The Court of Cassation ruled in favor of the City of Paris against donors using platforms like Airbnb.
Justice thus recognizes that the mechanisms put in place and in particular that of "compensation" are a "proportionate" response to the situation.
420 donors are in the sights of the town hall.
The City of Paris won an important victory on Thursday against rental platforms like Airbnb, the Court of Cassation having ruled that its regulations comply with European law, "proportionate" and justified to fight against the shortage of rental accommodation.
This favorable decision will allow the French capital to resume legal proceedings against 420 donors from whom it is claiming an average of 50,000 euros, or up to 21 million euros in potential fines in total.
The validated "compensation" system
In five judgments delivered Thursday in cases opposing donors to the municipality, the Court of Cassation ruled that the prior authorization system adopted by the capital to regulate short-term tourist rentals was clear, adapted to the need to fight against the shortage of rental accommodation and was neither "arbitrary" nor "disproportionate", according to the decisions posted online.
The lessor must thus proceed to a "change of use" of the accommodation, subject to prior authorization from the municipality, if he wants to rent a "furnished room" for "a period of less than one year", to "the night, the week or the month, to a passing clientele ".
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The Court of Cassation has validated the very restrictive mechanism called "compensation": an authorization is issued to the owner wishing to dedicate a second home to short-term tourist rental, only if he buys a commercial space of equivalent surface double in certain areas, to transform it into a dwelling, in order to compensate for the "loss of accommodation".
"A minority of guests" concerned according to Airbnb
The outstanding disputes concern lessors who have either exceeded the 120 authorized rental days per year for a main residence, or who have not made a "change of use", the City of Paris told AFP.
For Airbnb, which recalls that it is "not a stakeholder in this affair", this decision only concerns "a minority of guests renting their second home as furnished tourist accommodation", while most "renting their main residence".
"Total victory for the City of Paris against Airbnb and fraudsters who rented their accommodation illegally: our regulatory tools are recognized as compliant with European law! A five-year battle before the courts", rejoiced in a tweet the housing assistant (PCF) of Anne Hidalgo, Ian Brossat.
This case is very followed by European metropolises, faced like Paris with a housing shortage, which wanted to legislate to better regulate tourist rentals on platforms such as Airbnb or Abritel / Homeaway.
The CJEU had already ruled in favor of France
In 2018, the Court of Cassation, seized by two owners using Airbnb - sentenced to a 40,000 euro fine for rentals without the prior authorization of the town hall -, turned to the Court of Justice of the European Union based in Luxembourg to find out whether the French legislation governing the rental of second homes on Airbnb complies with European regulations.
On September 22, 2020, the latter responded positively, but referred to the French courts to examine in more detail the compensation mechanisms put in place by the cities.