Airbnb is a great option for travelers, especially those looking to stay in ultra-residential neighborhoods and cook home-cooked meals. However, it is a pain for local governments, especially in cities that attract the most tourists. In its latest attempt to crack down on Airbnb rentals, Paris officially requires owners to register their accommodation with the town hall before offering it to online holidaymakers, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
An earlier version of the measure was first announced in July and follows a tourist tax imposed by the city in May. Under the new policy, owners will need to obtain a registration number from Paris City Hall if they intend to list it on Airbnb or similar short-term vacation platforms. A special registration website will open October 2 and owners have until December to register.
The main reason for the repression is related to the shortage of housing in Paris. By renting out vacant space to visitors, landlords are essentially limiting the supply of apartments available to Parisians. The city also imposes a 120-day limit on landlords to rent out their properties and focuses its attention on landlords with multiple rental listings on Airbnb.
Paris is one of Airbnb’s most popular destinations, with a few 55,000 registrations in March 2017. Authorities have been known to perform random raids on illegally rented homes across the city, which would include apartments that are not registered online starting next month. Other European cities have imposed similar rules on Paris, including Barcelona, which requires landlords to register with Catalonia’s tourism register, and Reykjavik, which passed a law in January saying people can rent out their accommodation for a maximum 90 days per year before you need to get a hospitality license.
While these regulations certainly put a limit on rentals, they could lead to better quality housing overall, so you can still live like one. premises in the City of Light.
Comments are closed.