Short-Term Rental Regulations in Alsace in 2026: The Complete Guide for Informed Property Owners

Understanding the framework: why Strasbourg is one of France's most regulated cities for short-term rental

With more than 3,300 declared tourist furnished lettings in 2023 — of which nearly 1,800 were secondary residences converted to short-term rental — the Eurométropole of Strasbourg has for several years faced acute pressure on its residential property market. Those 1,800 properties represent the equivalent of eighteen months of new housing production withdrawn from the traditional rental market.

In response, the local authority has progressively tightened its municipal regulations since 2016 — with major amendments in 2019, 2021, 2024 and Amendment No. 4 adopted on 19 December 2025, applicable to applications submitted from 1 February 2026.

This framework now operates on two levels: national regulation under the Le Meur Act of 19 November 2024, and local Strasbourg regulation — one of the most demanding in metropolitan France.

To navigate this complex regulatory landscape and secure your activity, Adopte une Conciergerie accompanies its owner members through all compliance procedures, in coordination with the Eurométropole's services.

Three possible situations: principal residence, secondary residence, commercial premises

You are letting your principal residence (fewer than 120 nights per year)

This is the most flexible case. If you let the home in which you live for at least 8 months per year as a tourist furnished letting, you benefit from a lighter regime, subject to conditions:

• 120-night annual limit — and since the Le Meur Act, mayors may reduce this threshold to 90 nights by council resolution. Verify with the Eurométropole whether this measure has been applied in Strasbourg.
• Mandatory declaration to the town hall — via the Eurométropole portal, obtaining a registration number which must appear on all listings (Airbnb, Booking, Abritel). This obligation is in force in Strasbourg without exception.
• No change of use required — below 120 nights per year, a change of use is not necessary. The principal residence retains its residential character in law.
• Tourist tax is mandatory — collected automatically by Airbnb on behalf of the Eurométropole. For lettings outside platforms, you must pay this tax via the Strasbourg Eurométropole's online declaration platform.
• Mandatory notification to the building management company since 2025 — every co-owner declaring themselves as a tourist furnished letting operator must inform their building management company, under the Le Meur Act.

You are letting a secondary residence or a property not occupied as your principal home

This is where Strasbourg's regulatory complexity is at its highest. Any tourist furnished letting of a property that is not your principal residence requires a change-of-use authorisation issued by the Eurométropole's Building Police department ([email protected] — tel. 03 68 98 65 22).

Change of use WITHOUT compensation

Possible outside the extended city centre perimeter (defined in the appendix to the municipal regulations), for a first application, by an individual. The authorisation is granted for a period of 6 years, renewable by 3 years subject to documented energy renovation works (supported by a new energy performance certificate).

Change of use WITH compensation — mandatory in the extended city centre

Since 1 October 2024, any application for a change of use for a tourist furnished letting within the extended city centre perimeter requires compensation, regardless of the nature of the applicant (individual or corporate entity).

The principle: for every square metre of housing converted to tourist letting, you must create an equivalent square metre of housing by converting a non-residential space (office, commercial unit, ground-floor premises) into residential accommodation. Compensation is at equivalent surface area — except in the Grande-Île and Neustadt (UNESCO zones), where it is 1.5 times the surface area of the converted property.

It is also possible to purchase commerciality rights from a third party (notably a social housing operator) to fulfil the compensation requirement without carrying out works.

The 80% rule: in any building, the surface area allocated to non-residential uses (tourist furnished lettings + commercial units + offices) may not exceed 20% of the total surface area. Beyond this threshold, any new authorisation is refused.

Specific rule for corporate entities (SCI, SARL...)

If the applicant or the property owner is a corporate entity, compensation is mandatory from the very first property, regardless of zone.

You are letting a converted commercial premises

An office or commercial unit converted to tourist furnished letting does not require a change of use under the Housing Construction Code (L.631-7), as it is not classified as residential. However, a change of destination is required under the Urban Planning Code. This case is often simpler but requires prior verification.

