Practical guide
The registration number for a furnished rental in Lyon
Before the first night let, a furnished tourist rental must be declared to the town hall and given a number. In Lyon it takes minutes — but it replaces no authorisation, and going without is expensive.
Updated 23 September 2026 · 2 min read
Who must declare
Anyone offering a furnished tourist rental declares the property to the town hall and receives a registration number (article L324-1-1 of the French Tourism Code). The number of nights you plan to let makes no difference.
This applies to your main home as much as to any other property. For the second case, it is not enough: see below.
The procedure in Lyon
It is done online, on the City of Lyon's own service, with FranceConnect identification. The City states that the number is issued immediately once the form is validated.
The department in charge is the City of Lyon housing service, 198 avenue Jean-Jaurès, 69007 Lyon — 04 26 99 62 18. The tourist tax is handled by the Metropolis instead: see our guide on the tourist tax.
What the number does not allow
For a property that is not your main home, the City of Lyon is explicit: issuing the number is not an authorisation. You must first have obtained a change of use, and you must own the property.
This is the most common and the most expensive misunderstanding. Our guide on the change of use sets out the steps.
In a building held in co-ownership, you must inform the managing agent, who puts the matter on the agenda of the next general meeting (article 9-2 of the French law of 10 July 1965).
What it looks like, and where it goes
The number has thirteen characters in three groups: the town code, an identifier specific to the property, and a check key.
It must appear on every listing, on every platform. Platforms are required to publish it, to inform you of your obligations and to collect your sworn statement (article L324-2-1 of the French Tourism Code).
What platforms report to the town hall
Every year, platforms tell the town hall how many nights each property was let. They must also stop listing a property declared as a main home once it passes one hundred and twenty nights.
In Lyon your own cap is lower: 90 nights a year for a main home. So do not rely on the platforms' automatic cut-off to stop you in time; keep your own count.
What you risk
- no declaration: up to €10,000, a fine issued by the mayor;
- false declaration or use of a false number: up to €20,000;
- going over the night cap: up to €15,000;
- letting without the change-of-use authorisation: up to €25,000.
These are the amounts in the Tourism Code since the French law of 19 November 2024. Several public information pages still quote the older, lower ones — it is the text in force that applies.
What changes in late 2026
A national service, the "API meublés", is due to open to hosts in the last quarter of 2026 and to centralise registrations, with a new number format. Until then, the City of Lyon is clear: registering on its own service remains compulsory.
This guide gives general pointers. It is not legal advice, and the obligations that come with letting a property remain its owner's. The law that applies is French law; legal texts are cited in French.