Terms & Conditions

All prices are quoted in € euros per week. £GB prices are only indicative as they are prone to fluctuation in accordance with the currency markets. Telephone, electricity, heating, bedlinen, and housework, may not be included in the rental price. Any additional charges must be paid directly to the owner or his representative in cash upon arrival unless otherwise stated in the contract.

Further information concerning charges are mentioned on each property's webpage of our site and listed in the rental contract. (In some areas there is a small local tax to pay. This "Taxe de sejour" is levied by some local tourist offices to help fund tourist information leaflets, publicity for local festivals, etc. The tax is typically about €2 per person per week.)

The Owner or his representative will also ask for the breakages/cleaning deposit upon your arrival. The method of payment (cash or cheque) is detailed in the property’s Terms & Conditions. The deposit will be returned to you within 10 days of your departure (unless the terms & conditions state that it is to be returned on the day of departure) less any reductions for breakages or damage, or extra cleaning costs.

There is no telephone (or land-line for internet) provided unless otherwise stated. For properties with "telephone available on request" an additional cash deposit will be required upon arrival.

Any request for a reservation must be accompanied by a signed Booking Form and a 30% deposit.

The remaining 70% is due 8 weeks before the start of your holiday. In the event of non-payment on time, your rental agreement could be cancelled without notice, with no refund of the deposit.

For bookings made less than 56 days (8 weeks) before the arrival date at the holiday property, the whole rent must be paid at the time of booking.

We accept payment from Non-UK residents in € euros by bank-to-bank transfer. (We can not accept cheques from non-UK banks, nor can we accept payments in $ Dollars).

UK residents can pay by £GB cheque or £GB bank-to-bank transfer.

In the event of cancellation by you the 30% deposit is not refundable. It is therefore essential that you take out adequate holiday insurance so that should you have to cancel due to ill health or for another reason beyond your control (eg. jury service obligation) your deposit can be reimbursed by your insurance company.

In the event of a cancellation being made after the full amount has been paid, the Owner will refund you in accordance with his terms and conditions which you receive together with the booking form. Usually there is a sliding scale of refunds/forfeit as follows:

In the unlikely event that we have to cancel your booking or there are major changes to it due to matters beyond our control which are not covered under 'Force Majeure' (see below), we will advise you as soon as possible and will endeavour to offer you suitable alternative accommodation.

If this is not possible, or you do not wish to accept the alternatives offered, we will refund all the monies paid by you.

Change-over days are on Saturday unless otherwise stated. The property will be available to you no later than 5pm on the day of your arrival and until 10am on the day of your departure, unless otherwise stated. If you are unable to arrive at 5pm or wish to arrive early and drop-off baggage while you go out until 5pm, please notify the Owner beforehand. If you are delayed en route, you must phone the owner or keyholder to let them know your expected time of arrival. If you arrive at an unreasonable hour without notification and are unable to gain access to the property, the property Owner cannot be held responsible for any cost incurred for alternative overnight accommodation.

For some properties, a very late arrival time (ie. later than 7pm) will never be possible to arrange even if the owners or keyholders are given warning. (If, for example, the keyholder is an estate agent, whose offices close at 7pm). In some cases the keyholder does not live close to the property, and if they need to come out to welcome you after a certain time (eg. 8pm) there will be a supplementary charge to pay them.

If the only available flights mean that you can not arrive at a reasonable time, you must tell us at the time of booking and we will then advise you which properties it is possible to arrange for a very late arrival and for which it is not. If late arrivals are not possible at your chosen property, you will have to arrange stay at a hotel or B&B for your first night at your expense, and arrive at the property the following morning at an agreed time.

You will need to pay any extra charges (eg. for bed-linen) and for breakages deposit upon arrival, as stated in the Owner's Terms and Conditions.

Please notify the owner or keyholder if you want to leave before 10am on the scheduled day of departure, so they can return your breakages deposit if it was taken in cash and is to be returned on the day of departure. If you leave early without giving notification at-least 3 days in advance, any banking charges incurred by the owner when returning your deposit will be deducted from it.

"Taxe de sejour" - This "Tax" is a local government tax imposed on all tourists (including French ones) levied by the local 'marie' to help fund tourist information leaflets, publicity for local festivals, etc. The tax can vary from €2 per person per week to €1 per person per day depending on the area. All owners are obliged to comply with this law. Further information concerning the exact amounts to pay is available on request.

Should you or other members of your party or guests cause any damage to the property, its contents, grounds, or any third party, you will be deemed responsible for such damage. In addition to paying a breakages/cleaning deposit, you must also have adequate third-party insurance to cover such an eventuality. Please check that your travel insurance gives you adequate personal public liability cover (ie. at least €3 million or GB£2 million). You must take a copy of your insurance certificate with you, as the owner or their representative is entitled to see the certificate before allowing you possession of the property. Residents of some countries (eg. Germany and the Netherlands), may already have third-party liability cover as part of their own home insurance policy. In other countries, such as the UK, this is not usually the case, so UK residents will almost certainly require a comprehensive travel insurance policy. We recommend www.gosure.com.

