Mayors will be able to “set quotas” on new authorizations for the rental of furnished tourist accommodation throughout the year, the Minister Delegate for Housing Guillaume Kasbarian welcomed on Wednesday, the day after the adoption of a bill in Senate.
“This text aims to bring a little order, a little balance to the market, whether in terms of thermal renovation, taxation but also tools so that mayors can regulate these tourist accommodations a little better” , declared the minister on Franceinfo.
The subject is “not on main residences”, he recalled, but “on properties which are rented full-time on the tourist rental market (…) and which could be used by local workers” .
Among the new tools made available to mayors, he welcomed the establishment of compulsory registration for all furnished accommodation.
“Each furnished apartment will be assigned a unique number when declared to the town hall, as part of the establishment of a national teleservice,” the ministry said in a press release.
The registration requirement will allow mayors “to have better control of the data” and to verify “that we are in line with the co-ownership regulations, with local rules,” noted Mr. Kasbarian.
The municipality will be able to “set quotas”, put in place “compensation measures”, namely that any housing space transformed into furnished tourist accommodation must be subject to an equivalent conversion of commercial space into housing, as This is already the case in Paris.
It could also introduce “a notion of easement on the residence, that is to say that when we build new housing, it is not so that these new constructions go to the tourist market,” added Mr. Kasbarian .
The number of furnished tourist accommodations in France is estimated at 800,000 out of a total of 38 million accommodations.
Senator Dominique Estrosi-Sassone (LR) recalled during a press briefing that the allocation of the rental market was “not solely due to the tourist rental activity”, inviting the government to act in favor of “ a greater return” for citizens who wish to invest in long-term rental.
The general rapporteur of the Budget Jean-François Husson (LR) explained that he wanted to put in place a “simple, clear, readable” tax system, while correcting the “error” of the government, which had allowed an amendment reducing significantly the tax reduction.
Senators and deputies will now have to agree on a compromise text during a joint committee, the date of which has not yet been set.
The text should come into force “after the Olympic Games”, however, announced Wednesday the rapporteur Sylviane Noël (LR).
In a press release, Airbnb said it supported the objective of giving mayors “new levers in order to effectively protect the supply of affordable housing for locals while allowing families who wish to do so to rent their property occasionally”.
“In France, 92% of furnished tourist accommodation is rented occasionally,” added the group.
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