The share of rental advertisements in Paris which exceed the legal ceiling is falling, standing at 28% according to the Abbé Pierre Foundation barometer made public on Thursday October 5, presenting for the first time results from other cities.
In Paris “28% of advertisements analyzed in 2023 exceed the legal ceiling rent” according to the Abbé Pierre foundation which notes a decrease compared to previous years. The rate was 31% in 2022 and 35% in 2021. The study, which is based on the analysis of 25,000 advertisements recorded between August 2022 and August 2023, concludes that “the progression of this system” of rent control first implemented by Paris town hall for leases signed since 2019.
Rent control was made possible on an experimental basis by the ELAN law of 2018. It prohibits landlords from asking tenants for an amount greater than a given sum, varying according to neighborhood depending on the state of the market. It applies in areas of more than 50,000 inhabitants “where there is a marked imbalance between supply and demand for housing”. Concretely, for tenants, non-compliant monthly rents in Paris exceed the legal ceiling by an average of 237 euros, or more than 2,800 euros per year.
For the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing Ian Brossat (PCF) rent control “is having its first effects (…) in particular by giving tenants a weight which changes the balance of power” with the lessor . The barometer “also shows that new cities are taking advantage of it and seeking to promote” the system, according to the foundation. In Lyon-Villeurbanne, 34% of advertisements exceed the legal ceiling, down 2 points over one year; in Lille 37% (compared to 43% in 2022) and in Montpellier 16%, down by almost half. Nationally, the share is 30% with a rent which exceeds the ceiling by 198 euros on average.
The foundation calls on the government to authorize “volunteer” cities which have submitted requests, such as Marseille or Bayonne, to set up the framework. “The simple fact that it exists already has an effect on honest owners” some also using the standard as a “benchmark of the state of the market” to set a price, estimated the foundation’s research director Manuel Domergue.
Nevertheless, the fact that there are “very few sanctions, which remain affordable, encourages (some) to try it”, according to Manuel Domergue who emphasizes that the lack of information can also make it possible to “flout the law without the tenant is informed. Currently, the control of rent overruns relies on reporting by tenants.