Non EU residents (eg. USA) should check with their own home insurer to see if they are covered for personal liability when they are travelling abroad. Usually they are not. American residents can buy personal liability cover as part of the the "Liaison Traveller" package offered by Chase Insurance Agency. (4 Peace Pipe Lane, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Toll Free: 1-888-854-9553 ext 113).

Only the signatory of the rental agreement needs to be covered for personal liability so long as they accept responsibility for the actions of all other members of the party. (But we still advise all members of the party to have travel insurance to cover them for baggage loss, health & emergency repatriation, cancellation through ill-health or bereavement).

All the properties are cleaned before letting. However, you are responsible for keeping and leaving the property, including the grounds, in a tidy condition. You are not expected to hoover and mop everywhere, but as a minimum you are expected to leave bathroom appliances and the kitchen (all tableware, utensils and appliances like the oven and fridge) completely clean, and not to leave litter in the garden.

Some owners include an 'end-of-stay' cleaning by a professional cleaner in the rent, but most ask for a fee in cash. If the house is left in an unacceptable condition (eg. dirty kitchen appliances and crockery), the owner may withhold further monies from your breakages deposit, based on the a guide figure of €10 per hour extra cleaning, over and above the normal 'end-of-stay' cleaning fee. Maid service during your stay is often available at extra charge (please see Terms and Conditions for each property).

You are responsible at all times for the safety and behaviour of your children. You should survey them at all times, especially if the property has staircases, terraces, etc.

The maximum number of occupants for each property is indicated in the property description and contract and must not be exceeded under any circumstances. In the event of failure to comply with this provision, the Owner shall be entitled to ask you to leave the property without refund of monies paid or any other liability to you. This applies to the number of day-time occupants as well as to the number of people sleeping there. While it is of course fine to invite a couple of friends over occasionally, it is not acceptable to have more people coming regularly to use the property. The Owner is also entitled to ask you to leave the property without any refund if, in their reasonable opinion, your behaviour is unacceptable (ie. drunken or loutish behaviour).

No pets are allowed, unless it is otherwise stated in the individual property details.

On arrival, please check that the property conforms to its website description. Should you find any discrepancy or that any of the amenities listed in the property description are damaged or broken, or if you have any other cause for concern (eg. issues of safety) please bring it to the owner's attention immediately so that they can resolve the problem, but also so that you are not blamed for any damage that may have been caused by previous tenants. If you are unable to contact the owner or his representative, please contact Planète-Blanche. All complaints must be made to the owner in writing, as well as verbally.

Planète-Blanche will not become directly involved in any disputes between the property Owner and the Tenant of the property, but may be called upon as an independent arbiter if necessary. We do not want to have dissatisfied customers and consider it part of our service to try to put right any complaints you may have. However, we cannot accept complaints made after the holiday has finished. If a problem arises, please notify the Owner or their representative immediately.

No complaint will be entertained unless it is raised with the Owner or their representative personally before the property is vacated and confirmed in writing within 7 days of the end of your holiday. Planète-Blanche will endeavour to act as intermediary in case of disputes, but does not accept any responsibility for them or their outcome.

The description of the rental property and facilities at a property are based on the information provided by the Owner, who certifies that the information provided is correct. Planète-Blanche may not be held liable for any fault on the part of the Owner in this regard. Nor is Planète-Blanche liable where changes effecting the rental property or its surroundings have not been brought to our attention by the owner before the tenant occupies the premises. Our role is limited to acting as a bookings agent and Planète-Blanche shall not be liable as a result of any act by the owner or the tenant.

Neither the Owner or Planète-Blanche can be held responsible for disruption of local services beyond their control, for example water supply, electricity and telephone, nor for temporary noise nuisance such as road works. These problems effect all residents, irrespective of whether they are holiday-makers or not. FORCE MAJEURE: Neither Planète-Blanche or the owner can accept liability in any circumstances where performance of the contract is prevented by reason of: War or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activities, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, flood or adverse weather conditions, acts of God, closure of ports or airports, epidemics, government action or any similar events outside our control.

The owners do of course have house insurance, but under French Law the tenant shares a measure of responsibility for the property and its contents during the rental period. You must ensure that your personal insurance offers a high degree of personal liability (typically up to €3.000,000 or equivalent). Please check all details of your Booking Form and Booking Confirmation carefully. A submitted booking form is taken as proof that you have read, understood and agree with the above Terms and Conditions, and those that apply to the property you are renting, and that you will abide by them. Under no circumstances shall Planète-Blanche ‘s or the Owner's liability to the tenant exceed the amount paid to us or the property owner for the rental period. European Law shall govern this contract in all its aspects.