Who decides in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat?
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a member town of the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur. Three levels of government are involved in holiday letting.
- The Métropole: it decides whether to introduce change-of-use control (changement d’usage) and adopts the regulation for each town that requests it. It also collects the tourist tax across its whole territory.
- The town: it receives declarations of holiday lets and, where a change-of-use regulation exists, the mayor grants the permits. Its planning department answers questions on the metropolitan local plan.
- The State: it sets the national framework in the Tourism Code (declaration, day cap for a main residence, fines) and in the Construction and Housing Code.
Key point: for a town under 200,000 inhabitants outside the inner Paris suburbs, change-of-use control is not compulsory. It applies only if the inter-municipal authority has introduced it for that town by formal decision. The Métropole did so for Villefranche-sur-Mer in December 2023. For Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, we found no such decision.
Nice’s metropolitan regulation does not apply on the peninsula
Decision no. 2.1 of the Metropolitan Council of 22 June 2026 adopts a change-of-use regulation ‘for the city of Nice’, applicable from 1 September 2026. Its non-renewable five-year temporary permits, its 4 quota zones (47 + 204 + 324 + 116 = 691 permits in 2026) and its 4-month review period concern Nice neighbourhoods only.
The Métropole’s FAQ confirms it: only Nice is covered by this regulation, and Villefranche-sur-Mer has applied its own rules since 1 July 2024. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is mentioned in neither.
If you also manage a property in Nice, the Nice rules are set out in our change-of-use guide for Nice. For the neighbouring town, read our article on Airbnb regulations in Villefranche-sur-Mer, where the rules are very different.
Change of use: what we found (and did not find)
We looked for a change-of-use regulation for Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the town hall website, on the Métropole website and on the metropolitan tourist tax portal. Result on 5 October 2026: no decision, no regulation, no application form. The town hall’s tourism page mentions only the tourist tax.
To our knowledge, therefore, you do not currently need a change-of-use permit to let a second home short term in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. There is no compensation requirement and no quota either.
Some private websites claim otherwise, for example a limit of one six-year permit per household. That rule does exist, but in Villefranche-sur-Mer: we found no official trace of it for Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Beware of rules copied and pasted from one town to another.
This can change quickly: a single metropolitan decision is enough to introduce change-of-use control, as happened in Villefranche. Before buying or starting to let, ask the town hall’s planning department in writing whether a regulation is in force or being prepared.
Main residence: the 120-day cap
If you let your main residence, meaning the home you live in at least eight months a year, the Tourism Code limits lettings to 120 days per calendar year, except for professional obligations, health reasons or force majeure. Exceeding the cap can lead to a civil fine.
Since the Le Meur Act of 19 November 2024, a town may lower this cap to as little as 90 days by a reasoned council decision. We found no such decision in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. To our knowledge, the applicable cap therefore remains 120 days.
To understand how the days are counted and what a main residence means in law, our page on the 120-day rule explains the principle.
Town hall declaration and registration number
Every holiday let must be declared. Since 20 May 2026, the Tourism Code has provided for declaration through a national online service, which issues a registration number to display on every listing. According to the Directorate-General for Enterprise, this service is due to open in Q4 2026.
The Métropole’s tourist tax portal describes a local registration-number procedure for Nice and for Villefranche-sur-Mer, but not for Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. To our knowledge, the town has not opened its own online service. Until the national service opens, the step to take is a declaration at the town hall using form cerfa no. 14004. Ask the town hall to confirm.
As soon as the national service opens, plan to declare your property and add the number to all your Airbnb and Booking listings. The fines are heavy: up to €10,000 for failing to declare and €20,000 for a false declaration. Our page on the registration number follows this timetable closely.
Tourist tax, co-ownership, energy rating and tax
Whether or not the town regulates change of use, several obligations apply to every short-term let on the peninsula.
Tourist tax and council tax
The tourist tax (taxe de séjour) is collected by the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, not by the town. The town hall says so on its website: hosts collect it, pay it to the Métropole, which passes it on to the metropolitan tourist office. An additional regional tax of 34% applies in the Alpes-Maritimes.
