We own a gîte in France and recently received a letter at our address in the UK that appeared to come from a French agency dealing with the registration of gîtes/holiday accommodation for disabled persons.
It stated that under new legislation it was necessary to register holiday homes in order to receive a ‘licence’ to operate.
The fee was €700 and the licence was valid for 10 years.
The letter was well designed, very formal and gave details of extensive fines if you failed to register within a given time limit following receipt of the letter. It was not untypical of the sort of letter sent out by tax authorities.
We made further enquiries with our local mayor and he was already aware of this letter – and explained it was a scam.
I can understand how English people could be tricked as dealing with French authorities is often far from easy.
This letter came in as hardcopy to our UK address – and the British are often worried about doing anything that could bring the full force of the French tax and other authorities on their heads.
It is also possible to find news of recent new legislation appertaining to disability matters and holiday accommodation on French websites dealing with these matters.
John Hindhaugh, Indre
Income Tax in France 2023 (for 2022 income)*
Visa and residency cards for France*
