MAUD VELTER’S ANALYSIS of the implementation of registration numbers for furnished rentals for tourists in Paris from the 1st December

Registration numbers will become mandatory on advertisements for furnished apartments for tourists from the 1st December 2017 in Paris, and will also come into effect in Bordeaux from the 1st March. In towns of more than 200,000 inhabitants, town councils will be able to introduce a similar registration number scheme for furnished rentals for tourists.

Who are the landlords affected by this new registration symstem ?

After being ammended by the law for a digital republic, from now on the tourism code will authorise town councils to decide to introduce a registration system throughout a city for all furnished apartments rented short-term to clients not taking up residence. Registering is mandatory for all landlords renting out furnished apartments to tourists, including those who rent out their primary residence for only a few weeks a year.

Implementing registration for furnished apartments for tourists in Paris

On the 1st October 2017 the City of Paris introduced a service to distribute the registration number that should feature on all online advertisements for furnished apartments that are repeatedly rented short-term to clients who are not taking up residence as well as on rental contracts

What impact will this have on the market ?

Bearing in mind that in towns with 200,000 inhabitants, it is possible to rent a furnished property for tourists either if it’s the primary residence of the landlord, as long as it is not rented out for more than 120 days a year, or if the landlord of the furnished apartment to be rented out has prior autorisation for a change of use, a procedure that in practice is quite complex, long and expensive.
The registration number is a way for the Mairie de Parie to control the market. Rentals by the day or by the week in Paris should greatly decrease. Landlords with a pied-à-terre in Paris that they use very often will be forced to leave it vacant during the rest of the time and others will move towards rentals that are not « short-term », a term that has not been legally defined. What is a « short-term » rental ?

What is a « short-term » rental ?

If the Mairie de Paris considers that this is all rentals that are not the primary residence of the tenant, this is not the stance held by the Inspectorate-General of Finances and the CGEDD in their 2016 report on furnished properties for rent (in french). This report states that (p.251) « the length of the stay is the best way to define short-term rentals. For furnished rentals used as the primary place of residence, the current legal definition from the 6th July 1989 only recognises contracts from 9 months for students to a year for standard contracts. Short-term rentals should not be defined as all furnished rentals with a contract under 9 months» It also added that "short-term furnished rentals can be defined as renting a room or an entire property for less than a month whether or not it is a primary residence».
This also agrees with the idea behind the bill concerning temporary leases (1 to 10 months) which should be debated at the beginning of 2018. Rentals for a few months are responding to a need for housing and not to the needs of tourists..

Read more:

• Paris furnished rentals barometer - 2017 third quarter: Europeans, the top tenants for furnished rentals in Paris
• Furnished rentals: who are the investors?
• 30 years of ERASMUS: Helpful tips for renting to students studying abroad
  
• Paris furnished rentals barometer - 2017 second quarter

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