It may be that for tax reasons or for other personal reasons, you decide to want to change your rental mode. It is indeed possible to switch from one rental mode to another provided that certain rules are well respected. We offer you a small summary of the regulations applicable for switching to furnished or unfurnished rental.
Switching from unfurnished to furnished rental: Explanations
You are a landlord of an unfurnished rental property and would like to convert it to furnished? No problem, it is entirely possible. Although this is a relatively simple procedure, it does involve some fiscal changes. Indeed, income from furnished rentals will now need to be declared under the Industrial and Commercial Profits (BIC) category, rather than under the rental income category used for unfurnished rentals. The furnished landlord can choose to benefit from the micro BIC regime or from the actual (real) regime, with the latter often being more advantageous.
Changing from unfurnished to furnished rental can be done in two ways:
1 – During the lease
This option is generally used when an investor acquires a property already occupied and inherits the lease already in place with the seller (when there is a change of ownership, the lease is not automatically terminated and continues under the same conditions).
The landlord can then propose to the current tenant to switch to a furnished rental. It should be noted that the new terms of the contract are not necessarily in favor of the tenant. Indeed, the tenant may see the duration of their lease reduced (from 3 to 1 year), their security deposit increased (from 1 to 2 months), and may need to receive furniture that they likely already have, or even potentially face a rent increase. If, by chance, the tenant accepts, it would be necessary to terminate the old lease and sign a new one that includes, notably, the inventory of mandatory furniture as well as the move-in and move-out inspection reports. If the tenant refuses, the landlord will be required to wait for the tenant’s voluntary departure.
2 – Between two tenants
The second and simpler way is to switch from unfurnished to furnished rental when a tenant vacates the property. In this case, it will simply be necessary to furnish the accommodation and sign a lease agreement for furnished rental with the new tenant.
More and more landlords are turning to furnished rentals. Often considered more profitable, this type of rental offers numerous advantages. First, from a fiscal point of view, notably due to the deductibility of accounting depreciation of both the property and furniture from rental income (BIC), and also due to a real market demand. Some cities see a strong demand for furnished housing in small areas or for shared accommodation, particularly from student populations or young professionals who are not yet geographically stable and thus seek easy mobility. This mobility also implies more frequent tenant changes and a slightly higher risk of vacancy compared to unfurnished rentals.
What to watch out for? In case of declaring a property deficit in the 3 years preceding the change, the Tax Administration has the right to reintegrate this deficit into your income in order to tax it or demand repayment of the tax savings generated by this deficit.
Switching from furnished to unfurnished: Explanation
Are you a landlord of a furnished rental property and would like to switch it to unfurnished? As with switching to furnished rental, this is entirely possible, provided you once again adhere to certain rules.
Similarly to the inverse case, the landlord cannot ask the current tenant to leave. The landlord will either have to negotiate with the tenant to resign a lease or, if not, simply wait for the tenant’s voluntary departure.
Unfurnished rental income is declared under the category of rental income (revenus fonciers), where you can opt for the micro foncier regime (if purchased other than in joint ownership) or the actual regime.
The regime of rental income is generally less favorable for non-residents because it does not allow for accounting depreciation of both the property and furniture. It only allows deduction of generated income, operating expenses, certain works, and interest on loans.
With the new Finance Law 2021 reducing the boundaries between the LMNP and LMP statuses, some investors will need to consider, beyond the fiscal context, the management of certain assets.
Therefore, it may be wise, in order to change status or benefit from the particular capital gains regime, to switch from the LMP regime to the LMNP regime, emphasizing the importance of mastering the rules exposed here.
The rules of rental management may seem opaque or evolving to some of you, and we are naturally available to help you understand and apply these rules and to know all their subtleties.
Content grouped for informational purposes only, not replacing current regulations. Without consultation with our experts, PATIMOLINK cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from the implementation of the advice and information provided in this article.