Rent control has no effect, according to the real estate observatory Clameur.

By comparing the evolution of prices before and after the introduction of rent control in Bordeaux, Montpellier, Lyon and Lille, with a group of cities where rents are not controlled, this private observatory claims to see no significant effect on rents.

This conclusion contradicts the results of thestudy by the urban planning agency of the Greater Paris metropolitan area, published on Monday, which claims that rent control has reduced rents by an average of 5% in Paris since 2019 and by 4,96% in other cities where it is applied.

The Clameur observatory criticizes the methodology of Apur, which it says compares Paris to incomparable cities, due to the population decline experienced by the capital.

Apur is studying the impact of rent control by comparing the amounts observed with a "counterfeit" rent, calculated from the evolution of prices in a group of cities, in this case Aix-en-Provence, Grenoble (until the end of 2024), Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulon and Toulouse.

"Rent control, rental permits, these issues do not have an immediate effect on the value of real estate but they have a strong psychological effect on landlords," who "end up selling" in some cases, said Clameur president Jean-Michel Camizon.

The private observatory, which is based on leases signed by member real estate professionals, observed that on average 3,2% of the stock of private rental housing left the market each year between 2016 and 2019. During the following three years, from 2020 to 2022, there was an acceleration to 5,64% of housing that were no longer rented each year due to the pandemic and the new energy decency constraints.

This "substantial shock has not been compensated by the influx of new batches", notes Arnaud Simon, professor and director of the scientific committee of Clameur.

Since 2023, the number of homes that disappear each year from the private rental market has fallen back to a level comparable with the 2016-2019 period.

As for rents, they increased by an average of 2,10% in 2025 compared to the previous year. They are rising everywhere in mainland France, except in five departments including Ain, Cher and Ardennes.