The city of Paris hunts down illegal tourist accommodation

“If we find tourists here, it’s a jackpot,” enthuses Ingrid Simon, a sworn instructor for the city of Paris, typing in the entry code of a building in the XNUMXth arrondissement, where the price per square meter is the highest in Paris.

In the early morning, behind an elegant red door on Boulevard Saint-Germain, good luck. Not one, nor two apartments, but an entire building, owned by a single owner, suspected of renting out his property as furnished tourist accommodation.

With Jean-David, also a city agent sworn in by the judicial court, Ingrid Simon is part of the team, which, every month, travels the streets and buildings of the capital in search of housing fraudulently rented for short periods of time. tourist stays.

Certain details are unmistakable: nameless mailboxes overflowing with leaflets and advertisements of all kinds, or doorbells, also anonymous, bearing the same sticker, in the name of an online rental site.

"120 days a year"

In Paris, where finding accommodation has become a challenge, "the rule is simple", Ian Brossat, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing, told AFP.

"If you have a main residence, you have the right to rent your accommodation for up to 120 days per year. If you have a secondary residence, you do not have the right to rent it, unless exceptional authorization linked to a mechanism of compensation,” he explains.

In the lobby of the building, the agents ring the bell. No answer. It's early, a little after nine o'clock. “We have to succeed in intercepting tourists before they leave to visit the city,” says Ms. Simon, suspicious advertisements spotted on various tourist rental sites in hand.

At the same time, two Australian tourists come down the stairs. Questioned by the agents, they confirmed that they were renting one of the apartments in the building. The reservation is inspected, the agents make the link with one of the suspicious goods.

The numerous clues are verified in the stairwell, where the same code boxes are located on all floors, next to each door, allowing keys to be retrieved independently.

This is the first step of the inspection. “After the visits, we carry out more in-depth analyses. We also contact the owners, who give us their arguments, then we refer them to the courts,” explains Jean-David.

“Clandestine hotels”

“In the first eleven arrondissements, as well as for the XNUMXth, the compensation coefficient is three. Elsewhere in Paris, it is two,” explains Franck Affortit, deputy of the office for the protection of residential premises, to the management of housing and habitat in the city of Paris.

This coefficient, freely set by each municipality, applies in the event of a change of use of housing.

In Paris, since 2022, for 1m³ transformed into commercial premises, the owner is required to transform, in the same district, 2m³ or 3m³ of commercial space into residential space, under penalty of a fine of up to 50.000 euros.

Under a porch on rue Dauphine, the agents carry out the second part of their mission. In each mailbox, they leave a notice, as well as a leaflet reminding the legislation.

In the absence of clear evidence, neighbors are questioned about possible nuisances. Claire, who lives on the 6th and last floor, is categorical: the property is “an AirBnb”, and “it works all year round”.

“Someone moved because of the constant noise of suitcases,” she adds.

Nuisances which are likely to intensify as the Olympic Games approach. For Ian Brossat, "the idea is not to release the pressure as the Olympics approach."

“We do not want housing to be transformed all year round into clandestine hotels rented to tourists. This deprives us of housing in a city which is already cruelly lacking to accommodate its workers,” he argues.

In 2022, the city of Paris collected nearly 2,5 million euros in fines.