Tonight's edition of "66 Minutes" (French TV, investigative reports) featured an update of the new Mayor's attempt to crackdown on illegal vacation rentals in Paris. It was on channel M6, if any of you have access to that.
The Mayor's office is currently targeting "big fish" - people who own and operate multiple vacation rentals, whether or not they are in the same building or scattered around town. A representative of the Mayor's office has been assigned to check websites - there are about 300 vacation rental sites for Paris - then personally visits the properties and files a report, after which the property owner will be prosecuted and fined.
A camera crew followed the investigator as she visited one building in the Marais, which was interesting. She first spoke to the gardienne, who verified which apartments were rentals and gave her opinion of the tourists who were staying there and in neighboring buildings (spoiler alert: she spilled the beans, and it was not complimentary).
Next, the investigator identified herself at each apartment, asked the people staying there if they were residents or "just visiting", thanked them and continued to canvass the building. She was shown entering one apartment, where she spoke to the cleaning lady who was getting it ready for the next tenants (she also had a lot to say) and took photos of the interior and exterior. A report was submitted to the Mayor, and this particular property owner was given a 5,000 EU fine and will have additional woes if he continues to rent short-term.
It was made clear that none of the tenants was inconvenienced or prosecuted - other than being on TV for 60 seconds - and that the Mayor is targeting property owners, not tenants. Even though the representative was very pleasant and spoke several languages, the tenants looked pretty worried. I would bet most of them tried to phone the person they rented from, as soon as they shut the door.
So, what does this mean to you?
Many people are still not aware that the vast majority of short-term rentals in Paris are technically illegal - and have been for many years, though this has rarely been enforced. Many people don't care, and don't mind breaking the law, as long as it means they don't have to stay in hotels. Though enforcement will continue to be spotty, and justice moves more slowly than an escargot, it would probably be a good idea to start thinking about other options for your trip to Paris.
In addition to the "big fish", AirBnB was also recently hit with a huge fine - an easy target, since this is a large organization whose owner openly and joyfully disregards the law.
If you still intend to rent an apartment, you should probably avoid those listings which refer you to "see my many other properties", since these are the "big fish". Probably not a good idea to deal with AirBnB either, at the moment. Last-minute cancellations will continue to be a problem, since much hinges on complaints from neighbors - and gardiennes - and there are a lot of "informers" who are tired of having too many strangers on their property. You might consider booking a completely-refundable hotel room, just to protect yourself.
Several people will undoubtedly chime in to tell you everything is fine, and not to worry, etc.
I'm just reporting the facts, so you can make an informed decision.
