Renting your property

Many buyers require a rental income to offset expenses and/or to give a good rate of return. With renting, the main options are long term letting and weekly letting.

With long-term letting, we can put you in contact with a local French rental agency who can manage your property. This service includes collecting rent and deposits, screening potential tenants and ensuring the property is kept in good condition. Rates range between 7% and 10% of the monthly rent. The duration of long term rental contracts are either 3, 6 or 9 years.

Insurance can be bought which offers a type of guaranteed rental income. This costs around 8% of the annual rent and covers property owners when tenants do not pay the rent. The contract is specific to the tenant . So if the tenant gives notice and decides to move, the time between tenants is not covered as the insurance ends the day the tenant leaves. The rental market in Nice is quite strong, with a renting culture embedded in the French psyche, so finding tenants is quite easy. This insurance product is an added safety mechanism for investors who are not very familiar with the local market.

Short-term letting is a popular option for many foreign buyers as it combines two major benefits: a potentially very strong rental return and personal use of the property by the owner. The rents commanded by apartments that are let to tourists on a weekly basis are roughly the same as the rent charged per month to a full time tenant on a monthly contract. Theoretically, the return could be four times as much as renting it out per month. Indeed, there are some very happy owners who rent their apartments for between 30 and 42 weeks per year. A combination of a property with a 'wow' factor and clever marketing could yield a good rate of return.

Chez Riviera work with several of the top holiday letting agencies in Nice and we offer an extensive guide to renting your property with our after-sales pack. There are two main types of letting company that are available in Nice and your choice depends on the level of involvement you wish to have in the letting.

For those who prefer a more hands-on approach and would consider marketing your property yourself, a key-handling and changeover service would suit. This entails somebody at the apartment to meet and greet new tenants, clean between visits and hold the deposit. The charge for this service is between 70 and 120 Euro per changeover.

If this all sounds like too much hassle and you would like one person to take care of everything, like the marketing, advertising, photos, organising visits, cleaning, etc, then the all-inclusive option is for you. With this option all you have to do is tell the agency when you or your friends will be staying in the apartment and then check your bank account every month. This option costs between 25% and 30% of the total rent.