The Nice municipal council adopted a deliberation on Friday June 19 relaxing regulations for furnished Airbnb-type tourist rentals, Mayor Éric Ciotti (UDR) calling for pragmatism while the left denounced “a scandal”.
Last year, the former municipality had nevertheless tightened conditions for owners, in the wake of the Le Meur law, while the city, where housing represents a major challenge for workers, sees its supply of furnished tourist rentals increase each year.
But on Friday, the maximum rental period for a primary residence increased from 90 to 120 days. For those who exceed this quota, the validity of a change of use authorization has been increased from three to five years, while the quotas established in the most affected neighborhoods have been relaxed.
Respect for private property
“We must no longer increase the number of furnished tourist rentals,” promised Éric Ciotti in the municipal council, while recalling that the city collected 25 million euros in tourist taxes per year, including 10.6 million for furnished tourist rentals. The extension of the rental period of a main residence comes from respect for private property, he added, estimating that Macronism had made owners its “cash cows”.
However, extending the validity of change of use authorizations is a pragmatic choice given that the service only has 10 agents. If the files only come back every five years, this gives them more time for checks on the ground, which are currently almost non-existent.
Likewise, the relaxation of quotas is a compromise to put an end to a procedure initiated by rental companies before the administrative justice system.
“We are now putting as many tourist accommodations on the market as we are creating social housing,” lamented Juliette Chesnel-Le-Roux, left-wing municipal councilor. “The far right says it is defending the people of Nice by replacing its inhabitants with wheeled suitcase carriers.”
