2024-11-25 06:54:00
More than fifteen years after its arrival in France, Airbnb sees the web of regulation closing in on it a little more. On November 7, the National Assembly adopted a transpartisan bill governing the rental of furnished tourist accommodation. Two days earlier, the Senate had done the same. And on Tuesday November 19, the law has been promulgated and is now in force.
Rare are the texts which, in a politically fragmented Parliament, arouse such approval. But on the left as on the right, the increase in the number of furnished tourist accommodation no longer left many people indifferent.
Defined in the Tourism Code as all accommodation “intended for a passing clientele who does not take up residence there and who spends a stay there characterized by rental by the day, week or month”these furnished tourist accommodations are not new: in 1955, the federation of gîtes de France was created. But the digitalization of this market has dynamized it, with powerful platforms as the main players, such as Booking, Expedia and Trip Advisor, which are trying to take over from the essential Airbnb.
Real estate stocks disrupted
Since these platforms took the private market by storm, the number of furnished tourist accommodations has exploded. It is now estimated at 1.2 million in France, four times more than in 2016. Behind this average, certain municipalities are experiencing a spectacular deformation of the structure of their real estate stock.
Thus, in June 2021, 30% of housing in the old city center of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) was placed on the tourist rental market! The case of Saint-Malo is emblematic, both because of the scale of the phenomenon and the fight that local elected officials led, relatively alone, against rental companies.
In fact, in recent years, the municipality has passed measures making the rental of furnished tourist accommodation more restrictive. A fight which took her, following a complaint from landlords, to the Rennes administrative court – a court which ruled in her favor in mid-October.
The voted text establishes a stricter national framework, at all stages of this economic activity.
Thanks to the law which has just come into force, Saint-Malo and others will feel less alone in the face of the giants of tourist rental. Because the voted text sets up a stricter national framework, at all stages of this economic activity. Starting at the beginning, that is to say putting these goods on the market.
The marketing declaration obligations are reinforced – providing a better understanding of the exact state of the French real estate stock. This information will be valuable for mayors, who will be able to intervene much more strongly in the real estate market, for example by establishing maximum quotas for furnished tourist accommodation per district.
Two defects partially corrected
To avoid side effects linked to the strengthening of constraints, the text does not simply regulate furnished tourist accommodation in the narrow sense. It also further regulates the possibility, for an owner, of renting their main residence to travelers. This option, less restrictive than the transformation of a classic property into furnished tourist accommodation, remains possible. But local elected officials can now limit it to 90 days per year, compared to 120 until now.
Finally, and above all, the text corrects two significant defects in French legislation, which pushed many lessors to favor the rental of furnished tourist accommodation over long-term leases.
Until now, it was more advantageous to offer short-term furnished tourist accommodation for rental rather than long-term rental.
First fault (partially) corrected: the difference in treatment in terms of thermal quality of housing. Until today, the energy performance diagnostics (DPE) required to be able to rent a property were stricter for long-term rentals than for furnished tourist accommodation. This encouraged some thermal sieve owners to rent their property to tourists rather than rehabilitate it and leave it on the traditional market.
The text provides for a gradual convergence of standards. “But this catch-up will only be completely successful in 2034, regrets Manuel Domergue, director of studies at the Abbé-Pierre Foundation. In the meantime, we can fear that the pre-existing defect will persist”he points out.
The second major flaw, also partly corrected, concerns taxation. Until now, it was more advantageous to offer short-term furnished tourist accommodation for rental rather than long-term rental. This “Airbnb niche” had been in the sights of legislators for several years. But the dog who slept there had long proven sufficiently impressive that his home was left untouched.
Local elected officials less alone in the face of platforms
The voted text partially reduces this tax loophole. From now on, in tense areas, there will no longer be any advantage in renting furnished tourist accommodation, unless it is “classified” (i.e. the owner has had the quality of his accommodation certified by an authorized body). In this case, the tax relief that an owner can claim on their rental income will remain greater.
In total, the text constitutes “a real step forward in regulating Airbnb, greets Manuel Domergue. Given the consensual aspect of the subject, we can regret that the text arrives late. But it is a real reason for hope despite everything : the text proves that there are transpartisan majorities to regulate the real estate market when the interests of owners diverge too much from those of residents”.
The battle for furnished tourist accommodation was not born on November 19, 2024. For fifteen years, landlords and regulators have in fact been playing cat and mouse. But the law which entered into force this Tuesday constitutes an important date in the conflict. Because it offers the municipalities a more solid national shield to carry it out.
1732651845
#transpartisan #law #expels #Airbnb #tax #shelter
