Seasonal rentals and main home rentals are not the same

On rental listings you will find two labels that look almost identical: "seasonal rental" and "residential rental". The difference is not the type of flat, the furniture or the price. It is what the flat is being rented for. And that nuance changes the rules quite a lot, whether you are a tenant or a landlord.

The purpose is what makes the difference

A rental of a main home is one signed to cover the tenant's permanent need for housing. It is their home: the place where they live their daily life, where their post arrives and where they come back every night.

A seasonal rental answers something else: a limited stay with a specific reason behind it. An academic year, a work posting of a few months, building work at the usual home, medical treatment far from where you live. The tenant's main home is somewhere else, and this flat is used temporarily.

So the clue is not the length written into the contract, but the real reason the flat is being rented.

Why that difference matters so much

Renting a main home is designed to give stability to the person living there. The rules give the tenant a minimum period of security and extensions that do not depend solely on the landlord's wishes, along with other safeguards regarding the rent, the deposit and how the contract ends.

Seasonal rentals work with more flexible rules: they are agreed between the parties and end when the date arrives, without that cushion of continuity. For a genuinely temporary stay that makes perfect sense. For someone building their life in that home, it does not.

Calling it "seasonal" does not make it seasonal

Here is the important part: the label on the contract does not decide the matter. If the flat is the tenant's main home, the relationship is a main-home tenancy even if the paperwork says otherwise. What counts is how the property is actually used, and as a rule, whoever claims the stay is temporary is the one who should be able to explain and back up that reason.

For a landlord, mislabelling a rental is not a shortcut, it is a risk. If a dispute shows that the flat was in fact the tenant's main home, the main-home rules apply, with the duration and protections that come with them. At that point you no longer control the timings you thought you controlled.

If you are signing a main-home tenancy

• Make sure the contract clearly states that the flat is being let as a home, not as a seasonal stay.
• Duration, extensions and notice periods for leaving or for not renewing, in writing and without ambiguity.
• Deposit and any additional guarantees: how much is handed over, who holds it and on what conditions it is returned.
• How costs are split: utilities, building service charges, local taxes and repairs.
• Condition of the flat on move-in: an inventory with photos and a list of defects, signed by both sides.
• Rent reviews: put in writing how and when the rent can be updated.

If the stay really is temporary

• Make sure the contract explains the reason for the season (studies, work, building work) and, if you can, provide a document that supports it.
• Clear start and end dates, and what happens if you need to extend the stay.
• What the price includes: furniture, utilities, cleaning, internet connection.
• How to cancel if your plans change earlier than expected.
• Ask about registering at the local town hall too: on its own it does not settle anything, but it is one more signal of how the property will really be used.

When in doubt, ask before you sign

Some situations are genuinely unclear: a temporary job that keeps getting extended, a master's degree that turns into a permanent move, someone who arrives "for a few months" and stays. In those cases it is worth checking with a professional or a housing advice service before signing, not afterwards.

One practical tip to finish: write down in a single sentence what you are going to use that flat for. If the sentence describes your everyday life with no expiry date, you are looking at a main home and the contract should say so. If it describes a stage with a beginning and an end for a specific reason, it is a seasonal stay. Make the paperwork match that sentence, and keep a copy of everything you sign.