Looking for a concierge service in Cherbourg or the Cotentin for your short-term Airbnb rental? A concierge service can be very useful for the practical aspects of a stay: welcoming guests, cleaning, linen, on-site assistance or routine maintenance. However, short-term rental is not just about handing over keys.
As soon as it comes to signing a contract, accepting a booking, setting prices, collecting rents, handling a security deposit, dealing with a dispute or representing the owner, the matter becomes legal and financial. That is precisely where a carte G real-estate agency, such as ours, brings a higher level of protection to the owner.
This comparison details, mission by mission, what a concierge service without carte G can legally do — and what requires an agency like ours, Régine Villedieu Immobilier, based at Place de la Fontaine in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin since 2006.
| Mission | Concierge service without carte G | Carte G real-estate agency (us) | Why it matters to the owner | Related legal articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Welcoming guests | Yes | Yes | A concierge service can perfectly welcome guests, hand over keys, present the property and explain how everything works. This is a practical stay-related service. |
Outside the scope of the Hoguet Law if the task remains strictly practical. |
| 02Managing cleaning between stays | Yes | Yes | Cleaning, restoring the property and preparing it before guests arrive are standard service-provider tasks. |
Outside the scope of the Hoguet Law if the task remains strictly practical. |
| 03Managing linen and laundry | Yes | Yes | Sheets, towels, linen rotation, preparing the beds: practical tasks that a concierge service can handle. |
Outside the scope of the Hoguet Law if the task remains strictly practical. |
| 04Providing practical assistance during the stay | Yes | Yes | The concierge service can step in for key issues, wifi, equipment or to help the guest use the property. |
Outside the scope of the Hoguet Law if it does not change the rental conditions and does not make any commitment on behalf of the owner. |
| 05Coordinating routine maintenance or small repairs | Yes, on the owner's instruction | Yes | A concierge service can report a problem, organise a technician's visit or coordinate a small intervention, provided it does not unilaterally commit the owner to significant expenses or decisions. |
Outside the Hoguet Law if mere practical coordination. Risk of crossing into property management if it decides and commits the owner. |
| 06Signing or having the rental contract accepted | No | Yes | This is a major point. Signing or having a rental contract accepted means legally binding the owner and the guest. A licensed agency can represent the owner in a clear, secure framework. |
Hoguet Law, article 1: covers seasonal or non-seasonal rentals, furnished or unfurnished, of property belonging to others. Article 3: professional licence required. |
| 07Accepting or refusing a booking | No | Yes | Accepting a booking is not just a commercial reply: it commits the property to a rental. For the owner, the agency offers a clear framework of representation. |
Hoguet Law, article 1: regular involvement in renting a property belonging to others. Article 3: professional licence required. |
| 08Setting or changing rental prices | No, except non-binding advice | Yes | Price is an essential condition of the contract. If a concierge service sets or changes prices in place of the owner, it is intervening in the commercial strategy of the rental. |
Hoguet Law, article 1: seasonal letting of property. Article 1-1: seasonal letting may fall under real-estate management when ancillary to a management mandate. |
| 09Installing, paying for or running an automated pricing tool | No / very risky | Yes | Even when prices are changed automatically by software, the question is who drives the pricing strategy. If the concierge service installs, pays for, configures and operates the tool for the owner, it is no longer a mere practical service. |
Hoguet Law, article 1 and article 1-1 on real-estate management ancillary to seasonal letting. |
| 10Managing the calendar and availability | No, if it decides on its own | Yes | Opening or closing dates, accepting periods or blocking stays means organising the rental of the property. Poor management can lead to double bookings, cancellations or lost income. |
Hoguet Law, article 1: involvement in the letting of another person's property. |
| 11Collecting rents, deposits or stay fees | No | Yes | This is one of the most sensitive points. A carte G agency can collect and pay out funds within a regulated framework. For the owner, this secures the financial flows. |
Decree of 20 July 1972, article 64: the holder of the "Real-estate management" licence may receive rents, charges, services, deposits, advances on works and any sums tied to managing others' property. |
| 12Handling security deposits, damage deposits or card holds | No / very risky | Yes | A concierge service without the licence should not handle security deposits or card holds. Even when using the owner's Stripe or bank account, it is acting on a financial guarantee tied to the rental. |
Decree of 20 July 1972, article 64: deposits and sums or securities tied to property management. Hoguet Law article 3: professional licence and financial guarantee required when handling funds. |
| 13Making a deduction from a security deposit after damage | No / very risky | Yes | Deducting from a security deposit is a financial and legal decision. In case of dispute, the owner needs a licensed, insured contact able to justify the deduction. |
Decree of 20 July 1972, article 64: deposits, sums and securities tied to property management. |
| 14Marketing the property on a platform on the owner's behalf | No / very risky if it receives requests or enables booking | Yes | Listing a property, receiving requests, converting guests and organising bookings means taking part in renting out someone else's property. An agency can do so within a regulated framework. |
Hoguet Law, article 1: applies to anyone who, even occasionally, takes part in the seasonal or non-seasonal letting of property belonging to others. |
| 15Handling guest disputes, claims and insurance matters | Very limited: passing on information only | Yes | In case of damage, claim, dispute or compensation, the agency can gather the evidence, follow up on the file, communicate with all parties and defend the owner's interests. A concierge service without licence must restrict itself to forwarding practical information. |
Hoguet Law, article 1 if the task falls under property management. Decree, article 64 if sums, indemnities, deposits or property-related securities are handled. |
| 16Carrying out anti-money-laundering checks (AML/CFT — Tracfin) | No — not subject to it | Yes — legal obligation | As a real-estate professional, the agency is one of the "obliged entities" under the rules on anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing. As such, it must verify the guest's identity, where applicable that of the beneficial owner and the origin of the funds, and report any suspicious transaction to Tracfin (the French financial intelligence unit). For the owner, the funds linked to the rental therefore pass through a regulated operator. A standard concierge service is not subject to these obligations and carries out none of these checks. |
Articles L. 561-1 et seq. of the French Monetary and Financial Code, in particular article L. 561-2, which lists professionals covered by the Hoguet Law among the entities subject to AML/CFT obligations. |
With a carte G real-estate agency, the owner benefits from a clear mandate, professional indemnity insurance, a financial guarantee and a legal framework designed for rental management. A concierge service remains well suited to the practical aspects of a stay, but it must not stand in for the owner or a licensed professional when it comes to renting out, collecting funds, arbitrating, withholding a deposit or legally managing the property.
