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Renting your vacation rental

Getting Started:

For almost all holiday home owners the main reason for wanting to rent their holiday home is money. You may have decided to rent because it helps to pay for the upkeep of having a second home, or perhaps you hope to generate a second income. You may even own several vacation rentals which you manage as a business.

Whatever your reason for letting your holiday accommodation you need to consider some important issues before you begin.

One of the first and most important issues is can you actually rent your vacation rental? Some countries have upper or even lower limits on the number of weeks you can rent your holiday home, others may require you to obtain a rental permit before you can accept paying guests.

Finding this out isn't as daunting as it may first seem. One of the best places to start is speak to other home owners in the area and listen to any advice they have to offer. Contact your local estate agent (or holiday letting company) and search the internet for articles on renting in your area.

Finally, each country or region normally has a government department that deals with vacation rentals. Find out who deals with holiday lets for your area and ask them to send you as much information as possible.

Another important issue to consider is insurance. Generally speaking it isn't too expensive and, whilst being a legal requirement in many countries, also provides you and your guests with piece of mind should something unexpected happen.

Finally, if you're hoping to rent a holiday home for money (rather than just letting friends and family use it through the year) you need to consider if you will need to pay any tax. Again, this can be found out by speaking to other vacation rental owners in your area. Most will be more than happy to share their experiences and information with you.