There’s a phrase I’ve been hearing for years—both in the Caribbean and on the French Riviera—that should set off alarm bells for any owner of a high-end villa the moment a service provider says it: “Don’t worry about a thing; we’ll take care of everything.” On paper, it’s reassuring. In reality, it’s often a sign that you’re being sold much more than just a concierge service, without anyone telling you that this aspect falls under the purview of a real estate agency—a profession regulated by law—and that the person selling it to you may not be authorized to provide it.
I say this with all the more confidence because I’m not neutral in this matter: I run a high-end vacation rental agency, and I work daily with concierge services on the ground—handling guest reception, housekeeping, and property management. They are indispensable partners, often excellent at what they do, and I have no intention of making sweeping generalizations about them. But between a concierge service and a real estate agency, there are two distinct professions, two legal frameworks, and a line that many owners don’t see until after they’ve signed. What I want to show you today is not only where that line is drawn, but above all, what it actually costs when things go wrong.
A 1970 law that has never been more relevant
The law that distinguishes these two professions dates back to 1970. It is known as the Hoguet Law, and it has historically governed real estate agents, real estate transactions, and rental management. Many property owners believe that it applies only to traditional year-round sales or rentals, and that it has nothing to do with the seasonal rental of a luxury villa rented by the week. This is a mistake—and a costly one: this law explicitly applies to seasonal rentals, including furnished ones, whenever a third party acts on behalf of the owner to connect with tenants or manage the property.
What’s changing today is that this long-standing law is encountering a new market. In April 2026, the National Real Estate Federation published a report that clearly defines the line between what a concierge service can do and what falls exclusively under the purview of a real estate agency holding a professional license, and this report comes at just the right time, because the concierge sector has literally exploded in recent years, both in Guadeloupe and Martinique and along the entire coastline, from Saint-Tropez to Menton. On the French Riviera in particular, I’ve seen a proliferation of companies offering to fully manage villas worth several million euros, with impressive business acumen, but often without any financial guarantees or professional insurance suited to what they’re actually doing. This isn’t a problem specific to the French West Indies or the French Riviera: it’s a structural problem in France’s short-term rental market, wherever tourist demand has created a surge in interest without regulations keeping pace.
What a concierge service is fully entitled to do on its own
To be honest and objective, we must first address what isn’t a problem. A concierge service that welcomes your guests, hands them their keys, cleans the property between stays, provides linens, handles minor repairs, or remains available during their stay to answer practical questions operates within a perfectly legal framework, without requiring any professional license. It’s a demanding profession in its own right, requiring responsiveness, a commitment to service, and a genuine understanding of the local market. It’s a profession I respect, and one that my business relies on to offer a comprehensive service to my property-owner clients.
The problem begins where the real estate agency’s business actually begins. It begins as soon as that same concierge service posts the listing for your villa on its own website or on social media with its contact information, as soon as it approves booking requests on its own, as soon as it negotiates or adjusts your rates, as soon as it drafts and signs the rental agreement with the vacationer, or as soon as it retains—even in the form of a simple uncashed check—an amount representing rent, a down payment, or a security deposit. From that point on, the individual is no longer simply providing property management services: they are acting as an intermediary or engaging in real estate management in the strict legal sense—a profession reserved for agencies holding a professional license, backed by a financial guarantee and specific professional liability insurance. Without these requirements, the agency is engaging in an illegal activity—sometimes in good faith.
The pitfall almost no one anticipates: Your insurance company may refuse to pay
This is the point I want to emphasize, because it is the most serious risk and the one least often discussed. Virtually all owners of luxury homes purchase comprehensive home insurance, often supplemented by a specific clause covering seasonal rentals. What few owners realize is that this coverage is based on an implicit assumption: that third parties who enter your property are doing so within a legal and legitimate framework.
On the day a serious incident occurs—such as an accidental fire, significant water damage, or, worse, a personal injury involving a guest—the insurer systematically appoints an expert. The expert’s role is not limited to the physical circumstances of the incident; he or she also verifies the validity of the existing management agreement. If it turns out that the person who handed over the keys, conducted the property inspection, or managed the stay did not hold a valid property management license, the insurer has a solid legal basis to argue that the management contract is null and void and to deny coverage. Under the law, an activity carried out outside the legal framework cannot provide protection for the person who relied on it. You then find yourself alone facing a bill that could amount to hundreds of thousands of euros—precisely at the moment when you needed coverage the most.
An invalid warrant doesn’t protect anyone—not even you
By law, the contract between you and your management service provider must be in writing and held by an authorized person. If this is not the case, the contract is void as a matter of public policy, which means that no contractual clause can remedy this defect, even if everyone signed in good faith. The practical consequences of this invalidity are tangible and affect you directly, not just your service provider.
First, in the event of a dispute with your property manager—such as incorrectly remitted rent, unreported damage, or overbilled repairs—you have virtually no solid legal basis for taking action, since the contract on which you rely has no legal standing itself. Second, a dissatisfied tenant—or even the tax authorities—could technically challenge payments made to an unauthorized entity, which could result in refunds and, despite your best intentions, drag you into a lengthy and costly legal process for having knowingly accepted this arrangement.
What you personally stand to lose, beyond your service provider
This is the point I find most important for a property owner to understand—and probably the least intuitive one. Entrusting your property to an unregulated entity does not exempt you from your own liability; on the contrary, it may actually increase it. As the principal, you have a duty to ensure that the arrangements you make to manage your assets are legal.