The legal foundations cited in the table above.
Reference: law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, article 1er.
This article defines the activities falling within the scope of the Hoguet Law. It targets anyone who, on a regular basis, even incidentally, takes part in operations involving the property of others. These operations include sales, property search, exchange, and the seasonal or non-seasonal letting, furnished or unfurnished, of built or unbuilt property.
In short: as soon as a business regularly steps in to rent out a third-party owner's property — taking bookings, marketing, validating, setting terms, managing prices or the calendar — it may fall within the scope of the Hoguet Law.
Reference: law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, article 1-1.
This article specifies that seasonal or non-seasonal letting, furnished or unfurnished, of built or unbuilt property falls under real-estate management activities when it is ancillary to a management mandate. It also defines seasonal letting as a rental concluded for a maximum, non-renewable duration of 90 consecutive days.
In short: seasonal letting is not legally "set apart". When it is managed on behalf of an owner, it can fall under real-estate management.
Reference: law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, article 3.
This article provides that the activities covered by article 1er may only be carried out by holders of a professional licence (carte professionnelle). The licence specifies which operations the professional is authorised to perform. The article also sets out the conditions attached to the licence — professional aptitude, professional indemnity insurance and a financial guarantee whenever funds are handled or held.
In short: a carte G real-estate agency is not simply a concierge service: it operates within a regulated framework, with a mandate, insurance and a financial guarantee.
Reference: law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, article 6.
This article governs the relationship between the professional and the client. It requires a written agreement — a mandate — for operations falling under the Hoguet Law. The mandate must set out the conditions under which the professional is authorised to receive, hand over or pay out sums, property, instruments or securities on behalf of the principal.
In short: to act in the owner's name — to sign, collect funds, withhold a deposit or pay out money — a precise written framework is required. An informal authorisation or access to the owner's bank account is not a substitute for the legal framework.
Reference: decree no. 72-678 of 20 July 1972, article 64.
This article is central to anything involving funds. It provides that the holder of the professional licence bearing the "Real-estate management" mention may receive sums representing rents, charges, occupation indemnities, services, deposits, advances on works and, more generally, any sums or securities collected as a consequence of managing others' property.
In short: this is the key article for rents, deposits, security deposits, card holds, deductions from deposits, insurance compensation, advances on works and pay-outs to the owner.
Reference: decree no. 72-678 of 20 July 1972, article 72.
This article provides that a professional subject to the Hoguet Law may not negotiate or enter into commitments in connection with the covered operations without first holding a written mandate issued by one of the parties. The mandate must state its purpose. Where it authorises the professional to enter into commitments for a specific operation, this authorisation must be expressly stated.
In short: even a licensed professional must have a written mandate to negotiate or commit a client. This reinforces the rule that a concierge service without licence cannot accept bookings, sign contracts or commit the owner.
Reference: decree no. 72-678 of 20 July 1972, provisions on the financial guarantee.
The decree sets out the financial-guarantee rules for professionals who hold or handle funds on behalf of third parties. This guarantee secures funds held for others — for example rents, security deposits, deposits or advances.
In short: the real question is not whether the concierge service is honest. The real question is: are the owner's funds and the guests' guarantees protected within a regulated framework?
Reference: law no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970, article 14.
This article sets out a criminal penalty for the regular practice — even on an incidental basis — of an activity covered by article 1er without a professional licence. The penalty is six months' imprisonment and a 7,500 € fine.
In short: this is not a mere administrative formality: practising a Hoguet-Law activity without a licence is a criminal offence.
Reference: French Monetary and Financial Code, articles L. 561-1 et seq., in particular article L. 561-2.
These articles set up the framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). Article L. 561-2 lists the "obliged entities" subject to due-diligence duties, which include professionals carrying out Hoguet-Law activities — that is, real-estate agents. These entities must identify their client and the beneficial owner, ascertain the origin of the funds and report any suspicious transaction to Tracfin.
In short: a concierge service limited to practical tasks is not an obliged entity. A licensed agency is: it adds a further layer of control over the origin of the funds flowing through the rental.