A cross-partisan initiative was launched on Tuesday by four senators and deputies to demand stricter supervision of short-term tourist furnished rentals like Airbnb. An initiative hailed in Lyon by some students who are struggling to find accommodation.
Should the rental of short-term furnished tourist accommodation be more strictly regulated? This is at least the opinion of four parliamentarians from all sides (LR, Horizons, green, PS) who accuse the digital platforms Airbnb, Booking or Abritel of causing a shortage of housing in very touristy areas … They propose seven measures, such as the passage from 120 to 90 overnight stays authorized per year, the abolition of the tax allowance and the ban on renting thermal sieves.
Furnished tourist accommodation has proliferated in central districts
In Lyon, where the rules have already been tightened, these announcements are very favorably received by some, especially students, because for ten years, furnished tourist accommodation has proliferated in the central districts of the city: Vieux Lyon, Presqu’île , banks of the Rhône… Hence the shortage of housing that these young Lyonnais deplore.
“It took me six months to find accommodation, one of them chuckles. It’s the maxi-galley! We should perhaps set limits at the level of Airbnb to prevent it from flourishing like that, in an uncontrolled way.” “In my building, plague another, there are only Airbnbs! These are people who come to party and it’s a bit complicated. When it’s 3 a.m. and there’s noise…”
“I have lots of girlfriends who at the start of the year started their studies living an hour from Lyon. There may be a need for a little change on that…”
A studentat franceinfo
A year ago, the Metropolis of Lyon tightened the rules: to convert a property into furnished tourist accommodation, you must rent out a property of the same surface area in the same district. A binding measure, but not sufficient, believes Renaud Payre, vice-president in charge of housing.
“As long as we do not intervene in this tax loophole, it will undoubtedly always be more profitable for an owner to rent his property for a few nights rather than renting it in the traditional way, he explains. In any case, we cannot replace the legislator on the tax niche and the number of overnight stays. That’s why I appreciate the approach of the deputies.” “It’s time to act before knowing the situation in Paris or Barcelona”he concludes.