The Paris Council strengthens its legal arsenal to regulate furnished tourist accommodation

"We are going to be twenty times more effective," Jacques Baudrier, PCF deputy to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in charge of housing, summed up to AFP, hailing a "victory" at the end of "10 years of battle."

As of January 1, 2025, Paris will lower the ceiling for renting a primary residence from 120 to 90 days, under a law passed on November 19 giving municipalities new tools to combat the explosion of furnished tourist accommodation such as Airbnb.

Paris City Hall estimates that 25.000 furnished tourist accommodations are rented illegally in the capital, "mainly via Airbnb", for a billion euros in revenue. These are mainly accommodations rented all year round by multiple owners.

In the world's leading tourist destination, this type of rental of up to 120 days "represents an excessively high potential of nearly 9,4 million overnight stays per year", states the resolution adopted unanimously by the Paris Council.

Lowering the ceiling to 90 days "will allow us to discourage rentals in a professional manner with a threshold closer to the reality of owners' departures on vacation", while respecting the spirit of "collaborative economy", affirmed Mr. Baudrier.

The mayor of Paris is also counting on a "reduction in nuisances for local residents, due to noise and excessive use of common areas of buildings".

The law adopted in November also changed an "absurd" case law on the rules on proof of change of use of housing, which will allow the city of Paris to "win ten times more cases" and enforce the doubling of fines, from 50.000 to 100.000 euros per dwelling.

The strengthening of this legal arsenal "should enable us to regain 25.000 homes", hopes the deputy for housing.

"Limiting the frequency with which Parisians can rent out their primary residence will only penalize families who rely on income from renting out their homes to improve their purchasing power," Airbnb responded in a statement.

"It will have no impact on housing," said Airbnb CEO Clément Eurly on FranceInfo, who is calling for "another framework to free up housing and allow families and tourists who come to Paris to be able to find affordable accommodation."