France is with out a doubt the most visited holiday destination in the world. With the continuous growth of the tourism industry, the requirement for rental property is always in great demand with a lack of quality accommodation to satisfy the demand.

Because of this, the French Government introduced the French Leaseback property scheme in 1986. The scheme aims to satisfy the constantly growing demand for rental property from tourists and especially in hot spot areas like the Alps which has a very high demand for good property like 5 star French ski property for example.

The idea behind the leaseback program is quite simple: an investor purchases a property and then hands it over to the management company to rent it for an agreed specific duration of time (normally 9 – 18 years, or 9 years renewable) in exchange for a guaranteed rent within that specific period of time. The investor also has the benefit of an agreed amount of usage from the property themselves, normally a few weeks a year out of season.

French Leaseback Property has two types:

1. Your property is rented without furniture, which is called “murs nus”. It becomes the responsibility of the management company to put the furnitureinside the property.

2. “Loueur Meuble” which means that the property is fully furnished at the time it was rented by the management company.

Not all property can be qualified for a leaseback as the French government have set out certain standards for the materials and constructions used in the property. Therefore investors can be sure of the quality of the properties they are investing in and holiday makers can be sure of the quality of there accommodation.

Another benefit for leaseback investors is that when the French Leaseback property has been managed for 20 years of rent, the owner is entitled to a refund of value added tax paid within six months after the actual date of purchase.

Another great benefit with French Leaseback property is that the management company has the responsibility to maintain the healthy condition of the property and if there is a need for repairs and maintenance, they are the ones who will cover the expense.