“Professionals, real estate agents, respect the regulations at 77% compared to individuals who are only 55%”, indicates Thursday June 9 on franceinfo Jean-Yves Mano, president of the CLCV (Consumption housing framework of life). In its latest report, this consumer association notes that rent control was better respected in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis in 2021, compared to 2020.
These measures “is not sufficiently understood and known by the tenants” who have “the ability to act”, recalls Jean-Yves Mano. It has been tested since 2019 in certain cities known as under stress: Paris, 18 municipalities in the Paris suburbs, Lille, Lyon and Villeurbanne. It makes it possible to prohibit a landlord from setting a rent above a certain amount. Rent control must be put in place by the end of the month in Bordeaux and Montpellier.
franceinfo: In view of your survey, do you think that the rent control is bearing fruit?
Jean-Yves Mano: Yes, since there are improvements even if we can still note in Paris that there is a relatively strong difference between professionals, real estate agents who respect the regulations at 77% compared to individuals who are only 55%. So, we can clearly see that there are still efforts to be made, but that said, it’s a constant improvement year after year. There are still anomalies: for non-compliant rents, we are at almost 1,400 euros on average per year wrongly paid by the tenant. Sometimes, we come close to 6,000 euros per year too much paid by the tenant.
I will take an example that you give: the announcement of a 3-room apartment for rent for 1,700 euros per month in Saint-Ouen, north of Paris, instead of the maximum authorized 1,261 euros. How can such an announcement still appear?
It is undoubtedly an individual who considers that he has a treasure in his hands and that the rental market tension in the Paris region allows him anything and everything. If ever a tenant has rented at this rate, he has the opportunity to act. It is important. He can of course immediately seize the Conciliation Commission within three months. The Rent Observatory website provides the general public with references by block or by district. If the tenant has occupied the accommodation for two or three years, and he realizes that he is paying far too much, he can also appeal to the Conciliation Commission. She can prove him right. And if there is no agreement between the owner and the tenant, the position of the Conciliation Commission will serve as an argument vis-à-vis the judge. And you should know that the recovery of the overpayment is retroactive since the signing of the lease.
Are sanctions really imposed?
Unfortunately, we have administrative fines which are taken by the prefect. Honestly, it’s 5,000 euros maximum for an individual and up to 8,000 euros for a civil company. So we continue to say that it is not enough. But two things: the administration can seize the legal notice to impose a fine on the owners. But also, the tenant can make recourse, throughout the duration of the lease. I don’t think it’s understood and known enough by tenants. They can refer to the Conciliation Commission. You simply have to write to the prefecture of the department concerned and the owner will be summoned. Then, the tenant will potentially have the right to recover a relatively large sum.
That’s when the damage is done. Are there any preflight checks?
Yes, but not enough. This is why the prefect can give the authorization to the mayors, Paris had necessarily strongly requested it, to organize the controls themselves. I think it’s a good initiative, provided you have the material and human means to control. What we do as an association, I think a community can do permanently. And we must push the prefectures to draw up relatively large administrative fines. It should simply be remembered that rent controls are designed to prevent abuse and not to penalize landlords, quite the contrary. You just have to have rules established for everyone. And the law is the law. And that is respected.