If your property management company collects security deposits or signs leases without a professional license, it is committing a criminal offense. If you, as the property owner, have knowingly agreed to this practice, you may be held liable for complicity. The scenario that concerns me most in practice is even more subtle: one in which your property management company, purely as a courtesy, contacts a contractor itself to perform a repair, approves the estimate, and supervises the work at your villa. If an accident occurs during this work, due to a lack of safety coordination or proper registration, it is you, as the property owner and the party commissioning the work, who may be considered the de facto employer for this work, with all the consequences that entails regarding undeclared labor or an uninsured workplace accident. This recent development has been further reinforced by the so-called Le Meur Law, which has tightened reporting requirements for furnished vacation rentals and significantly increased civil penalties—now up to one hundred thousand euros per property— including against anyone who has aided and abetted an illegal brokerage activity, including the owner depending on the circumstances.
An example that clearly illustrates the mechanism
Imagine a luxury villa where, one morning, the property manager notices an issue with the electrical panel. Out of a sense of professional duty, she contacts a contractor herself, approves the estimate without providing the owner with specific technical details, and stays on site to oversee the work. A few weeks later, a faulty repair causes a short circuit that seriously damages the villa’s electrical system, right in the middle of the rental season. The owner then turns to his non-occupant property insurance to cover the repairs and the loss of rental income resulting from the property’s unavailability.
After an assessment, the insurer refused to cover the costs. Its argument is simple: the property management company performed a genuine management function—ordering and supervising work on behalf of the owner—even though it was bound to the owner only by a service contract and lacked the legal authority to perform such acts, which are the exclusive purview of a real estate agency holding a management license. In the insurer’s view, this interference in the management of the property is sufficient to conclude that the actual contractual framework did not meet the requirements necessary to ensure the validity of the coverage. The owner is left to bear the repair costs and claims for compensation from guests who must be urgently relocated. What began as a service rendered in good faith has turned into a financial disaster, solely because no one had questioned the legal framework of this intervention.
The right approach isn’t to choose between a concierge service and an agency, but to clarify who does what
I’m not telling you to do without concierge services—quite the opposite. In a high-end villa, the end customer’s experience depends heavily on the quality of the welcome, maintenance, and on-site responsiveness, and that is precisely what these services are designed to provide. What I’m encouraging you to do is to clearly distinguish, in the contract you sign, between what constitutes purely logistical services and what constitutes an action that only a real estate agency can legally perform.
If your property management company publishes your listings, confirms your reservations, negotiates your rates, orders repairs on your behalf, or handles even a single euro intended to be held in your account, simply ask them to provide you with three documents. First, their professional property management license number, which can be verified with the relevant chamber of commerce. Next, their financial guarantee certificate, which protects the funds held on your behalf at an approved financial institution. Finally, their professional liability insurance certificate—making sure it explicitly covers property management activities, and not just cleaning or reception services. If your contact cannot provide these three documents, this isn’t just an administrative detail that was left off a sales brochure—it means they simply do not have the legal right to carry out this part of their business, and as such, they are not a real estate agency.
The most sound solution—and the one I use with partner concierge services in my area—is to have the concierge service act as an operational subcontractor for an agency that holds the real estate management license. The concierge service continues to do what it does best—greeting guests, cleaning, and property maintenance—while the agency bears the legal and financial responsibility for everything related to renting out the property, the lease agreement, rent collection, and claims management. Each party stays within its role, your property is fully protected, and the end client enjoys a flawless experience from both sides. It is precisely this synergy—between on-the-ground expertise and a solid legal framework—that provides lasting protection for the value of a luxury villa, whether it’s on the French Riviera or in the Caribbean.
A necessary clarification, not an attack
I am not writing this article to discredit a profession that, in the vast majority of cases, does serious and valuable work. It’s because, year after year, I see property owners signing vague contracts with companies that are commercially appealing, without realizing they’re taking a real legal and financial risk on an asset that’s sometimes worth several million euros. The market needs competent property management firms. It also needs everyone to operate within their own field of expertise, with the appropriate license, warranty, and insurance as soon as their activities go beyond simple property management. It’s a matter of mutual protection—for the property owner, for the traveler, and ultimately for the entire industry, which loses credibility every time a poorly managed dispute makes headlines for the wrong reasons.
If you have any doubts about the exact nature of the contract you signed, or about what your current service provider is actually authorized to do for your villa, this is a conversation worth having—and you shouldn’t wait for a claim to arise before having it.
Frequently Asked Questions
My property management company deposits the security deposit into my own bank account—am I protected?
The fact that the money technically passes through your account is not enough to eliminate the risk if the concierge service is the one negotiating, approving, and managing that amount on your behalf as part of actions it carries out independently. What matters under the law is who actually exercises control and makes decisions regarding the transaction, not merely which account the money passes through.
Is a concierge service that lists itself as a “co-host” on a platform like Airbnb operating legally?
If this co-host manages rent, writes listings, or coordinates reservations on behalf of the owner, they are in fact acting as an intermediary and, as such, should hold the corresponding professional license—the very one that distinguishes a real estate agency from a mere service provider. The platform’s technical structure alone does not alter the legal nature of the activity being carried out.
Can my insurance company really refuse to pay a claim because of my service provider?
Yes, this is a real and well-documented risk. If the expert appointed by your insurer determines that the person who was effectively managing your property was not authorized to perform the actions they took, the insurer may cite the irregularity of the contractual framework to deny all or part of its coverage, particularly for the most costly claims.
Am I liable if a contractor hired by my property management company has an accident at my home?
It depends on the circumstances, but the risk is very real. If your property management company ordered and supervised the work without legal authorization to do so, you, as the property owner who commissioned the work, may be considered the de facto employer for the project, with all the implications that entails in terms of safety and social security coverage.
How can I continue working with my current concierge service without taking any risks?
The simplest solution is to have the concierge services managed by an agency licensed in property management, under a clear subcontracting agreement limited to hands-on services. This allows you to maintain the quality of your concierge service while ensuring legal protection for the overall management of your property.
