Making the most of your home

Renting your home for a film shoot

Renting out an individual's house or apartment is considerably cheaper than building the entire set for a film set. It is therefore possible to offer your property on specialized sites for use in filming a movie, series or commercial. The main criteria that production companies take into account when selecting properties are :

• The surface area of the property (between actors, technicians, cameras, projectors and cables, every square meter counts).
• Ceiling height.
• Location, as many series are filmed in the provinces, so you've got a good chance!

Your home doesn't have to be exceptional. It just has to fit the scenario. This is a great way to supplement your income, as you'll be paid an average of €2,000 per day of shooting. Of course, you'll have to negotiate with the production company to reimburse your hotel or B&B expenses, since you'll have to relocate for a few days.
You'll need to declare all income received from renting out your apartment or house for filming. As the Code Général des Impôts reminds us:"income received in exchange for the provision of bare premises (...) for the shooting of a film is taxable in the property income category. Income received in exchange for the provision of furnished premises for the shooting of a film is taxable as industrial and commercial income. However, if the premises are made available on a one-off basis (see I-B-5-§ 70), such income is still taxable as property income.

Sharing your pool

Since the end of the first confinement period, pool rental platforms between private individuals have been taken by storm! Owners still can't believe the income generated by this new Eldorado, which far exceeds their maintenance costs. According to Swimmy, a platform that shares the market with LouerUnePiscine, private pool owners can earn up to €7,500 in a single season.
In the Paris region, for example, half-day rates can reach €60 per person, or €480 per day for two families of four! Rental platforms have set up a charter to be respected regarding sanitary conditions for swimmers. Owners may not accommodate more than 8 people simultaneously. They must provide showers, disinfect all equipment after each swim, make hydro-alcoholic gel available and check chlorine and salt levels.
How do I declare it to the tax authorities? From the first euro, any commercial activity carried out on French territory must be declared to the tax authorities. In practice, you're exempt from tax if your pool is located in your principal residence, and you generate less than €760 a year incl. VAT. Above €760, you'll have to declare it as non-professional industrial and commercial income.

Sharing your home with a student

We could talk about intergenerational cohabitation rather than flat-sharing. Article 117 of the ELAN law (French law on the evolution of housing, development and the digital economy) has given a legal framework to this process, allowing a senior citizen (over 60) with a spare room to "rent" or "sublet" it to a young person under 30. In this way, you can offer to let the available room to a student. The age condition must be respected by both parties: the young person must be under 30 and the senior over 60. The room to be rented must also be in the person's main residence.
With this formula, you have the possibility, in return for accommodation, to claim "rent" and/or services rendered. And that's what makes it so interesting for the senior citizen. As long as you make provision for it in the contract, the young person can provide you with minor services.
As far as taxes are concerned, if you rent out an 18 m² furnished room in your main residence to a student, you will be exempt from income tax if the monthly rent (excluding charges) does not exceed in 2020: (140 x 18) / 12 = €210.

Stéphanie Swiklinski