Accused of contributing to the housing crisis, Airbnb is at the heart of the debates started this Tuesday, May 21 in the Senate on the regulation of furnished tourist accommodation. Supported by Renaissance deputies Inaki Echaniz and Annaïg Le Meur, the bill already adopted in the Assembly intends “redressing imbalances in the rental market”.
It thus hopes to alleviate the shortage of housing in large cities or seaside resorts, affected by an increase in the number of Airbnbs. According to estimates, the number of furnished tourist accommodations in France is estimated at 800,000, out of a total of 38 million accommodations.
The text is based on two key measures. On the one hand, remove the “tax loophole” from which owners of furnished tourist accommodation benefit, on the other, strengthen the powers of local elected officials in the face of the housing shortage. These two measures are the subject of a broad consensus, assures the senator of Haute-Savoie Sylviane Noël (LR), rapporteur of the text.
Taxation considered too advantageous
The transpartisan text intends to tackle as a priority the advantageous taxation available to owners of accommodation rented as furnished tourist accommodation. Under current regulations, 71% of property income from seasonal rentals is not taken into account in taxes. In its version adopted by the National Assembly, the text would like to align their taxation with that of bare rentals (unfurnished accommodation) by reducing the reduction rate to 30%.
“In a period of serious housing crisis, there is no justification for retaining this tax shelter”, was indignant Ian Brossat (PCF), the former housing deputy at Paris town hall. On the opposite side of the political spectrum, Senator LR Max Brisson judged this tax loophole “shocking” and castigated a “totally uncontrollable speculative excitement “.
During the examination of the 2024 budget in the fall, an amendment attacking this Airbnb niche had already been voted on by senators. This planned to reduce the reduction to 30% in tense areas, against the advice of the government, which then forgot to remove it when the text was adopted by 49.3.
In the Senate, the measure was slightly modified in committee at the request of the right. It provides an exception for classified furnished accommodation, which would benefit from a 50% reduction, in order to “maintain an incentive nature for the classification”. Certain municipalities located in sparsely populated areas or in the mountains would also be affected.
Strengthened power of elected officials
In addition to the question of taxation, the text also intends to strengthen the prerogatives of mayors. For example, it plans to allow local elected officials to reduce the maximum period during which a main residence can be rented. Currently set at 120 nights per year, this threshold would increase to 90. A provision which did not fail to provoke a reaction from the number one at Airbnb France, Clément Eulry, who sees it as a measure which “will penalize the purchasing power of many French people”.
The bill also plans to authorize elected officials to reserve new construction for primary residences only in certain neighborhoods. Concretely, this measure would make it possible to curb the proliferation of second homes, by ensuring that some of the new housing remains on the long-term rental market.
Another measure carried by the text, the creation of a registration number for any rental of furnished tourist accommodation, in order to carry out tighter control. If this provision is adopted, the lessor would be required to provide several supporting documents to the municipality to verify that their accommodation complies with fire and electrical safety standards. He would also have to prove that the property being rented is actually his main residence.
