The Paris city authorities' fight against online apartment rental platforms continues
As reported by RFI, Ian Brossat spoke about the intention to hold such a meeting on Monday, November 13, at the Paris Palace of Justice, where the city hall was once again suing landlords. One of them was renting out three apartments in Paris at prices ranging from 167 to 382 euros per night. According to Le Parisien, the most expensive apartment brought its owner about 7,000 euros per month. The city hall is demanding a fine of 50,000 euros and a ban on further short-term rentals of these apartments. This is the maximum possible penalty. The court is expected to rule on December 4.
This year, the Paris city hall, as previously warned, has increased pressure on the 'sector' of illegal apartment rentals: while in 2016 lawsuits were filed against owners of 42 apartments, in the incomplete year of 2017, that number has already reached 196. The total amount of fines has increased tenfold: from 100,000 euros for the whole of 2016 to 976,000 euros for the first ten months of this year.
However, the Paris authorities still face a huge 'battlefront': in the city, about 100,000 apartments are rented out for short periods through various online platforms.
Apartment owners can be understood: short-term rentals bring in 3-5 times more than long-term rentals. Tourists also benefit, paying one and a half to two times less.
But due to illegal rentals – 'under the table', according to Ian Brossat, about 30,000 apartments are rented out this way – the city hall loses revenue: not only from property owners but also from the hotel business, which loses income. Additionally, the city hall claims that such practices harm the interests of the majority of the city's residents.
First, constant demand for apartments drives up the price per square meter, which in Paris has reached an average of 8,813 euros – as a result, the vast majority of Parisians cannot afford to buy an apartment in their city, even with a mortgage. Long-term rental prices are also rising, and if a reasonably priced option appears on the market, dozens of people line up for it. Second, entire streets in central Paris are becoming 'reservations' for tourists – most apartments there are rented out by the day.
On Tuesday, November 14, it became known that Airbnb has made a 'concession' to the city authorities: from January 1, 2018, the online platform will set an automatic limit of 120 nights per year for apartments rented out 'in central Paris'. 'Central Paris' refers to the first four arrondissements of the city. The V, VI, VII, and VIII arrondissements, which are no less popular with tourists (and even more expensive on average), have not yet been included in the restrictions. Nor have the other fourteen arrondissements. The deputy mayor of Paris, Ian Brossat, called Airbnb's 'concession' 'bizarre', since 'by law, the 120-night limit should apply to all districts of Paris without exception'.
Moreover, 120 nights is far from the wishes of the French hotel industry union UMIH, which, according to Le Figaro, is demanding that the Paris city hall limit short-term rentals to 52 days per year. In addition, hotel 'magnates' are calling for a ban on apartment rentals for periods of less than a week.
Nothing is yet known about the intention of French hoteliers to lower prices, which are 'prohibitive' for many tourists. On October 30, the latest results of the Hôtel Price Radar – an international ranking of hotel accommodation costs – were published. According to the study, the average cost of a night in a Paris hotel in the third quarter of this year was 135 euros. For that money, through online platforms, you can rent accommodation for two nights, and it will be much more spacious than a hotel room.
However, the battle in this triangle (city authorities – Airbnb – hotel lobby) will continue, and not only in the French capital. The international meeting planned in Paris may become an important stage in this struggle. Tourists are unlikely to emerge as winners from it.