Who sets the short-term letting rules in Cannes?
Cannes belongs to the Communauté d'agglomération Cannes Pays de Lérins (CACPL), alongside Le Cannet, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Mougins and Théoule-sur-Mer. For holiday lets, however, it is the town itself that acts: declarations and registration numbers are handled by Cannes town hall, the tourist tax is set and collected by the town, and Cannes has its own local urban plan (PLU).
Change of use follows a precise legal logic. It applies automatically in towns of more than 200,000 inhabitants and in the inner Paris suburbs. Cannes is not one of them. For a change-of-use authorisation to be required there, a reasoned resolution is needed (article L631-9 of the Construction and Housing Code), passed by the inter-municipal body if it holds planning powers, or otherwise by the town council.
An important point if you know Nice: Cannes is not part of the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. The metropolitan regulation adopted on 22 June 2026 (temporary 5-year authorisations, four quota zones, one authorisation per tax household) does not apply in Cannes. For the Nice system, see our guide to Airbnb regulations in Nice.
Cannes, Antibes, Menton, Nice: each Riviera town has its own regime. Never carry one town’s rules over to another without checking.
Change of use in Cannes: what is in force and what has been announced
This is the question that matters most for a second home. To our knowledge, as of 5 October 2026, Cannes has not published a change-of-use regulation applying to holiday lets. The town hall's official page on declaring a holiday let makes no mention of a change-of-use authorisation. The published agendas of the council meetings of 29 June and 28 September 2026 contain no resolution on the subject.
Historically, the town took the opposite path to Nice. As early as 2020, legal commentators noted that Cannes had not introduced the change-of-use procedure for holiday lets, while still requiring registration. That same year, the town hall opposed the conversion of several entire buildings into tourist lets run by a company: action aimed at commercial operations, not private owners.
The context has since moved on. In November 2024, mayor David Lisnard said he wanted to penalise abuse rather than use, and mentioned a maximum of four let properties per owner. On 4 August 2025, he announced quotas on tourist lets in the most pressured neighbourhoods, notably La Banane (the Croisette area) and Le Suquet, due to take effect between summer and autumn 2026. The Le Meur law of 19 November 2024 allows such quotas (article L631-7-1 A of the Construction and Housing Code), but only once a resolution has set the zones and the number of authorisations.
- In force: town hall declaration and registration number for every holiday let.
- Announced, not found in the acts published by 5 October 2026: quotas in pressured neighbourhoods and a cap on properties per owner.
- To check before any investment: whether a change-of-use resolution exists, when it takes effect and which zones it covers.
Why does it matter so much? Because if Cannes adopts a change-of-use regime, letting a second home without authorisation would expose you to the fine set by article L651-2 of the Construction and Housing Code, which can reach €100,000 per property. The day a resolution is adopted, the rules will change for new hosts, and possibly for existing ones depending on the transitional provisions chosen.
Several websites claim that compensation is already required in Le Suquet and on the Croisette. We found no official act confirming this. Before buying to let short term, ask Cannes town hall's planning department for written confirmation.
Town hall declaration and registration number
Today, the core obligation in Cannes is the declaration. According to the town hall website, anyone letting a holiday let, professionally or not, must declare it and obtain a registration number. The rule covers all holiday lets, rated or not, whether main residence or second home.
You declare online on the town's portal (taxedesejour.ofeaweb.fr/ts/cannes), or using the Cerfa form sent to the finance department. You receive a unique 13-character number per property. It must appear on every listing and be passed on to every intermediary: Airbnb, Booking, an agency or a concierge service.
The Le Meur law provides for a national online registration service. According to Service-public, it is due to go live in the fourth quarter of 2026. Owners who already hold a municipal number will have several months to re-register. Until then, the Cannes portal remains the entry point.
- No declaration or number: administrative fine of up to €10,000 imposed by the town (article L324-1-1 of the Tourism Code).
- False declaration or false number: up to €20,000.
- Listing without a valid number: platforms are required to block it.
Main residence: how many days a year?
If you let your main residence, the home you live in for at least eight months a year, no change-of-use authorisation is needed. However, the law caps letting at 120 days per calendar year, except for professional obligations, health reasons or force majeure.
Since the Le Meur law, a town may lower this cap to as little as 90 days by reasoned resolution. Antibes did so in 2025. For Cannes, the town hall's official page still states that main residences may not be let for more than 120 days a year. We found no Cannes resolution lowering the threshold to 90 days, despite what some websites claim. Do check with the town hall when you declare, all the same.
