Paris is tightening the regulations governing tourist apartment rentals. The new regulations will make short-term rentals more difficult, and penalties for breaking them will reach up to EUR 100,000. All because the French capital is struggling with a real estate shortage.
Paris authorities are struggling with the lack of available housing. Therefore, on Thursday in the capital France an act was adopted tightening the rules of tourist rental in force there. The regulations are aimed primarily at platforms such as Airbnb and short-term rental properties offered there.
Paris is fighting short-term rentals
The tightened regulations are to come into force from January 2025, reports “Le Parisien”. They assume that in order to offer short-term rental of their apartment, property owners will have to register it in advance on a special online platform. There they will also have to determine whether this is their main or additional apartment. According to the law in force in France, additional apartments cannot be rented through tourist rental platforms. Submitting a false declaration will be subject to a fine of up to EUR 20,000 (equivalent to nearly PLN 86,000).
People who, contrary to the regulations, change the way they use real estate, e.g. start renting their second apartment to tourists, will pay up to five times more. Under the new regulations, the number of days per year during which owners will be able to rent an apartment that is their main place of residence will also be reduced. It will decrease from the current 120 to 90, reports “Le Parisien”.
Paris, stock photo Shutterstock
There is a housing shortage in Paris
As the newspaper notes, the tightening of regulations was possible thanks to an act adopted by the French Parliament in early November. This not only provided municipalities with the opportunity to more strictly control short-term apartment rentals, but also changed the applicable rules in this case tax relief so that tourist rental is not more profitable than permanent rental. France is not the only European country that sees the platform's activities as the reason for high prices and low availability of apartments on the rental market.
In response, the Airbnb platform, which will be affected by the new regulations, said in a statement quoted by French media that it does not believe that they will have a “significant impact” on its operations. She added that she sees the bill as an attempt to “distract attention” from the real sources of the housing affordability problem. France is the service's second largest market.
Le Parisien, PAP, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: Shutterstock