By booking a vacation rental or a stay in a tourist residence, we are often more focused on the location of the accommodation and its layout than on the general conditions of sale and the terms of cancellation of the reservation. However, not reading this part of the contract can be expensive.
By booking, you pay a sum of money and, depending on the contract signed, you may lose part of this sum if you finally give up your stay. It can be a deposit or a deposit.
When the advance qualifies as a deposit, both the tenant and the lessor can withdraw and renounce the contract. But the tenant who withdraws loses his deposit and the landlord who no longer wants to rent the accommodation must, for his part, reimburse double the deposit.
If it is a deposit, the commitment becomes final between the two parties. The tenant, or the lessor, who withdraws must then compensate the other up to the amount of the damage he has demonstrated. The tenant may be forced to pay the full rent if the accommodation could not be re-let. In principle, the rental contract specifies these elements and, if it is silent on this point, the advance is deemed to constitute a deposit according to Article L 114-1 of the Consumer Code.
Force majeure
However, in the event of force majeure, when a party is prevented from performing its obligations, it is exempt. Force majeure is determined by two criteria: the event could not be known at the time of signing the contract and absolutely prevents the execution of the contract. “It is the courts that decide on a case-by-case basis what constitutes force majeure and this does not necessarily include the Covid, because the health situation has been going on for several months”, says one at Particulier à Particulier (PAP).
The obligation to justify a health pass or a negative PCR test could have been a game-changer, but the health pass is not mandatory for vacation rentals, unless the residence has a swimming pool welcoming more for 50 people or offers entertainment and leisure activities. “Remember that it is possible to present a negative PCR test on arrival and that this is sufficient for the entire stay”, indicates Eric Journiat, president of Vacancéoles, which offers vacation rentals in tourist residences.
More flexible rules
In order to reassure their customers, rental platforms and managers of tourist residences have however adapted their practices and contracts to be more flexible.
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