Real estate in Nice is bought both for personal residence and as a second home. Many consider it as an investment (housing prices have increased by 17.5% over the past three years, by 3.6% over the past year) or use it to generate income from renting out. The average yield is about 5% per annum.
It must be said that the demand for rent in the city is high today. Thousands of tourists and business people come here every day (Nice Airport is the second busiest in the country after Paris).
In addition, housing is required by numerous students (there are about 30,000 of them). Young people study at the University of Nice – Sophia Antipolis, as well as at other educational institutions providing higher or secondary education.
Traditionally, young families (only 58% of the French are owners of their own homes) and visitors from different countries look for apartments to rent.
In Nice, you can combine the use of your property by renting it out seasonally to holidaymakers in the summer months, and for medium-term rent to students or other visitors from September to June. This approach significantly increases profitability.
The apartment you plan to rent out short-term should be located in the central areas of the city and within easy walking or transport accessibility from the sea. Due to the fact that Nice is built on hills, the path from the elevated area to the coast and back is sometimes not as fast and easy as we would like.
Property for long-term rent is in demand regardless of which quarter it is located in.
There are no administrative restrictions on long-term (from one year) rent. To rent out an apartment or house short-term, you must register with city services and obtain a special landlord code. When buying, it is worth finding out whether the house regulations provide for restrictions on seasonal rent – this has become increasingly common lately.
In any case, the owner is obliged to inform the tax authorities about how his property is used (for himself or for rent, and which one), and to file a tax return on the income received from rent.
A small nuance associated with long-term renting is that it is sometimes difficult to terminate a contract with an unscrupulous tenant, especially in winter, since, according to French law, the owner cannot evict the tenant in the winter.
