A month in Nice
Nice capped tourist lets at 691 new authorisations in its four busiest sectors for 2026 and reopened filing on 1 September. A month here is shaped by that, and by a street ceiling of two hours fifteen.
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What a month means legally
The French lease built for stays of this length is the bail mobilité: one to ten months, never renewed, no deposit allowed, and the tenant can leave at any time on one month's written notice. It is open only to professional training, higher education, an apprenticeship, an internship, civic service, a professional transfer or a temporary mission, and the tenant has to prove it. A month by the sea does not qualify.
So a holiday month in Nice stays a tourist let. If the flat is a second home, the host needed a change-of-use authorisation from the city before registering it at all, and only then did the métropole portal issue the registration number that must appear in the listing. Hosts declare their lettings, or the absence of them, every four months.
On 19 June 2026 the Nice council also voted to raise the ceiling on letting a main residence as a tourist flat to 120 days a calendar year, up from 90. National law still forbids more than 90 consecutive nights to the same guest, whatever the commune, so a stay longer than three months is not a tourist let at all.
The quotas, and why a flat may vanish
A study for the city found that four sectors hold about 70 per cent of the registered tourist flats: Vieux-Nice, the centre, Riquier with the port and Mont Boron, and the west. Those sectors are now capped. For 2026 the city recorded a maximum of 691 temporary change-of-use authorisations, about 0.9 per cent of the total housing stock in the zones concerned, a figure chosen to halve the number issued each year.
Filing in the quota zones had been suspended since the start of 2026, after an interim order of the Nice administrative court on 29 January 2026 told the métropole to widen the base on which the quotas are calculated. Filing reopened on 1 September 2026, and the city temporarily lengthened its processing time from three months to four to absorb the backlog.
New temporary authorisations now run for five years with no possibility of renewal. For a guest, the practical effect is that a flat listed this year may not be listed next year, and that a long booking in one of those four sectors is worth confirming in writing.
The tax on a month
The taxe de séjour is charged per person per night with no ceiling on the number of nights. In a three-star hotel that is EUR 2.28 a night per person including the regional addition, and EUR 3.48 at four stars.
Most whole-flat listings are unclassified, and those pay 6.70 per cent of the cost of the night per person before tax, capped at EUR 6.43 per person per night. The 6.70 is the métropole's own 5 per cent plus the 1.70 per cent addition for the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d'Azur. There is no departmental addition in the Alpes-Maritimes, which keeps Nice below Paris and Marseille for the same class of lodging.
Minors are exempt, as are seasonal workers employed in the commune, people in emergency or temporary housing and people whose rent falls below the threshold the deliberating body sets.
The areas and the parking that suit a month
No street space in Nice may hold a car for more than two hours fifteen, so a month means a car park from the start. The Régie Parcs d'Azur runs the métropole's car parks under the name Nice Azur Parking, and Parcazur park and ride sites sit beside the tram for anyone happy to leave the car at the edge and ride in.
Le Port and Riquier suit a month on the eastern side, at the end of tram line 2 and about 3 km from the Place Masséna. Nice Ouest and the Arénas suit a month that needs the car daily, about 3 km from the terminals with three tram lines meeting at Grand Arénas. Both are quota sectors, so the flat itself may be harder to find than the parking.
Whatever the quarter, ask the host where the car can stand before paying. A Nice flat rarely comes with a space, and the two free hours at the kerb are a daily allowance, not a solution.
What the platforms call a long stay
Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days before it starts. None of that changes the tax, which the métropole charges per person per night either way and the platform collects when it takes the payment.
How other platforms word their long-stay terms for Nice was not verified as of September 2026.
Pitfalls
Assuming a bail mobilité is available. It is reserved for study, training and work mobility, and the owner may ask for proof.
Booking more than 90 consecutive nights in one tourist flat. National law forbids it with the same guest.
Relying on a listing in a quota sector without written confirmation. Nice capped new authorisations at 691 for 2026 and runs them for five years without renewal.
Treating the two free hours as parking. The street ceiling is two hours fifteen and the charge beyond it is EUR 25.
Counting Schengen days only in France. The 90 days in 180 run across the whole area, and the Entry/Exit System records them.
Questions
Is the tourist tax charged on a month in Nice?
Yes, on every night and per person. An unclassified flat pays 6.70 per cent of the nightly cost per person before tax, capped at EUR 6.43 a night.
How many nights may a Nice main residence be let?
The city council voted on 19 June 2026 to raise the ceiling to 120 days a calendar year, up from 90. National law still forbids more than 90 consecutive nights to the same guest.
What are the Nice quotas?
Four sectors holding about 70 per cent of listings, Vieux-Nice, the centre, Riquier with the port and Mont Boron, and the west, are capped at 691 temporary change-of-use authorisations for 2026, about 0.9 per cent of their housing stock.
Where can a car stand for a month in Nice?
In a Parcs d'Azur car park or at a Parcazur park and ride beside the tram. Street spaces are limited to two hours fifteen minutes.
Can a holidaymaker sign a bail mobilité in Nice?
No. It is reserved for professional training, higher education, an apprenticeship, an internship, civic service, a professional transfer or a temporary mission, with proof required.