This measure was put in place in the summer of 2022, to deal with inflation, but should end in principle on June 30. The deputies are therefore examining a bill in the accelerated procedure to extend it.
The National Assembly is considering Wednesday, May 31 on the bill, in first reading and in accelerated procedure, which extends the “rent shield”. This measure, put in place last summer, limits the rise in rents to 3.5%, as part of the measures to support purchasing power, but it ends on June 30. Several voices, including the majority, have called for its extension.
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This system, put in place a year ago, has undoubtedly protected tenants from an explosion in rents, sustained by inflation. Rents have certainly increased on average, but without this shield, the increase would have been much higher, according to a study conducted by the Clameur observatory, published in March. This institute, which brings together real estate professionals – federations, agency networks – measured the increase in rents over the year 2022, which remains within the average of previous years, i.e. around 1.3% per year.
A risk of rent increases of 5 to 15%
This obviously does not prevent some landlords from increasing rents more, but, still according to the Clameur study, rents increase less quickly than inflation. In some cities, they even drop on average. This is the case for Paris and its agglomeration, Metz, Lille, or even Orléans. The observatory clearly attributes this trend to the blocking of the benchmark rent index, the IRL, an index well known to tenants and landlords. It makes it possible to measure the increase in rents, and it is he who is blocked at 3.5%. But this is not the only explanation for this phenomenon. Some cities have adopted a rent control measure, in the face of far too high prices, like Paris. On the other hand, some landlords simply do not apply the increase made possible by law, to the delight of their tenants.
If the Assembly does not adopt the extension of the device, the rent increases would therefore become free, outside the local supervision devices. Several observers fear increases of 5 to 15% to catch up with or compensate for inflation. Indeed, some owners are losers with this device. Those who had to do work in their rental accommodation, for example, were not able to pass on all the additional costs of work linked to inflation to the rents. That said, some have also made up for the charges.
The bill is carried by the Macronist deputy for Gironde, Thomas Cazenave, and defended by the president of the Renaissance group, Aurore Berger. The text should not cause parliamentary bronca this time, since the rebellious deputies have themselves tabled a proposal in the same direction. But for the extension of the measure to be effective at the right time, before June 30, the Assembly examines the text in an accelerated procedure, that is to say a single reading in each room. And for that, the deputies must not be late on the discussions around the reform of the pensions, a subject much more stormy.