The fight by town halls against furnished tourist accommodation is beginning to bear fruit

In November 2024, a law was passed to make the rental of furnished tourist accommodation less tax-efficient and to give mayors tools to limit its development, which is exacerbating the housing crisis in certain already tense areas.

If they deem it necessary, mayors can now cap at 90 the number of days per year that an individual can rent out their primary residence on a platform.

"In Paris, it's not impacting business that much at the moment," but "in some cities, it's drastic," notes Quentin Brackers de Hugo, president of the concierge service HostnFly.

Marie Pistinier, president of the union of furnished rental professionals, sees "direct impacts" of this measure and claims to have "had to reorient herself towards medium and long-term rentals partly because of recent regulations."

In many cities, if a homeowner wants to rent out their second home on tourist rental platforms such as Airbnb or Abritel, they must now apply to the town hall for permission to change the use of the property to a commercial activity.

"We are winning the battle against Airbnb," says Jacques Baudrier, deputy mayor of Paris for housing.

In Biarritz, regulations have put in place that mean that "almost no new housing can be rented out, and permits are not being renewed by the town hall," according to the president of the HostnFly concierge service.

He opposes these new rules, arguing that second homes will remain empty "on average 330 days a year" and that the decline in the number of tourist rental properties has a negative impact on "local tourism and local businesses." "In Biarritz, shopkeepers looked grim last year," he laments.

Hunting down illegal rentals

All municipalities can now also set quotas for furnished tourist accommodation.

A "very interesting" measure, according to Mr. Brackers de Hugo, who nevertheless criticizes the "overly strict" quotas of certain cities, including Saint-Malo, which has limited to 370 the number of tourist rentals authorized in the old city within the walls.

In Nice, where, according to the town hall, in certain districts such as Vieux-Nice or the Promenade des Anglais, up to 70% of tourist accommodation is owned by professional investors, the implementation of these quotas and other measures have made it possible to "bend the curve in the number of seasonal rentals over the past two to three years," says Anthony Borré, first deputy mayor of Nice, responsible for housing.

Airbnb states that it has "not observed any significant recent change in the volume of offers available on Airbnb in France in general."

Since the new law, owners can no longer hide behind civil real estate companies (SCI) or concierge services, which are now subject to the same regulations as individuals.

"Before, there could be abuses and people who slipped under the radar. Paris City Hall ensures that the law is followed, (...) the net is getting thinner and thinner," concludes Quentin Brackers of Hugo.

"As we are winning more and more cases and the fines are much higher, owners will gradually stop taking the risk," explains PCF deputy Jacques Baudrier.

Illegal furnished tourist accommodation rentals are estimated at 25.000 in Paris, according to city services.

"We are in a dynamic where, now, the legal arsenal is in our favor, so we are going to significantly limit the number of illegal tourist accommodations," anticipates Jacques Baudrier.

In Paris, to combat the rental of this type of furnished accommodation, field agents are conducting investigations into the networks, searching for evidence and bringing legal proceedings.