Twenty-four municipalities in the French Basque Country, which have been facing a sharp increase in rental prices for years, will be able to apply rent caps from November 25, according to a prefectural decree published on Monday October 21 which sets out the terms.
This measure, already in force in several cities, has long been demanded by many local elected officials in the Basque Country, where the proliferation of second homes and furnished tourist accommodation is accused of preventing residents from finding decent accommodation.
The municipalities authorized to apply it are Ahetze, Anglet, Arbonne, Arcangues, Ascain, Bassussarry, Bayonne, Biarritz, Bidart, Biriatou, Boucau, Ciboure, Guéthary, Hendaye, Jatxou, Lahonce, Larressore, Mouguerre, Saint-Jean-de- Luz, Saint-Pierre-d’Irube, Urcuit, Urrugne, Ustaritz and Villefranque.
"The experiment should make it possible to limit the increase in rents in areas with high real estate pressure and to prevent excessive rents," the Basque Country Agglomeration Community stressed on its website.
Between 2019 and 2023, the price per square meter increased by 35% in the Basque territory, according to the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim). For rental, it jumped by almost 4 euros per m³ in Biarritz between 2020 and 2022 (from 13,90 euros to 17,90 euros), according to the Ministry of Housing.
An online simulator will allow tenants to find out the maximum rent rate applicable to their accommodation.
"A landlord who does not comply with the rule is liable to a fine of up to 5.000 euros for an individual and 15.000 euros for a legal entity," specifies the Urban Community.
The rent cap is already applied in the municipalities of Paris, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier and Bordeaux, and in the inter-municipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis Plaine Commune and Est Ensemble. It currently consists of an "experiment" at the national level, until 2026, when the government may decide to make it permanent.
"The challenge, particularly with feedback, will be to show how beneficial it is, and to extend the measure beyond 2026," underlines Alda, a collective fighting against the housing crisis in the Basque Country.
"Today in the Basque Country there are areas where rents are close to those of large, tense metropolises," Malika Peyraut, spokesperson for Alda, explained to AFP, pointing out that rents in the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz area are close to those in Nice, Montpellier and Marseille.
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