Airbnb plans 120-night letting cap in Paris

The company is reportedly keen to put this into action though it is waiting for confirmation from the Paris mairie.

It follows a recent law requiring those letting online via such websites in Paris, and potentially other large cities with populations of more than 200,000, to first obtain a registration number from the mairie, however this depends on this being applied by each mairie.

The aim of the law is to make sure people are letting legally, which includes not letting for more than 120 days a year in the case of letting out one’s own home (by far the simplest way to carry out tourist letting in the capital).

Currently however, no local councils have an online registration scheme and Airbnb are offering to put in place its own solution, initially in the capital.

Those exempt from the 120-night rule, for example certain professionals in the lettings industry, could untick a box to pledge this, says Airbnb.

General Manager in France Emmanuel Marill said: "Registration systems can be expensive and complicated for cities. We want to work with communities on a better way forward to help ensure home sharing grows responsibly and sustainably.

“In French cities facing local housing challenges, we have offered to introduce automated caps that limit hosts to sharing their space for 120 days a year.

“Our solution is free, simple and effective, and mirrors systems already in place in London (90 nights) and Amsterdam (60 nights)."

France is Airbnb's second largest market after the US, and Paris is a top destination, though by no means the only one.

Mr Marill said: "80% of our 400,000 listings in France are outside Paris – 25,000 listings are in the mountains, for instance.

“In 2016, 2.2 million out of 8 million Airbnb travellers in France stayed in the Paris region.

“Another 15% of Airbnb users stayed in rural communities with no hotel facilities."Whichever solution is chosen, hotel unions UMIH and GNC are urging all councils in France to put in place a scheme to limit lettings as soon as possible, but particularly in Paris.

The deputy mayor in charge of Paris's housing, Ian Brossat, is no less keen, saying that Airbnb not only represents unfair competition but that it worsens Paris's chronic housing shortage, particularly in the city-centre. He estimates that 30-40,000 flats are being let out via room-sharing websites.

For its part, Airbnb says it intends to co-operate with the law, but that requiring hosts to register on-line with the mairie could unnecessarily complicate the process and if people are chased off sites like Airbnb they will resort to using small ads instead.