An interview with Emil Folke, founder of Monsieur Folke, one of Nice’s leading short-term rental management companies.
If you are considering buying an apartment in Nice with the idea of renting it out, you are not alone. The French Riviera remains one of the most attractive markets in Europe for lifestyle buyers and international investors. While demand for rental properties in Nice remains strong, the rules have become significantly more complex.
To understand what is really happening on the ground, we spoke with Emil Folke of Monsieur Folke, a short-term rental specialist based in Nice.
Through Monsieur Folke, Emil and his team manage more than 50 properties across Nice and the surrounding area. In the past year alone, they welcomed more than 1,600 guests and generated over €1 million in bookings.
Here is what Emil believes every buyer should know before purchasing a property in Nice.
“The first question buyers ask is: can I still rent my apartment on Airbnb in Nice?”
Emil Folke:
Yes, you can, but it depends entirely on whether the property will be your primary residence or your second home.
That distinction is the key to everything.
If the apartment will be your primary residence, meaning you live there for more than eight months of the year, the process is relatively simple.
You are allowed to rent out your primary residence for up to 90 nights per year without requiring a specific change-of-use permit from the city.
However, there is one important thing buyers often forget.
Before purchasing, you must check the règlement de copropriété — the building bylaws. Some apartment buildings in Nice explicitly prohibit short-term rentals.
If the bylaws allow it, then you are generally free to rent the property up to the 90-night limit.
“What paperwork is required if it is your primary residence?”
Emil Folke:
For a primary residence, the main administrative obligation is tourist tax.
Every guest staying in the apartment must pay tourist tax, which then needs to be declared and paid to the City of Nice.
Most professional management companies can handle this for you. At Monsieur Folke, for example, we register the property, collect the tourist tax from guests, and make the declarations on behalf of the owner.
So for a buyer who wants to spend most of the year in Nice and occasionally rent the apartment when they travel, the process is still relatively straightforward.
“And what if the property is a second home?”
Emil Folke:
That is where the real challenge begins.
If the apartment is a second home, Nice treats short-term rentals as a commercial activity. That means you need permission from the city before you can legally rent the property to tourists.
Again, the first step is always to check the building bylaws.
If the building permits short-term rentals, you can then apply for what is called a temporary change-of-use permit.
In Nice, this permit is valid for one year and can be renewed twice.
In practice, that means you can legally rent your second home short-term for a maximum of three years under the temporary system.
The good news is that during those three years there is no limit on the number of nights you can rent the property.
“Nice is introducing new quotas in 2026. What does that mean for buyers?”
Emil Folke:
This is probably the biggest change buyers need to understand.
Nice plans to introduce quotas in four of the city’s most in-demand areas. If your apartment is located in one of those zones, the city will only issue a limited number of temporary permits each year.
So even if your building allows short-term rentals, there is no guarantee you will receive permission.
The four areas expected to be affected include:
- Vieux Nice
- Port / Riquier / Mont-Boron
- Central Nice
- Nice West
Originally, these quotas were supposed to come into force on 1 February 2026.
However, the system was partially suspended after a legal challenge. For now, the city has delayed the launch of the quota application process while the rules are being reviewed.
That means buyers need to be extremely careful in 2026. If you are purchasing specifically for short-term rental income, you should verify whether the property is inside one of the future quota zones before signing anything.
“What happens after the three-year temporary permit expires?”
Emil Folke:
After those three years, you have only one option if you want to continue renting the property short-term: you need a permanent change-of-use permit.
This is much more difficult and more expensive.
When you receive a permanent permit, the apartment becomes permanently classified as commercial property rather than residential property.
To compensate for that loss of housing stock, the City of Nice requires the owner to convert an equivalent amount of commercial space somewhere else in the city into residential space.
Most private owners obviously do not own offices or shops that they can convert.
So in practice, most buyers purchase what are known as “compensation rights.”
The price depends on the district and on the size of the apartment, but it can become a substantial additional investment.
That is why I always advise buyers to think carefully before purchasing solely for Airbnb income.
The best opportunities are often properties that work both as a personal home and as a rental property.
“What if you cannot get permission for short-term rentals?”
Emil Folke:
Many buyers think that if they cannot rent short-term, the property has no rental potential.
That is not true.
Even if short-term rentals are prohibited, French law does not allow building bylaws to forbid normal residential leases.
You can always rent the property to someone who will use it as their main residence.
The classic option is a long-term lease of 12 months or more.
But for international owners who still want to use the apartment themselves during the year, there is another solution that works very well: the mobility lease, or bail mobilité.
A mobility lease lasts between one and ten months and is intended for people coming to Nice for work, studies, internships or professional training.
For example, we often see demand from:
- International students
- People relocating temporarily to the Côte d’Azur
- Executives working in Monaco or Sophia Antipolis
- Professionals on seasonal assignments
This type of lease gives owners flexibility because they can still use the apartment themselves outside the rental period.
For many second-home owners, it is the ideal compromise.
“What is your advice to someone buying in Nice today?”
Emil Folke:
My advice is simple: do your homework before you buy.
Too many buyers fall in love with an apartment, assume they can rent it on Airbnb, and only later discover that the building rules or city regulations make that impossible.
Before signing a purchase agreement, you should always:
- Check the building bylaws
- Confirm whether the property is inside a future quota zone
- Understand whether the apartment will be a primary or secondary residence
- Estimate the rental income under different scenarios
- Explore alternative strategies such as mobility leases
The good news is that Nice remains one of the strongest rental markets on the French Riviera.
With the right property and the right strategy, it is still possible to generate excellent returns.
But in 2026, buyers need more guidance than ever.
Final Word from Emil Folke
“Nice is still an exceptional market,” Emil says. “But today, buying the right property is not only about location and price. It is also about understanding the regulations before you invest.”
For buyers who want to know whether a specific apartment can legally be rented out — and how much income it could generate — Monsieur Folke offers property-specific advice and realistic revenue estimates based on current market data.
You can learn more at www.monsieurfolke.com.
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