Short-term rental regulations in Guadeloupe have shifted a great deal in two years, and the confusion is real on both sides of the counter: travellers no longer sure whether their Airbnb is above board, owners wondering how many nights they are still allowed to rent. We are in a French overseas department (DROM): national law applies, the Le Meur law included, but its application varies from one town to another across this butterfly-shaped archipelago. At Hostel Toucan, your local concierge service, here is the state of the law in 2026 translated into plain language.
The national framework that applies in the overseas departments
Guadeloupe applies the Tourism Code just like mainland France. Three pillars structure all short-term rentals, whether the property is in Deshaies, Le Gosier or Marie-Galante:
- Declaration at the town hall: any furnished tourist rental — let to a passing clientele who do not take up residence there — must be declared with the municipality. It is free and mandatory.
- The 13-character registration number: in towns that have activated the procedure, the declaration leads to a number that must appear on every listing (Airbnb, Booking, Abritel). It begins with the INSEE code: 97128 for Sainte-Anne, 97125 for Saint-François, 97113 for Le Gosier.
- The tourist tax: collected by the host or the platform and paid to the municipality. Expect between €0.80 and €2.30 per night and per adult depending on the rating.
So far, nothing specifically Caribbean. What has changed since 2024 is the national tightening brought by the Le Meur law, which reshuffles the night cap and change of use — and hits Guadeloupe head-on.
Le Meur law in the overseas departments: what changed for short-term rentals
The law of 19 November 2024, known as the Le Meur law, strengthens the tools for regulating furnished rentals and applies overseas just as it does in mainland France. Three concrete developments deserve your attention.
The Airbnb night cap in Guadeloupe for a primary residence
This is the best-known rule, and the most misunderstood. It concerns only the primary residence, the home where you live at least eight months a year:
- The national ceiling remains 120 nights per year by default.
- But municipalities can now lower this ceiling to 90 nights by deliberation.
- Beyond the cap, renting short-term becomes an offence punishable by a fine.
Conversely, a second home — an extremely common case in Guadeloupe, where many seaside properties belong to owners on the mainland — is subject to no night cap and can be rented all year round, provided it is declared and, depending on the municipality, has obtained its change of use. A crucial nuance: if you rent a villa in Saint-François from an owner who does not live there, the 120-night limit does not apply to your stay.
The extended change-of-use authorisation
Previously, change of use — converting a residential home into a year-round tourist rental — was only required in large urban areas. The Le Meur law extends to all municipalities the option to introduce this procedure. In Guadeloupe, this targets dense areas such as Pointe-à-Pitre and Le Gosier, where the residential rental market is under pressure. In a municipality that has deliberated:
- The owner of a second home must obtain a change-of-use authorisation before renting short-term on a year-round basis.
- It may come with a compensation requirement (putting an equivalent surface back on the conventional housing market) in the most strained municipalities.
- The co-ownership rules may, in parallel, purely and simply ban short-term rentals.
The energy rating becomes a condition
Another gradual change: furnished rentals subject to authorisation must now meet a minimum energy performance rating, with rising requirements through 2034. In Guadeloupe, an energy rating costs €200 to €350 here — surveyors are scarce, so plan for delays.
How this plays out town by town
The archipelago does not apply the rule uniformly. On the seaside Grande-Terre side, the heart of the offer:
- Le Gosier: a dense town 10 minutes from Pointe-à-Pitre, the most likely to require a change of use and where co-ownership rules genuinely come into play.
- Sainte-Anne: the most touristy (Caravelle and Bois Jolan beaches), with a well-structured furnished-rental registry and tourist tax; abundant supply, mostly compliant.
- Saint-François: marina, golf course, departures for La Désirade and Petite-Terre; the town hall keeps a close eye on furnished rentals.
On the Basse-Terre side, near the Cousteau Reserve, the offer is made up of bungalows and Creole villas often run by locals: declaration remains mandatory, but numbered registration and change of use are far less systematic there. To plan your stay area by area, our complete guide to Guadeloupe details every town, from Deshaies to the Pointe des Châteaux.
