Airbnb regulation: the left castigates the postponement of a bill
Left-leaning MPs on Tuesday slammed the postponement of a cross-partisan bill regulatingAirbnb and tourist rentals, while elected representatives of the majority consider that the text is “not finished” at this stage.
In the air for already a week, the postponement of this bill was acted on Tuesday during the conference of presidents, which brings together the main leaders of theNational Assembly. The PS deputy Inaki Echaniz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), who hoped to defend this text in mid-June in the hemicycle, expressed his “cold anger” at this “retreat”. “It is a disavowal of the housing crisis (…) It is to make fun of the world and not to respect the hundreds of mayors and local elected officials who are mobilizing” against “real estate speculation”, estimated the elected socialist, who was to carry the bill with the Macronist deputy Annaig Le Meur (Finistère).
“We don’t even have a future date” for this bill. “The compromise sold by the majority is shattered,” denounced the PS deputy, pointing the finger at the centrists of the Modem who would have pushed for this postponement. Among environmentalists, Julien Bayou (Paris) accused the majority of “giving in to Airbnb lobbying”, “one more renunciation”, despite “transpartisan and consensual proposals to more effectively regulate short-term tourist rental”.
In a press briefing, the MoDem Bruno Millienne (Yvelines) assured not “to be against the bill”. “We simply say that it is not finished. There is a larger-scale work to be done, especially on taxation,” he said. “If we vote for it, that means that tomorrow or in less than a year, we will do one on the same subject to try to broaden things,” he said. This “will create dissatisfaction and frustration”.
The bill intended to strengthen the competence of small municipalities in tense areas, by conditioning tourist rental to prior authorization, in particular in the event of a change of use of premises or accommodation. It also aimed to tighten the scale of tax deductions granted in the event of the rental of furnished tourist accommodation, taking into account certain specific cases such as mountain resorts.
Finally, this text wanted to make tourist rentals conditional on the completion of an energy performance diagnosis, on the model of long-term rentals, unless an exemption is granted by the municipal council.
