Nil Caouissin, the elected representative of the Breton Democratic Union, suggested it in a manifesto released during the 2021 regional elections: why not establish a resident status in Brittany? The idea of reserving the acquisition of real estate in the most sought-after areas for people who had already lived in the same place for a year had fueled a serious debate.
Among the citizens interested in this proposal, Malouine Véronique Deschamps. The one who dropped anchor more than thirty years ago in the fortified city is one of the several hundred year-round residents within the walls. She is worried about the future of this very touristy stronghold, where the Airbnb phenomenon has grown considerably, with thousands of listings recorded.
The civilian hairdresser even paid the price. The historic house where she lives is divided into three apartments and saw the arrival, in 2016, of a short-term seasonal rental in one of them. Suitcases galore and uninterrupted passages have invaded this dwelling made of wood and cob. “I saw this small place transform into a station hall, and my address become a tourist destination,” she points out tirelessly. While she wrote a “letter to the Malouins” to warn of the situation in 2018, signed by six hundred people, a year later she co-founded the Saint-Malo collective, I live there… I stay there!
At the same time, she began a legal fight against the owners of the apartment rented on platforms such as Airbnb or Booking, on the grounds of “abnormal neighborhood disturbance”. A “impaired quality of life”, in her words, which this whistleblower wanted to put an end to. “I had the choice between suffering and remaining silent or selling and leaving, she confides. I preferred a third option: fighting and being afraid all the time. »
What has happened since
If the resident status has not seen the light of day in Brittany, the housing problem has further intensified. In July 2023, the regional chamber of notaries recorded an annual increase of 9.4% in the median price of an old apartment in Saint-Malo, to stand at 4,810 euros per square meter. For comparison, it was 2,650 euros in 2015.
In an already hot context, Saint-Malo had adopted, in 2021, very restrictive regulations by establishing quotas for short-term rentals by district (12.5% for intra-muros). Its mayor, Gilles Lurton (LR), believes that the measure “at least put a brake on the inflation of the phenomenon, which was taking on an industrial proportion”. And recognizes a belated awareness on this subject on the part of institutions.
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