The Le Meur Act (19 November 2024): what changes in practice in 2026

Mandatory energy performance certificate for new change-of-use authorisations

Since 21 November 2024, any property subject to a change-of-use authorisation and offered for the first time as a tourist furnished letting must hold an energy performance certificate (DPE) rated between A and E (classes F and G are excluded). This obligation has been integrated into Amendment No. 4 of the Strasbourg municipal regulations applicable from 1 February 2026. From 1 January 2034, the threshold will be raised to classes A to D.

Note: principal residences let below 120 nights are not currently subject to this DPE obligation — unless they are subject to a change-of-use application.

National registration teleservice — mandatory before 20 May 2026

The Le Meur Act creates a single national registration portal for tourist furnished lettings, operational by no later than 20 May 2026. From that date, all property owners — principal or secondary residence, anywhere in France — will need to register on this national teleservice with supporting documents, including a tax assessment notice in the owner's name showing the property address. The national registration number will progressively replace existing local numbers.

Reinforced powers for mayors

The Le Meur Act gives mayors unprecedented tools: the ability to reduce the maximum letting duration for principal residences to 90 nights, quotas of tourist furnished letting authorisations, PLU zones prohibiting new secondary residences, and suspension of registration numbers for uninhabitable properties (applicable by no later than 20 May 2026).

Co-ownership: new rules

Since 2025, a vote by two-thirds (not unanimity) of co-owners is sufficient to amend the co-ownership regulations and prohibit tourist furnished lettings in the building. New co-ownership regulations may directly provide for or prohibit this activity.

Taxation of tourist furnished lettings in 2026: micro-BIC and actual-cost regime

Micro-BIC regime in 2026

• Classified tourist furnished lettings: 50% flat deduction up to an annual revenue ceiling of €77,700.
• Unclassified tourist furnished lettings: 30% flat deduction up to an annual revenue ceiling of €15,000 (threshold unchanged from 2025).

Beyond these thresholds, the actual-cost regime applies mandatorily. Note: the Le Meur Act provides that depreciation charges are now reintegrated into the calculation of capital gains on resale for LMNP operators on the actual-cost regime.

Actual-cost regime

This allows deduction of all actual expenses — loan interest, works, building charges, insurance, land tax, management fees, and property depreciation. In most cases, this is more advantageous than the micro-BIC for high-value properties generating significant income.

Sanctions for non-compliance

• Letting without a registration number: fine up to €10,000
• Exceeding the 120-night limit for a principal residence: fine up to €15,000
• Change of use without authorisation or without compensation in Strasbourg: fine up to €50,000 and immediate removal of listings from platforms
• Failure to provide energy performance certificate (from 2034): €100 per day administrative penalty
• Letting in violation of energy performance rules: administrative fine up to €5,000

The situation in Colmar and other Alsatian communes

Colmar's regulations are less constraining than Strasbourg's but tighten each year. Town hall declaration and a registration number are mandatory. Change of use may be subject to compensation depending on the zone since 1 February 2022, with authorisations granted for 5 years. Tourist tax must be collected and paid via Colmar's online platform. Controls are frequent given the city's exceptional attractiveness (Christmas markets, wine tourism).

Peripheral communes (Schiltigheim, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Obernai, Molsheim, Sélestat) apply less strict rules than Strasbourg, but town hall declaration remains mandatory everywhere. The national teleservice from May 2026 will standardise these obligations across the entire country.

How Adopte une Conciergerie secures your compliance

In this constantly evolving regulatory environment, delegating the management of your tourist furnished letting to a serious operator is no longer simply a matter of convenience — it is a matter of legal and financial security.

Our Adopte une Conciergerie City Managers handle all regulatory compliance on your behalf: town hall declaration and registration number, night counter tracking for principal residences, tourist tax declaration and payment, continuous regulatory monitoring, and coordination with the Eurométropole's services for change-of-use files.

FAQ — Short-term rental regulations in Alsace 2026

Regulatory compliance is not an obstacle to profitability — it is its precondition. Our City Managers at Adopte une Conciergerie manage your property in full legal compliance, while maximising your occupancy rate and net income.