Airbnb collects and pays the tax for you. You must still open a host account on the Métropole’s tourist tax portal and declare your nights for each four-month period, even when the amount due is €0. Our tourist tax guide explains how this works across the Métropole.
As for council tax, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat applies a surcharge on second homes, according to the public information available. The exact rate is shown on your tax notice.
Co-ownership, energy rating and tax
No change-of-use control does not mean no private rules. If your apartment is in a co-owned building, the building rules may prohibit holiday letting, and the Le Meur Act made certain general-meeting votes easier. Read our guide to co-ownership rules and the Le Meur Act before publishing a listing.
If change-of-use control were ever introduced in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, an energy rating (DPE) between A and E would be required to obtain a permit. Plan ahead with our energy rating guide.
Tax rules are national. Under the micro-BIC regime for 2026 income, an unclassified holiday let receives a 30% allowance on receipts up to €15,000; a classified one, 50% up to €83,600. Social charges are 18.6%. With a villa, receipts quickly exceed these thresholds, so the actual-expenses regime (régime réel) is often the only option. Read our guides on declaring Airbnb income and LMNP in 2026, then have your situation checked by a chartered accountant.
The peninsula market: villas, apartments and the season
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat draws an international clientele with the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, the coastal path, the harbour and the beaches. Supply combines large villas with apartments around the village and the port.
The regional calendar drives demand: the Nice Carnival period in February, the Monaco Grand Prix in May, then summer, by far the most sought-after period. The town also runs its own cultural events, such as the Saint Jazz Cap Ferrat festival. For villas, stays of a week or more are common. A useful reminder: a seasonal let to the same tenant cannot exceed 90 consecutive days.
A high-end villa needs rigorous day-to-day management: cleaning, linen, pool and garden upkeep, suitable insurance (see our Airbnb insurance guide). Discover our Airbnb concierge service in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: a 20% commission excl. VAT (24% incl. VAT) on revenue, no lock-in, a detailed report every Friday and a €250 repair fund, provided by the owner, for small call-outs.
Before you buy or let: the checklist
Because the regulatory position in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat rests on the absence of a regulation, rather than on a text granting you a right, caution is essential before buying to let short term. Here are the checks we recommend.
- Write to the town hall’s planning department to ask whether a change-of-use regulation is in force or under study, and keep the reply.
- Read the co-ownership rules and the latest general-meeting minutes to spot a residential-only clause or a planned vote.
- Commission an up-to-date energy rating, even though, to our knowledge, no local regulation currently requires it for a holiday let.
- Declare the property at the town hall, then on the national online service as soon as it opens, and display the number on every listing.
- Open your host account on the Métropole’s tourist tax portal before the first booking.
- Choose your tax regime with a chartered accountant and consider having the property classified, which changes the micro-BIC allowance.
If the property is your main residence, keep an accurate count of nights let in the calendar year: platforms can pass this information to the town, and exceeding 120 days is penalised.
Sources and date of verification
This information was checked on 5 October 2026. The absence of a change-of-use regulation in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a finding based on public sources, not written confirmation from the town hall: check with the planning department, and consult a notaire, a lawyer or a chartered accountant for your personal situation.
- Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat town hall: ‘Favoriser le tourisme et l’attractivité’ (tourist tax) and ‘Urbanisme & habitat’ pages (saint-jean-cap-ferrat.fr).
- Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur: change-of-use FAQ and ‘Logements en meublés touristiques’ page.
- Change-of-use regulation for the city of Nice applicable from 1 September 2026 (Metropolitan Council decision no. 2.1 of 22 June 2026).
- Metropolitan Bureau decision no. 4.9 of 11 December 2023 (regulation specific to Villefranche-sur-Mer).
- Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur tourist tax portal (taxedesejour.ofeaweb.fr).
- Légifrance, Article L324-1-1 of the Tourism Code (version in force from 20 May 2026); service-public.fr page on declaring holiday lets; Directorate-General for Enterprise (API Meublés).