Platforms and the town hall cross-check their data. Keep your own count of nights let across all platforms, and keep the tax notice proving the property is your main residence.
Tourist tax in Cannes: who collects it and how much
In Cannes, the tourist tax is set and collected by the town, not by the agglomeration. The 2026 rates were set by resolution no. 19 of 27 June 2025. For an unrated holiday let, the tax is 5% of the price per night per person, capped at €4.60, the highest rate voted by the town.
On top of this comes the 34% regional additional tax, created by the 2023 Finance Act for the Société de la ligne nouvelle Provence Côte d'Azur and calculated on the amount of the municipal tax. At the cap, a night in an unrated let therefore carries €6.16 per person. For a rated let, the rate is fixed: from €0.80 (1 star) to €3.30 (5 stars) before the additional tax.
Under-18s are exempt. The host declares and pays the tax every quarter, in the month after the quarter ends. Airbnb collects and pays over the tax for bookings made on its platform. For direct bookings, it is up to you to collect and declare it. The mechanism is explained in our tourist tax guide, written for Nice but valid in principle.
Co-ownership, energy rating and tax: national rules apply
Even without a change-of-use regime, several national rules apply in Cannes. First, co-ownership: many buildings on the Croisette, in La Californie or in the town centre have bylaws that may restrict short lets. The Le Meur law has also eased the voting rules for banning them in some cases, and requires you to inform the managing agent of your declaration. Our co-ownership and Le Meur law guide covers these points.
Next, the energy rating (DPE). Where a change-of-use authorisation is required, the property must have a DPE rated between A and E. The law tightens the requirements for holiday lets over time. If Cannes adopts a change-of-use regime, this condition will apply directly. Plan ahead with our energy rating guide for short lets.
Finally, tax. For 2026 income under the micro-BIC regime, an unrated holiday let benefits from a 30% allowance up to €15,000 of takings; a rated let from 50% up to €83,600. In Cannes, where event nights quickly push turnover up, getting your let rated is worth considering. For the return itself, read our guide to declaring Airbnb income and our 2026 LMNP guide, then have your situation checked by a chartered accountant.
The Cannes market: a calendar driven by events
Cannes does not look like Nice. Demand is concentrated on a handful of peaks: MIPIM in March, the Cannes Film Festival in May, Cannes Lions in June, the summer beach season, then MIPCOM in October. During these periods, professionals book early and rates bear no comparison with a week in November.
This seasonality has a direct regulatory consequence. A main residence capped at 120 days can be made to pay on the event peaks alone. A second home, by contrast, will depend on the rules the town adopts for its pressured neighbourhoods. Our article on Airbnb during the Cannes Film Festival explains how to prepare for those key weeks.
How we support owners in Cannes
La Joyeuse Conciergerie, based in Nice and holder of the carte G professional licence (loi Hoguet), also supports owners in Cannes. Declaration, displaying the number, tracking the night count, tourist tax, monitoring upcoming resolutions: compliance is part of our management. Discover our Airbnb concierge service in Cannes.
Our offer is simple: a 20% commission excl. VAT (24% incl. VAT) on revenue, all-inclusive and with no lock-in, a detailed report every Friday and a €250 contingency fund funded by the owner. This guide is not personalised legal or tax advice: for a purchase or a specific situation, consult a notaire, a lawyer or a chartered accountant.
Sources and verification date
Information checked on 5 October 2026 against the following sources. Regulations in Cannes are moving fast: if in doubt, the town hall has the final word.
- Cannes town hall, page « Déclaration d'un meublé de tourisme » (cannes.com): declaration duty, 13-character number, 120-day cap, online portal.
- Cannes town hall, agendas of the council meetings of 5 June, 29 June and 28 September 2026 (cannes.com, Conseil municipal section).
- Cannes town hall, 2026 tourist tax rate sheet (resolution no. 19 of 27 June 2025), portal taxedesejour.ofeaweb.fr/ts/cannes.
- DGFiP, tourist tax resolutions database (taxesejour.impots.gouv.fr, Cannes entry): levying authority, 5% unrated rate, 34% regional additional tax.
- Légifrance: article L324-1-1 of the Tourism Code; articles L631-7, L631-7-1 A, L631-9 and L651-2 of the Construction and Housing Code; law no. 2024-1039 of 19 November 2024.
- Service-public.gouv.fr: news item of 27 July 2026 on the national portal and micro-BIC thresholds; factsheet F2043.
- Press, as background: Banque des Territoires (12 February 2020), Monaco Life citing Actu Nice (August 2025), Cannes Actus (21 November 2024).
