Well. the dreaded axe has fallen on my Paris apartment rental
 

Well. the dreaded axe has fallen on the Paris apartment I booked about 6 months ago. It has been cancelled by the owner. I have stayed in this little studio several times and it is just right for me. I guess it was inevitable. I really am put off by hotel prices in Paris, so this was a good choice for me due to the accommodation, the location and price. I am majorly bummed and disappointed. My flights are locked in so I now have 6 days in Paris and no little studio apartment.

Does anyone know of a "legal" small apartment that does not cost a fortune in the area between Metros Cluny La Sorbonne and Saint-Michel? I do not need fancy. The cancelled apartment is on Rue de la Harpe. Very near Notre Dame?

I received this email from the owners:
Recently, the city council of Paris voted to pass legislation restricting the short-term rental of apartments in the city. With the new law, owners are only able to rent out their primary residence for short-term stays totaling fewer than 120 days per year, and are not able to rent out their non-primary residence at all. Since we don't live in Paris, there is no possibility of us continuing our short-term rental in the foreseeable future. We have been renting this apartment for the last 10 years but as a result, we are unable to continue our apartment rentals.

We regretfully inform you that we are cancelling your reservation with us. You will receive a full refund of your payments. Please let us know if you have any questions. We are hopeful you'll be able to find a suitable place to stay before your upcoming trip to Paris. Since other owners are facing similar scenarios, we recommend booking new accommodations soon.

An interesting development and I, for one, thank you hpeabody for this. It does appear the law is having an effect and while I'm sorry for we who love the little rental pied-à-terres in the city, I suppose it was inevitable.

Something I hadn't thought about in all the discussion is the fact that no doubt the prices of those left standing will go up. While we've been able to find places to stay priced well below a hotel room (or 2 or 3 hotel rooms for families) and enjoy it more, I suspect those days are over too. Sigh, nothing lasts forever.

Ouch! So sorry for you.

I have noticed some Airbnb apartments listed that have received their registration numbers from the City, and are therefor "legal". When you click on the place where it says, "Read more about the space.", you can see the 13 digit number beginning with 75, near the bottom of the description. If you do not see the number, your experience shows one should be very cautious about booking.

-I have noticed some Airbnb apartments listed that have received their registration numbers from the City, and are therefor "legal".-

I have seen some on vrbo.com too. You might check around for another option hpeabody. I have bookmarked some but not in the area you are looking.

I'm so sorry hpeabody. I also know what it's like to get used to "your" neighborhood, but if you cast a wider net you'd end up finding something suitable and end up loving that neighborhood too.

This is why I've been holding off on a return visit to Paris. I really can't imagine, anymore, spending 1-2 weeks in a hotel room anywhere. My first visit to Paris was via a ground floor studio off Rue Charlot close to 20 years ago. It probably wasn't much bigger than an average hotel room, but having a private space, with a kitchen and washer/dryer, was wonderful.

Great for residents, not as great for tourists who don't want to pay hotel prices.

As a resident of a tourism city with a severe affordable housing shortage, I welcome such changes.

IBobi, how do you anticipate that playing out?

Legal short term apartment rentals will go up in price, as will hotel rooms. Apartment owners who were making money from illegal short term rental will: a) register their apartment, pay taxes, and raise their rates; or b) sell their apartment; or c)rent it long term.

Now, why would options b or c be in any sense "affordable", if the apartment is in a desirable neighborhood?

Options b and c can hardly be less affordable than when the apartment was an illegal short term rental and therefore unavailable to residents at all.

This could be a really long shot, and it's not in the neighborhoods you desire, but we've rented it several times and it's a gem.

https://www.homelidays.com/hebergeme...eo:gen:ret:xxx[xxx]:traveler_banners:tp1x1&utm_term=20314610%7C205459 004%7C90518257&utm_campaign=homelidays:display:fra :t:g:traveler_retargeting&dclid=CMTv8YO-vNgCFdES0wodUZUAbA

Now, I don't see a 13-digit registration code on Homelidays or any of the other sites it's listed on, but we know the owner well and it's a bit hard to imagine that, since that last time he rented the property he wouldn't have taken care of that issue.

