after one month, an apartment may make more sense than a hotel room.

Traps, Scams, and Points to Watch

Security Deposit and Amounts Requested at Signing (French Rules)

The security deposit may not exceed 2 months' rent excluding charges, and it must be stated in the lease^[5]. The landlord or agency may not increase it during the lease, nor at renewal^[5].

At signing, the landlord may collect the rent, the security deposit, and agency fees related to putting the property on the rental market (inventory of fixtures, property viewing)^[5]. Requiring the tenant to pay any other amounts in order to sign is prohibited, even if a lease clause provides for it^[5]. A request for "file fees" or "reservation fees" outside this list should make you hesitate.

At the end of the lease, the landlord may deduct from the deposit only costs he can justify: he relies on the move-in and move-out inventories and must present a quote or invoices^[5]. If he withholds any amount, he must give you supporting documents, such as the inventories, photos, or repair invoices^[5]. Photograph the property when you arrive and keep the listing, the photos, and your written exchanges.

Cancellation on a Platform

From 28 nights on, the long-stay cancellation policy applies automatically and generally requires 30 days' notice to modify the booking^[3]. In other words, a late change of plans can cost you several months' payments. These are the platform's rules and they may change: review them at the time you book.

Local Rules on Short-Term Rentals

In some municipalities, prior authorization from the mayor is required to convert a property into a short-term rental^[1]. For the host, operating without it exposes them to a civil fine of up to €50,000 per property^[1]. For you as a traveler, this means an irregular listing can disappear from the platform: prefer listings with a registration number in municipalities that require one.

Emergency or Temporary Accommodation Solutions

If you find yourself without a solution in France, 115 can help you find emergency accommodation, with a free call^[6]. Municipal social services can also see you and help you find a rehousing solution^[6].

If you are threatened with eviction, a national phone helpline set up by the Fondation Abbé Pierre, Allo Expulsion (0 810 001 505), explains your rights and the available remedies^[6]. These services are specific to France; outside France, check with local social services or your embassy.

Checklist Before Booking or Signing

• Match the rental type to your planned duration: seasonal up to 90 days, mobility lease of 1 to 10 months.
• In municipalities that require it, locate the registration number on the listing.
• For a sublet, require the owner's written consent.
• If your lease provides for a security deposit, check that it is stated in the lease and, for a standard furnished lease, that it stays within the limit of 2 months' rent excluding charges; for a mobility lease, check what is provided before you pay.
• Refuse any amount at signing beyond the rent, the deposit, and the agency fees related to putting the property on the rental market.
• Do the move-in inventory, the furniture list, and keep the listing, photos, and messages.
• On the platform, review the long-term cancellation policy before paying the first monthly installment.