The experiment concerning rent capping is already underway in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier and Bordeaux, and in the intermunicipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis Plaine Commune and Est Ensemble.
More and more French cities concerned. Twenty-four municipalities in the French Basque Country will be able to apply rent capping, under a decree published Wednesday October 25 in the Official Journal.
The municipalities authorized to apply it are Ahetze, Anglet, Arbonne, Arcangues, Ascain, Bassussarry, Bayonne, Biarritz, Bidart, Biriatou, Boucau, Ciboure, Guéthary, Hendaye, Jatxou, Lahonce, Larressore, Mouguerre, Saint-Jean-de- Luz, Saint-Pierre-d’Irube, Urcuit, Urrugne, Ustaritz and Villefranque.
Multiplication of second homes and furnished tourist accommodation
The Minister Delegate for Housing, Patrice Vergriete, announced at the end of August the next application of this measure, which allows communities to set reference rents per square meter which cannot, except in exceptional circumstances, be exceeded. The amount of reference rents will be set by an order “during the year 2024”according to the ministry.
Rent capping is already applied in the municipalities of Paris, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier and Bordeaux, and in the intermunicipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis Plaine Commune and Est Ensemble. It currently consists of a “experimentation” at the national level, lasting until 2026, when the government may decide to make it permanent. It has been requested for a long time by many local elected officials in the Basque Country, where the proliferation of second homes and furnished tourist accommodation is accused of preventing residents from finding proper housing.