The battle between Paris and Airbnb continues

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The fight that the City of Paris has been holding for years against Airbnb does not seem to have an end. In 2017, the Parisian authorities gave an ultimatum to the platform to comply with the law, but it has been in vain because it has ended up taking the multinational before the Justice to claim 12.5 million euros for announcing illegal tourist flats. The French capital is one of the most belligerent against the tourist housing portal. In fact, it is part of a European common front against Airbnb along with seven other European cities, including Madrid and Barcelona.

Img Hosteltur

The consistory presented a citation before the Court of Large Instance of Paris with a view to a hearing on May 21 to demand that record amount of 12.5 million euros.

"We can not accept that Airbnb and others do not respect the law, our inspectors have counted a thousand illegal advertisements, each subject to a fine of 12,500 euros," the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, told the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche last Sunday. , who has disseminated the information.

The Paris City Council wants to limit the rental of tourist flats to a maximum of 30 days a year.

Hidalgo explained that the objective "is to provoke an impact to end these wild rents that denaturalize some neighborhoods of Paris."

The mayor says that the Parisians can rent their apartment for a few days to earn some money, but attacks the "economy of predators" generated by some owners in collusion with certain internet portals.

"The problem is the owners of several properties that rent apartments all year round to tourists without declaring it" and the "accomplices platforms" that host these ads, denounce.

Up to 50,000 euros fine

The City Council of the French capital shelters in the last Housing Law of the French Government, approved in December 2018 and known as the Elan Law, which stipulates sanctions against platforms that publish illegal advertisements.

The text raises fines of up to 50,000 euros if they propose the rental of houses that exceed the threshold of 120 days a year, but the judge can also ask for a fine of 12,500 euros for each ad that omits the registration number, mandatory information that shows that the owners have declared the rent.

Hidalgo believes that the limit of 120 days a year to be able to rent a main residence through these platforms is "too high" and bet because it is reduced to only 30 days. This is a battle that has dragged the consistory in vain since 2017, as HOSTELTUR published in Paris wants to tighten the nuts to Airbnb.

Airbnb defends itself

For its part, Airbnb defends itself and considers that "it has fulfilled its part" by informing its clients of the obligations under the law, for which it has sent more than "120,000 emails".

In addition, they denounce that the Parisian regulation is "inefficient, disproportionate and contrary to European regulations" which means that the platform can not "continuously monitor" the activity of the hosts.

The consistory and Airbnb are already facing another process, whose decision should be given on March 5, in which Paris asks you to remove ads that do not comply with the rules imposed by the city.

In parallel, the City Council is also pursuing certain "multi-owners" hosts who rent flats on the platform without having declared it.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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