Rent control authorized in Grenoble

"The government announces the establishment of rent controls in the territory of the Grenoble metropolis. A decree opens the possibility of rent controls to control their rise and protect the purchasing power of tenant residents", indicates the ministry in a press release.

“For rent control to be effective, a prefectural decree setting the maximum rent level will be issued during the year 2024,” continues the ministry.

“This is excellent news,” responded environmentalist mayor Eric Piolle, contacted by AFP. “It is for us a prevention tool, to fight against abuse, particularly for small areas” and which will “complement” the other tools already put in place to preserve the purchasing power of residents, he said. -he thinks.

The rent cap, which prohibits, with exceptions, renting a property beyond a reference rent, is applied in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier, Bordeaux, and in the intermunicipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis Common Plain and East Together.

It will soon be implemented in 24 municipalities in the French Basque Country, including Biarritz and Bayonne.

It is currently applied as an “experiment” which must end in 2026, a possible prelude to its perpetuation in law.

The city of Grenoble had been asking for several years to be able to apply it, which the government had previously refused, arguing that the real estate market there was not tight enough to justify it.

The current delegate minister, Patrice Vergriete, engaged in a project of decentralization of housing policy, said he was in favor of communities being able to freely decide to apply rent caps, without having to request authorization from the State as is currently the case.