Also, Homelidays has an extensive legal section if you scroll way down on the website regarding the new regulations and obligations of property owners, which at least hints that they are keeping their owners in compliance or informing them of the consequences of not being in compliance.

If the apartment interests you at all, I would call the owner, Marc Pelissier, directly and ask him. If he can supply you with a registration number, good (you can also check with the local mairie in Paris).I wouldn't bother asking HomeHolidays. It's also possible he doesn't rent it out for more than the allowable days (it's a secondary residence for him). He also owns the slightly bigger apartment next door and has totally renovated it since his mother died two years ago. I would inquire about that too.

One of the lovely things about these apartments is the large, leafy terrace accessible privately to these two apartments. They are also exceptionally well furnished and comfortable.

thursdaysd, true. But iBobi specifically referenced the *affordable* housing shortage plaguing highly touristed cities.

Requiring short term rental registration is not going to help that, as far as I can see, but I may be missing something, which is why I asked.

If the apartments that have been taken off the long-term rental market are returned to that market, one would expect prices to come down as the supply goes up.

Good point.

The trouble I see is that the vast majority of these apartments will be in pricy neighborhoods, making them attractive investments for wealthy buyers foreign and domestic because there has been pent up demand.

We stayed in this little studio in 2016, it's on Rue St Severin, and it is legal and it has a registration number. We loved it, and I believe it is near the area you mentioned:
https://www.vrbo.com/20279

I'm sorry that this happened but thank you for reporting. We went to Paris before apartments were widely available to us, and I hope we will go again.

"Recently, the city council of Paris voted to pass legislation restricting the short-term rental of apartments in the city."

I'm sorry this happened to you. Many other people are going to be hurt in the shakeout. But since this law has been on the books since before 2009 when it began to be seriously enforced,(not at all recent)many people, unfortunately, with or without their knowledge, had been in violation of this law. (According to the statement you posted, your host had 10 years of illegal income from this apartment.) Realtors did not inform their clients of this law. Buyers of properties to be rented did not do their due diligence. Paris had sent out warning signals for years that stricter enforcement was coming.

Thank you all for your replies.

Even if prices DON’T go down, in a lot of places, it would be good for supply to go up. Availability is often the issue. It doesn’t matter how much it costs if it never on the market to rent to begin with.

In the case of hpeabody’s rental, though, I don’t really think the registration helps anyone. I know many people don’t agree, but I would rather live next to a vacation home that has temporary tenants most of the year, than a vacation home that is empty and devoid of life most of the year. Which would be the case for many of the Airbnb owners I know, and I’d imagine the case for little studios like the one hpeabody rented. If they can’t rent when they’re not there, they’re not going to sell either, and it’s unlikely they would sell to a full time local resident anyway because of the property value.

Anyway, I’m sorry, hpeabody, and do hope you find a replacement you love just as much.

Sorry this happened to you and I do hope you find someplace else to stay.

Having said - I doubt if we will get any apologies from the usual suspects who attack every time we warn about the issues re renting apartments in Paris, and say we are being unnecessarily alarmist. That <i>nothing</i> will happen to the renters . . . ask hpeabody if that's so . . .

No reason they can't rent on a long term lease. And I, personally, would much rather have an empty apartment than a parade of strangers.

The people I know who rent out their vacation homes would not rent long term because Airbnb allows them to visit their place whenever they want to and still make money. They don’t want to deal with long term tenants, and they don’t need to, financially. But true, perhaps the studio in question will be rented out long term.

I can understand your POV, but I like people around. I think it generally discourages vandalism and burglary.

Lol, Janisj. You’re probably right, but I don’t remember anyone saying that nothing like this would happen. Most just say the tourist won’t be stranded, and the OP wasn’t. They can still find lodging. May just not be what they want. Paris and many other places been indicating that this was coming at some point.