Short-term rental in Villars-sur-Ollon: regulations and permits

Villars is in Vaud, not in Valais - and that changes everything

This is the first thing to understand, and the one most owners discover too late: Villars-sur-Ollon is a resort within the municipality of Ollon, in the district of Aigle, canton of Vaud. Geographically, the resort looks out over the Rhône valley and faces the Valais Dents du Midi; legally, it has nothing in common with Verbier, Nendaz or Crans-Montana. The Valais law on tourist accommodation, the much-discussed "registration number" of the Valais resorts, the cantonal practices of Valais: none of that applies in Villars.

The applicable framework is that of Vaud, and it rests on three distinct pieces of legislation: the LEAE (law on the exercise of economic activities) for the rental notification and the guest register; the LPPPL (law on the preservation and promotion of the rental housing stock) and its implementing regulation for any change-of-use permit beyond 90 days; and the LATC (law on spatial planning and construction) for municipal permits. On top of that come the federal Lex Weber and the Ollon municipal regulation on the tourist tax. We have devoted a full article to this contrast between the two cantons: declaring your short-term rental in Valais and in the canton of Vaud.

Notifying the municipality before the first night (LEAE)

This is the most concrete obligation, and the most frequently overlooked. Since the revision of the LEAE came into force on 1 July 2022, anyone renting out a home for short stays in the canton of Vaud must notify the municipal authorities before the first night (art. 4a and 74c LEAE). This is not an optional formality: supervision of the activity is a municipal responsibility, and the municipality of Ollon wrote to all its property owners to remind them that notification is mandatory, retroactively from that date.

The obligation does not stop there. Hosts must keep a register of their guests (art. 74c para. 3 and 4 LEAE), and the municipality in turn keeps a register of hosts (art. 74d LEAE). For each host, this municipal register contains: name, first name, date of birth and main residential address for an individual; company name and registered office for a legal entity; the precise address and location of the accommodation; and the guest capacity of the property rented or sublet. In Ollon, these notifications go through the tourist tax office, based in the tourist office premises in Villars.

One useful clarification, and a frequent source of confusion: this notification concerns short-stay accommodation. Year-round lets and rentals of more than 90 consecutive days fall under a different regime and are not covered by this notification duty. If you alternate seasonal lets and short-term rental on the same property, you need to know which regime you are in - one of the first things we clarify when taking a property under management.

The 90-day rule: why it does not apply in Villars in 2026

This is the point that worries Vaud owners most, and also the one surrounded by the most misinformation. The principle: beyond 90 days of rental per calendar year through a platform, a change-of-use permit is required (art. 15 RLPPPL). A home rented out almost all year on a short-term basis ceases, in the eyes of Vaud law, to be an ordinary residential dwelling.

But - and this is decisive - this rule applies only in districts affected by the housing shortage. And that list of districts is not fixed in the law: it is set by a decree of the Council of State reissued every year. The decree of 17 December 2025, applicable to 2026, does not subject the district of Aigle - hence not the municipality of Ollon, hence not Villars - to Title II of the LPPPL. The direct consequence: there is no 90-day limit in Villars in 2026.

That is a considerable difference from other parts of the canton. The neighbouring district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut is in a full shortage situation: an owner in Montreux or Château-d'Œx is subject to the cap, an owner in Villars is not. For an investor, this is a rarely highlighted yet very concrete argument: in Villars, in 2026, your rental calendar is not constrained by an annual quota of nights.

One essential caveat, however: the decree is reissued every year. The district of Aigle could be added to the list for 2027 or a later year if the situation of the rental housing stock changes. An owner building a business case on very high occupancy therefore needs to watch this annual publication - precisely the kind of monitoring we carry out for the properties we manage, and on which we alert our owners as soon as a change appears on the horizon.

LPPPL exemptions and municipal permits under the LATC

Even in a district subject to the shortage regime, the LPPPL provides for exemptions (art. 3 LPPPL): a home last occupied by the owner or by a close relative, a building with no more than two dwellings, or a home with a net habitable area of 150 m² or more fall outside the permit regime. These exemptions cover a good share of the region's chalet stock and deserve to be checked property by property: a family chalet of more than 150 m² in Chesières or Arveyes is not in the same position as a studio in a residence in the centre of Villars.

Independently of the LPPPL, a municipal permit under art. 103 LATC may be required by the municipality where operating a dwelling as tourist accommodation amounts to a change of use in planning terms. This is a municipal competence, assessed case by case. Here too, the right reflex is to ask the municipality of Ollon before publishing a listing, not after receiving a letter.

A tenant rather than an owner? Subletting follows different rules

The situation arises regularly in Villars, particularly around the international schools: someone renting an apartment on a yearly lease wants to sublet it for a few weeks each season. That is not the same legal situation as an owner. Subletting requires the landlord's prior consent (art. 262 CO), and Vaud law restates this expressly for leases governed by cantonal rules (art. 22 RULV). Subletting without that consent exposes you to termination of the lease, regardless of any steps taken with the municipality.

In other words: notifying the municipality under the LEAE does not replace the landlord's consent, and the landlord's consent does not exempt you from notifying the municipality. The two obligations are cumulative and independent of each other.

Lex Weber, condominium, insurance: the rest of the checklist

The Lex Weber is federal and applies in Villars as everywhere else: the municipality of Ollon far exceeds the 20% cap on second homes, so the construction of new "classic" second homes has been frozen there since 2013. That does not prohibit renting: a home benefiting from grandfathered rights can be rented freely on a short-term basis, while some more recent homes carry a tourist-use designation that on the contrary requires regular rental. This status is checked in the land register and with the municipality - a point we cover from the investor's angle in our guide to buying to let in Villars-sur-Ollon.

Two checks are still regularly neglected. First, the condominium: a significant share of the housing stock in Villars and Chesières consists of apartments under condominium ownership (PPE), and some condominium rules regulate or restrict short-term rental. Second, insurance: standard household and liability cover does not always extend to damage caused by paying guests or to loss of rental income. Finally, the municipal tourist tax must be collected, declared and remitted for every night: we have devoted a dedicated guide to the tourist tax in Villars-sur-Ollon.

Renting out legally in Villars: the 6 steps

Here, in order, is the compliance journey for a property in Villars-sur-Ollon: 1) check the property's Lex Weber status in the land register (grandfathered rights or tourist-use designation); 2) if you are a tenant, obtain the landlord's prior written consent; 3) review the condominium rules and adapt your insurance cover to the rental activity; 4) notify the rental to the municipality of Ollon before the first night and set up the guest register required by the LEAE; 5) check with the municipality whether a permit under art. 103 LATC is required, and follow the Council of State's annual decree on shortage districts; 6) organise the collection, declaration and remittance of the tourist tax, along with the documentary trail (statements, invoices) needed in case of a control.

None of these steps is insurmountable; it is their accumulation, and above all keeping them up over time, that weighs - all the more so as a text such as the shortage decree may change every year. For the properties we take under management, the entire journey is handled and documented: it is one component of the complete service of our concierge service in Villars-sur-Ollon, charged at 25% of the net amount collected after deduction of platform fees, transaction fees and cleaning.

This information is provided for guidance only and reflects the state of the legal framework at the time of writing. Vaud legislation and municipal practice evolve - the Council of State's decree on shortage districts is notably reissued every year. For any specific situation, refer to the municipality of Ollon or to legal counsel.

Further reading