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Vacation apartment registration begins in Paris 1 Oct

Vacation apartment registration begins in Paris 1 Oct

Old Jul 6th, 2017, 10:36 AM
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Vacation apartment registration begins in Paris 1 Oct

In an announcement today by the city of Paris, the French government has officially adopted a program requiring vacation rental apartments in Paris be registered beginning 1 October 2017. The registration number will be required in all on line promotions or offers:

https://www.paris.fr/actualites/decl...uristique-5007

The government estimates that at least 20,000 apartments which were, at one time, rented by residents of the city, have been converted to vacation rentals for tourists. All apartments offered as of 1 December 2017 must display the required registration number.

Explained separately, owners failing to register their apartments will be subject to fines of as much as 50 000€ per illegal rental.

The registration numbers should offer much needed clarity to those wanting to rent apartments in the city of Paris.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 10:54 AM
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Stupid question: what is the purpose of registering? Taxation? Is it a first step to limiting the number of vacation rentals allowed?
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 11:04 AM
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What do you mean? What's the point of getting any kind of business license or registering, to be legal when there are laws/regulations covering your activity.

The point of registration is to show they you are complying with the laws, and this is a way renters can know that. To be registered, I presume you have to present the appropriate documents or paperwork to show you are complying with the laws.

There are regulations/laws covering this situation, so why wouldn't you have to be registered? It is actually bizarre to have laws regulating businesses and NOT make such businesses register.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 11:09 AM
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I assume the purpose is to allow potential renters to know that they are entering into legal rental contracts. Airbnb, among other companies, has already agreed to list only those apartments with registration numbers and has already made the necessary changes to their listing software in anticipation of this requirement.

Airbnb has also agreed to drop any listing once it reaches the 120 day annual rental maximum.

One might conclude that the aggregate number of available apartments in the city of Paris will drop, possibly significantly. One might further conclude that given the known demand for vacation apartments in Paris, rental prices for legal units might also drift upwards.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 11:37 AM
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Wasn't there a plan to block vacation rentals from advertising on internet platforms if they did not produce a legitimate registration number?

I would also expect that a lot of agencies will either close up shop or move to the South of France, due to the fact that they won't be able to advertise.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 11:40 AM
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For sure, there will be a booming business in "sub rosa" apartments.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 11:51 AM
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Christina, did you really just write 3 paragraphs to say you don't know?

I'll rephrase: what are the requirements for registering a legal short term rental?

I'm asking because there have been laws about this sort of thing for a while, but they were never enforced. Requiring registration does seem to signal that they will be.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 12:11 PM
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I'm asking because there have been laws about this sort of thing for a while, but they were never enforced.

Specifically, what previous law required advertised apartments to be registered by the government? The statement by the city of Paris is quite clear that no such law previously existed.

You are probably confusing this new requirement with previously enacted legislation requiring full time vacation rentals meet a very stringent set of rules before being approved for exclusive use as short term rentals. There are only a handful of these in all of Paris.

The announcement today pertains to owner/occupants who rent their primary residents for a period not to exceed 120 days annually.

Secondary apartments, vacation apartments, or apartments purchased by investors solely for the purpose of short term rental remain unlawful and will, pursuant to this new requirement, no longer be listed at on-line sites such as Airbnb, le Bon Coin, Particulier à Particulier, Home Away, VRBO, among many others.

The registration requirement could negatively affect many of the vacation rental businesses currently operating in Paris.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 12:47 PM
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Today VRBO shows 300+ vacation rentals in Paris. I'll be curious to see how many are listed there as of October 1st and then December 1st of this year.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 01:05 PM
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I already have a number of Paris apartment rentals bookmarked for next May/June.

I'll wait until the end of the year to book.

It will be interesting to now see what other impediments our local Fodorites use to attempt to discourage tourists from renting an apartment.

What's more interesting is that I have a GTG suggested and I expect Pariswat to join me and my wife for a glass of wine.

Anyways, it's good to know that the city and these agencies seem to have resolved renting an apartment in Paris.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 01:23 PM
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Ah, Sarastro, you're right. I see now that it is still illegal to use apartments exclusively as short term rentals.

Without any provision in the law for these apartments, and the people who own them and need to find a way to pay for them, a black market is inevitable.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 01:27 PM
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I'm glad to hear that this is getting taken care of. Legal vs. illegal apartment rentals in Paris will be much clearer soon.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 03:29 PM
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iris1745: It seems odd that you think Fodorites are responsible for these 'impediments'. I know you prefer to rent apartments -- I do as well. But we have to accept the fact we may not be able to legally. It isn't Fodorites fault -- it is the law.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 03:32 PM
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oops -- clicked submit too soon. There will always be some legal apartments, but they will be MUCH fewer and likely a lot more expensive. Unfortunately our gravy train of cheap accommodations will be over.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 04:34 PM
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Actually, on our 5/6 visits to Paris we have only rented one apartment. An apartment with 3 bedrooms. We stayed at a 3 Odeon hotel a number of times. Then near the Pantheon, taking the train from CDG to close to that hotel.

However, I didn't make myself clear.

What I was attempting to say, after the new law is implemented this Fall, what then will be the impediments our Fodorites use to discourage tourists from renting Paris apartments.

As for the cost to rent a Paris apartment, time will tell.

Much fewer apartment rentals, with tens of thousands currently available, much fewer is subjective. We shall see.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 06:40 PM
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I doubt there will be fewer. Supply rises to meet demand by any means necessary.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 06:54 PM
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Would also add, what are people to do who purchased an apartment as an investment with the intention of letting it out as a short-term rental?

You can say they entered into an illegal market, made a bad choice, and so on, and I don't disagree, but they exist, apparently in large numbers, and they won't disappear or simply sell. The French government is going to have to deal with them somehow, having allowed the situation to snowball in recent years.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 08:30 PM
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Hi all,

Ok, I have a question about organizations like Guest Apartment Services and Paris Perfect. Their apartments are obviously not inhabited by residents 8 months of the year, yet they do not seem to be operating under the table (payment by credit card, charging city taxes, openly available online, and even being a member of a syndicate of professional short-term rental companies like www.splm-france.fr).

It seems that they may be operating sort of like an "apartment hotel," except that the apartments are not located within one building. I guess (??) that means that they are also paying commercial-rate income tax on the income generated by the apartments.

In contrast, at least one rental organization is not available online from a European (German) isp but is still available from an American isp -- seems obviously illegal.

Any thoughts? Do you think that's a reasonable conclusion?

s
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 08:38 PM
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>>What I was attempting to say, after the new law is implemented this Fall, what then will be the impediments our Fodorites use to discourage tourists from renting Paris apartments.
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Old Jul 6th, 2017, 08:42 PM
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Crackdown? What crackdown, lol?
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