The Constitutional Council upholds a measure banning tourist rentals in co-owned properties

This ban, after approval by two-thirds of the co-owners, is provided for by the "Le Meur law" of November 2024 regulating furnished tourist accommodation, which can be rented via platforms such as Airbnb, Abritel or Booking.

It can only be applied in co-ownerships which have a "bourgeois habitation clause", which means that the apartments in the building must be intended solely for residential use.

The Constitutional Council had been asked to rule on a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) by an owner of several properties in Caen, who contested the resolution of the general meeting of co-owners of his building prohibiting the rental of secondary residences as furnished tourist accommodation.

The owner argues that this provision infringes on property rights and the freedom to conduct business. He contends that these infringements are disproportionate and place an excessive burden on owners to meet the objective of regulating and controlling tourist rentals, within the framework of the fight against the housing shortage.

The Constitutional Council ruled that the measure does not infringe on property rights because it is restricted to secondary residences and applies to buildings whose regulations already prohibit any commercial activity in the apartments.

The infringement on the freedom to conduct business is also ruled out. The Le Meur law does not prohibit the rental of secondary residences under other arrangements such as long-term rentals.

The co-owners can also reverse the ban by voting to repeal it from the regulations under the same conditions.

The Council noted that the Le Meur law is indeed in line with an objective of general interest: "to facilitate the fight against nuisances linked to the development of furnished tourist rental activities in co-ownerships and to combat the shortage of housing intended for long-term rental", a press release details.

The Union of Furnished Rental Professionals, which was not the originator of the QPC but contributed to defending the interests of the sector once the case was referred to the judges, told AFP of its "disappointment" with this decision.

Its vice-president Frédérick Seidita Aires nevertheless welcomes the fact that "the Council recalls the extremely limited and restricted scope of the Le Meur law, whereas many condominium managers saw it as broad".

In 2014, the body censured a similar measure, which provided for a principle of prior authorization for a short-term tourist rental, but which concerned all co-ownerships and also for main residences.

For many experts, the rise of furnished tourist rentals is one of the causes of the worsening housing crisis, as it has contributed to the increase in prices, both for renting and buying, and to the shrinking of the stock of housing available for year-round rental.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.