Letting unfurnished or furnished in France

The lease: term, deposit, notice

A home is furnished if it contains at least the list set by the decree of 31 July 2015: bedding, hob, oven or microwave, fridge with freezer compartment, crockery, table, seating, storage, lighting, cleaning equipment… If a single item is missing, the home is legally unfurnished (service-public.gouv.fr, F1165). An inventory of the furniture must be attached to the lease.

Sources: service-public.gouv.fr (F1165 and F920). The 3-year term can be reduced to a minimum of 1 year if the private landlord plans to take the home back for a family or professional reason (F920). Setting and reviewing the rent, the decency standards, the list of recoverable service charges and agency fees follow the same rules in both cases (F1165). Our guides on the bail de location (residential lease) and the bail meublé (furnished lease) go into these points.

Unfurnished letting: micro-foncier or actual expenses

Rent from an unfurnished let is property income (service-public.gouv.fr, F1991):

• micro-foncier (simplified flat-rate scheme), automatic if the household’s property income does not exceed €15,000: a flat 30% allowance covers all expenses, and no actual expenses are deductible;
• régime réel (actual-expenses regime), compulsory above €15,000 or by option (irrevocable for 3 years): you deduct actual expenses (maintenance and improvement works, loan interest, insurance, taxe foncière (property tax), management fees) on form 2044.

The actual-expenses regime gives access to the déficit foncier (property loss): the part excluding loan interest can be set against overall income up to €10,700 a year. The purchase price of the home, however, cannot be depreciated in standard unfurnished letting. Social security levies (prélèvements sociaux) are 17.2% (F2329). See our guide on revenus fonciers et micro-foncier (property income and the simplified scheme).

Furnished letting: micro-BIC or actual expenses

Rent from a furnished let falls under BIC. For 2026 income, article 50-0 of the CGI (version in force since 1 July 2026) sets:

The ceiling was €77,700 for 2025 income. Under the micro-BIC, no expenses are deductible.

Under the actual-expenses regime (form 2031-SD, carried over to the 2042 C-PRO), the landlord deducts their expenses and the depreciation of the purchase price of the home and furniture. A loss can only be set against non-professional furnished letting income, for the year and the 10 following years, never against salary (F32744). The activity must be registered on the guichet des formalités des entreprises (business formalities portal) within 15 days of the start of the letting, free of charge, to obtain a SIRET number (business identification number).

Social security levies on non-professional furnished letting are 18.6%, against 17.2% for property income (F2329).

LMNP status and resale

The landlord is a loueur en meublé non professionnel (LMNP) (non-professional furnished landlord) if their furnished letting receipts are below €23,000 a year or below the household’s other earned income (F32744). Below €23,000, they pay no social security contributions (cotisations sociales), only the social security levies. On resale, LMNP status keeps the capital gains regime for private individuals’ property, with its holding-period allowances (see our LMNP guide).

For sales completed from 15 February 2025, the depreciation deducted by a non-professional furnished landlord is added back in calculating the capital gain, under conditions (F10864): it reduces the purchase price taken into account, and so increases the taxable gain. The advantage of the actual-expenses regime for furnished letting during the letting period is partly paid for on resale; a landlord under the micro-BIC is not affected, since they deduct no depreciation.

How to compare

Neither option is better in absolute terms; the factors to weigh up are:

• stability: longer lease and longer tenant’s notice unfurnished; more frequent turnover furnished;
• the cost of equipment: furnished letting requires minimum furniture to be bought and replaced;
• tax: 30% versus 50% allowance under the simplified schemes; depreciation possible only for furnished letting under the actual-expenses regime, but added back on resale;
• social security levies: 17.2% versus 18.6%;
• formalities: SIRET number and BIC tax return for furnished letting.

To put figures on it, see our guide on rendement locatif (rental yield).

Which professional to consult

The agent immobilier (estate agent) knows the rents charged for unfurnished and furnished lets in your area and can manage the lease. If the purchase is financed with a loan, a courtier en crédit (mortgage broker) works out the monthly repayments, the interest on which is deductible under the actual-expenses regime. On resale, the notaire (notary) calculates the capital gain, taking into account depreciation added back under LMNP.