The French parliament has finally approved a bill tightening the conditions for renting housing through platforms such as Airbnb.
Proponents of the reform argue that the boom in apartment rentals through Airbnb has led to increased speculation and made it difficult for ordinary families to access real estate.
France is the second largest market for Airbnb: facilities in more than 29,000 cities of the country are rented through the portal. In 8 years, according to deputies, the number of apartments for short-term tourist rentals has increased from 300,000 to 1.2 million.
What are the main changes?
The main thing is to reduce tax benefits for owners renting out real estate for short-term rentals.
There were: those who rented classified tourist accommodation (that is, objects that were assigned a rating) received tax benefits of up to 71%, provided that the rental income did not exceed 188,700 euros per year, and expenses were declared using a simplified Micro-BIC system.
It will become: the tax benefit for classified tourist accommodation will be up to 50% (instead of 71%), provided that the rental income does not exceed 77,700 euros per year.
There were: owners renting out unclassified housing for short-term rent received tax savings of 50%, provided that the income did not exceed 77,700 euros.
It will become: the tax benefit for unclassified tourist sites will decrease from 50 to 30%, the maximum amount of income should not exceed 15,000 euros.
Thus, the tax benefits for unclassified leases will be the same for short-term and long-term rentals. This should encourage long-term rentals and reduce the shortage of housing for families.
What will change besides taxes?
- Mayors of cities are given the authority to regulate leases at the local level. For example, they will be able to introduce quotas for a certain number of rental properties, as well as reduce the allowable time for renting housing to 90 days a year (both are already taking place in some large cities).
- Properties for short-term rental will have to be evaluated energy efficiency (diagnostic de performance énergétique, or DPE) before they are put on the market, as well as objects, long-term rental.
At the time of the law's entry into force, real estate objects will have to have a rating not lower than "E", and by 2034 "not lower than "D".
"Hundreds of mayors of cities, from Paris to Biarritz,... are looking forward to this law," said Laurent Lardi, deputy and deputy mayor of Marseille.
Far-right parliamentarians condemned the bill, criticizing the "outrageous and punitive tax system". The law "will favor the giants of the hotel sector to the detriment of those who just want to receive additional income from their property," said Alexis Jolly, a member of the National Association.
Sources: The Connexion, Fortune
