Lyon · Villeurbanne · Caluire · Lyon metropolitan area
In Lyon, a flat that is not your main home cannot be let as a short-term tourist rental without permission, and often not without compensation. We start from that rule, at your exact address, and propose the option that earns without exposing you.
The rules first
Before talking about income, you need to know what your property is allowed to do. These are the rules the City of Lyon publishes on its official pages (in French).
Main home
If you live in the flat, an online declaration is enough: the registration number is issued immediately and must appear on the listing. Short-term letting is then capped at 90 days a year.
Other property
For a flat that is not your main home, you first need a change-of-use permit. The owner applies; the Mayor of Lyon grants it after the district mayor's opinion.
Compensation
In the hyper-centre, every application requires compensation. Elsewhere, from 35 m², you must compensate from the first square metre with a property of the same size (within 5%) in the same district. Compensating means turning a non-residential space, such as an office or a shop, into housing. Below 35 m², the number and duration of permits are limited.
Companies
For a company, compensation is required from the first square metre anywhere in Lyon. That is why we do not offer to turn a Lyon flat into a tourist rental in a company's name.
Registration
The City says the national registration service, « API Meublés », is due to open in the fourth quarter of 2026. Until then, registering on the City of Lyon's own service remains mandatory.
Penalties
Up to €10,000 for an undeclared rental and €15,000 for exceeding the night cap. Up to €100,000 per dwelling converted without a change-of-use permit.
French Tourism Code, art. L324-1-1; Construction and Housing Code, art. L651-2
Rules read on the official websites on 19 October 2026. We check them again, at your address, before anything is signed.
Which option
Lyon's rules don't close the door. They point to the right option. Here is how we reason, depending on what you own and how you use it.
Your situation
You live in the flat and you are often away: business trips, holidays, time abroad.
Why it holds
No permit needed: a declaration is enough. We keep count of the nights with you to stay under the cap.
Your situation
A flat you don't live in: empty, between tenants, or one you want a steady rent from.
Why it holds
A flat let to people on assignment, relocating, training or on an internship remains a home: it does not become a tourist rental, so no change of use and no compensation. We check the set-up with you, property by property.
Your situation
A large flat, three bedrooms or more, near a campus or a metro line.
The option
Furnished house shareWhy it holds
One residential lease per room, no change-of-use permit. One departure empties one room, not the whole flat.
Your situation
A flat that already holds its change-of-use permit, or a property outside the City of Lyon itself.
The option
Year-round short-let managementWhy it holds
With a valid permit, or in a town that does not apply this regime, short-term letting can run all year. We check the town's rule before answering.
Where demand comes from
Lyon is first and foremost a city of business travel, healthcare, study and events. That is what separates a flat that fills from one that waits. The places that matter, and the people who come to work there.
Part-Dieu
Lyon 3rd
The business district and main station: short assignments, meetings, training.
Cité Internationale and Convention Centre
Lyon 6th
Conferences and seminars by the Parc de la Tête d'Or, linked to Caluire by the C1 bus line.
Eurexpo
Chassieu
The metropolitan exhibition centre: exhibitors and visitors during trade fairs.
Groupama Stadium and LDLC Arena
Décines-Charpieu
Matches, concerts and major events, with demand peaks on dates known well in advance.
Hospitals
Lyon 3rd, Lyon 4th, Bron, Oullins-Pierre-Bénite
Édouard Herriot, Croix-Rousse, the Groupement Hospitalier Est in Bron, Lyon Sud hospital: medical staff on assignment, junior doctors, patients' relatives.
Campuses
Villeurbanne, Bron, Vaulx-en-Velin, Lyon 7th
LyonTech-la Doua, Porte des Alpes, ENTPE and the school of architecture, ENS in Gerland: students, researchers and interns, for a few months at a time.
Gerland and Confluence
Lyon 7th and 2nd
The Gerland Biodistrict and the Confluence offices: researchers and employees on assignment.
Town by town
The permit regime is decided town by town. Two addresses ten minutes apart can follow opposite rules. Here is what we found.
The strictest regime in the area: 90 nights a year for a main home, change of use for other flats, compensation in the hyper-centre, from 35 m² elsewhere, and from the first square metre for a company. Hence mid-term lets and house shares for flats nobody lives in.
The opposite of Lyon. The town says a simple declaration at the town hall is enough, with a receipt within a month and no registration number, and that no change-of-use application is needed for a furnished tourist rental.
We found no council decision creating a change-of-use permit regime at our last check, in September 2026. The town is classed as a high-pressure housing area: a single council vote would be enough to create one. We check at the town hall before every signature. For guests, the C1 line runs to the Cité Internationale and Part-Dieu.
The town requires a declaration at the town hall using form Cerfa 14004, filed with its economy and employment department, and reminds owners that letting is forbidden in social housing or where the building's rules forbid it. Demand follows the Carré de Soie hub (metro A terminus, T3 tram, Rhônexpress to the airport) and the ENTPE and architecture school campus.
A town created on 1 January 2024 by merging Oullins and Pierre-Bénite. It hosts Lyon Sud hospital, served by metro line B since 20 October 2023 (Oullins Centre and Saint-Genis-Laval Hôpital Lyon Sud stations). We found no published local rule on furnished tourist rentals: we check at the town hall, for your address.
Who does what
Guaranteed rent works differently: we become your tenant, with your written consent, and you receive a fixed rent on a date written into the contract.
Owners' questions
Only if it is not your main home and you have obtained a change-of-use permit, often granted against compensation. If you live there, the cap is 90 nights a year. For a flat you don't live in, mid-term lets or a house share avoid this regime.City of Lyon
Because the City of Lyon requires a company to compensate from the first square metre to turn a flat into a tourist rental. For a company like ours, that set-up isn't realistic. In Lyon, guaranteed rent therefore goes through mid-term lets.City of Lyon
A furnished-flat lease of 1 to 10 months, non-renewable, reserved for people in vocational training, higher education, apprenticeships, internships, civic service, job relocation or a temporary assignment. The landlord may not ask for a deposit.Service-public.fr, bail mobilité
No. Each town decides. Villeurbanne says no change of use is needed for a furnished tourist rental. In Caluire, we have found no council decision so far. Either way, the town-hall declaration is still mandatory, and we check again before signing.City of Villeurbanne
The building's rules can restrict or forbid short-term letting. The City of Lyon itself advises checking whether the co-owners' or the landlord's consent is needed. We read them with you before starting anything.City of Lyon, change of use
A call, or the estimate form. We check the rule that applies to your address, tell you which option is possible, then put figures on it. The assessment is free and commits you to nothing.
Tell us the address and how the flat is used today. We'll reply with the rule that applies and the option available, before we talk figures.
Next step
A costed study, specific to your property and your local council. You get it within 48 working hours. Do whatever you like with it, including nothing.
Free. No commitment. No automated follow-ups.