Rentals Illegal????

[Jody]

I don't like the sound of this and I'm sure Annette, Luc, and Doug don't either. I don't see how it is enforceable?

Well, you 3 with apts. could just "Lend" them to friends and we can pay under the table!!

www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/business/global/07rent.html?hp

[Happygoin]

Hey Jody...I read that article too. Yeah, I think that, if they do try to enforce this law, it will start a whole new underground industry.

I just really don't see how five people can enforce the law....I mean, really...think about the French bureaucratic red tape it would entail. It boggles the mind.

[sistereurope]

I just posted the link in the General section, then I saw that Jody had beat me to it...ahhh, this does NOT bode well in my grand scheme to get Mister Sister to commit to a Paris abode!!!!

[holger]

Oh Dear,

I will need to contact Gail about our Fall rental. I think Jody, you are right some could collect rent here under the table and let friends use the apartment when they were traveling.

Good wishes to everyone who owns and rents out.

[GitteK]

holger, no law as radical as this in France (or any other country) would ever become effective from July to October. There would have to be a long period of transition, or else the market would simply collapse, not only the real estate market, but also a significant part of the Paris tourist industry. Just relax, nothing will happen to your October vacation.

[Roniece]

I sent the article to my landlord Jacques and his reply was:

Bonjour Roniece,
This crackdown is real, and there is also a fiscal initiative to have the owner who rents on a short term basis to pay more taxes. There is a mean to avoid this and we had to have our apartments reclassified as "meublé de tourisme". The process with the administration had to be implemented before July 31rst. We did so on time. So our business won't stop for sure. And there won't be as many apartments available as before, which means less competition for us...

Thanks a lot for sending me this article. I hope the american people won't be afraid to rent flats in Paris... Anyway they seem to have disappear from this market... But we still have clients from all over the world !

Take care
Jacques

[GitteK]

Oh my gosh, I had better panic too and contact my Alain right away !! But he is not an ex-pat tourist owning an apt., he lives in Paris ?? Does that make a difference ??

[Roniece]

Gitte.. Jacques is French and lives in Paris remember.. if you like I can give you his email so you can clarify it with him?

[holger]

Just wrote to Gail to see if she has any additional information. Will post when I hear from her.

[Anne]

I cannot quite understand the logic of this all. I'm not sure whether there is a big enough number of potential long-term renters for the typical short-term rental apt = studio or 1 bedroom, nice and in a central location i.e. expensive. I'm much more certain about the consequences that Gitte mentionned, i.e. a drop in the housing market and in tourism. Like some people won't mind too much swapping to hotels, but some - like some of you guys - would mind very much and then would make the choice to stay for a shorter period if only because of the difference in cost between hotel and apt.

Yes, the solution would be "lending to friends". Payment wouldn't even have to be sous la table (as we say too in French), provided that the landlord AND customer both live outside France : French tax administration won't be tracking down bank transfers or cheques emitted and cashed abroad. But then the landlord should better rent indeed to someone he more or less knows and trusts, something which quite reduces his potential market, because if ever something goes wrong between them (like the renter unhappy with the rental or the landlord who claims that the renter created some damages to the apt), there would always be a risk that the renter would threaten the landlord to give him away to the French administration ...

[Happygoin]

A couple of things:

I emailed Richard Stauber, the owner of Vacation in Paris, yesterday asking what's up with this. He said it is pretty much business as usual. They're waiting for the first case to be tried to see what the outcome is. Apparently he thinks that will set precedent going forward.

Kerouac has an interesting take on this subject. I wish he'd chime in here, as I'm just parroting what he said. He said that the law really has nothing to do with vacation renters in the first place. It was originally imposed because tenement landlords were/are charging illegal immigrants 3-4 times normal rents, just so they can have a roof over their heads. As illegal immigrants, they don't have the proper paperwork to get an apartment through the normal channels.

Again, just parroting what Kerouac said...

[Jody]

Thanks Happy, I'm renting from VIP in October

[Happygoin]

Jody, I'm sure you'll be fine. Richard did say they'd only had one owner who had to stop renting. So you'd have heard by now if things were going to change. And I suspect that, even if they do change, VIP will make arrangements so you'll have another apartment. So at least you won't be sleeping under a bridge

[GitteK]

Well, after all there are alternatives to sleeping under a bridge, right ? Such as hotels ?

[holger]

I did hear back from Gail and she seemed calm. Their organization is gathering dada to prove the potential loss to the government through a variety of issues related to the law.

It is unlikely to affect many in the short term but who knows down the road. ( that's my opinion.)

[mez]

Jul 7, 2010 6:13:03 GMT -5 Roniece said:

I sent the article to my landlord Jacques and his reply was:

... And there won't be as many apartments available as before, which means less competition for us...

Hmm ... the cynic in me sees this as an indication that prices will rise.

I hope this is all sorted out soon. I already have a long list of potential apartments for my next visit. I would hate to have to start that list from scratch!

[GitteK]

Hotel owners must be clapping their hands !

[Jody]

My thoughts exactly, Gitte!

[Happygoin]

Mez, I thought the same thing you did. Supply and demand...

[holger]

I don't have the link but if you can locate Parler Paris with Adrian Leeds' discussion of this I think you will feel significantly reassured.