Rent control is progressing in Paris and in several large cities in France, according to the Abbé Pierre foundation

2023-10-05 06:57:36

This is rare good news on the housing front in recent months. According to the Abbé Pierre Foundation barometer made public on Thursday October 5, the share of rental advertisements in Paris which exceed the legal ceiling is falling, to 28%. This rate was 31% in 2022 and 35% in 2021. The foundation is presenting results from other cities for the first time.

The study, which is based on the analysis of 25,000 advertisements recorded between August 2022 and August 2023, concludes that “the progression of this device” rent control framework first put in place by Paris town hall for leases signed since 2019.

Rent control was made possible on an experimental basis by the Elan law of 2018. It prohibits landlords from asking tenants for an amount greater than a given sum, varying according to neighborhood depending on the state of the market. It applies in areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants “where there is a marked imbalance between supply and demand for housing”.

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Concretely, for tenants, non-compliant monthly rents in Paris exceed the legal ceiling by 237 euros on average, or more than 2,800 euros per year. For the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing, Ian Brossat (PCF), rent control “is having its first effects (…) in particular by giving tenants a weight which changes the balance of power” with the lessor.

Call to the government

The barometer “also shows that new cities are taking hold of it and seeking to promote” the device, according to the foundation. In Lyon-Villeurbanne, 34% of advertisements exceed the legal ceiling, down 2 points over one year; in Lille 37% (compared to 43% in 2022) and in Montpellier 16%, down by almost half. Nationally, the share is 30% with a rent which exceeds the ceiling by 198 euros on average.

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The foundation calls on the government to allow cities “volunteers” who have submitted requests, such as Marseille or Bayonne, to put the framework in place. “The simple fact that it exists already has an effect on honest owners,” some also using the standard like “market state benchmark” to set a price, estimated the foundation’s director of studies Manuel Domergue.

However, the fact that there is “very few sanctions, which remain affordable, encourage [certains] to give it a try »according to Mr. Domergue who emphasizes that the lack of information can also make it possible to “flouting the law without the tenant being aware”. Currently, the control of rent overruns relies on reporting by tenants.

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The World with AFP