1. Crackdown on key boxes for Airbnb-style lettings
More and more communes across France are targeting short-term property lets that use lock boxes to store keys.
These boxes – that usually come with a 4-digit code sent to visitors just before they arrive – allow people to pick up and deposit keys without either the landlord or a concierge present, and are left in public places for tourists to access.
The practice of attaching the boxes to public fixtures (like lampposts) is illegal, but this has not stopped some landlords from doing so.
Annecy is the latest city to have ordered police officers to remove any lock boxes they see installed in public, following the example set by the likes of Lille, Biarritz and Saint-Malo.
The boxes are then left in the police department’s lost property section, alongside a note of the location where it was found, so the landlords can come and collect them.
The hunt for key boxes is just one of a number of policies tourist hotspot areas are looking to implement in an attempt to limit the number of short-term rentals that negatively disrupt the housing market.
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“Obviously, we're not against people having furnished tourist accommodation to supplement their income,” said Sophie Garcia, a local councillor in Annecy.
The city is however “against landlords who have six or seven properties that are all accommodation we can't offer on the market to local residents,” she added.
Short-term lettings account for 20% of all accommodation available in the historic centre of Annecy.
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Whilst the key boxes are illegal to install in public, they are legal inside private accommodation spaces (i.e. the wall of a detached house).
In co-ownership buildings, like blocks of flats, it is not always within the building rules to let out the property for short-term rentals.
Even in cases where it is legal, you need the approval of all other property owners within the block, which can be difficult to get.
Read more: Tax Airbnb rentals more, demand French MPs
2. Average deposit to buy a house reaches new heights
The average deposit needed to purchase a property in France is now €89,422, according to a report by estate agent group Century 21.
In other words, the level is around 35% of the average house price in France.
The amount – 61% higher than last year’s and 259% higher than in 2021 – are a further blow to the housing market, which has seen the building, purchasing, and price of houses plummet in recent months.
Another issue is the increase in interest rates for mortgages in France, which have reached up to 4% in France according to some estate agencies.
The numerous issues have culminated in what is being labelled as a ‘housing crisis’ – pushing potential buyers are either being pushed out of the market or sitting on their hands until prices fall, causing a drop in property sales.
Those who still choose to buy are being forced to change what they are looking for from their property.
“The post-Covid era was all about large spaces [when buying property],” said Charles Marinakis, chairman of Century 21.
However, the “pressure on prices finally forced households to give up several square metres in order to be able to carry out their plans,” he added.
In general, those still looking to buy have reduced their desired size of a property by 5m², said another recent report by financial service site Meilleurtaux.com.
For the market to stabilise, Mr Marinakis argued that house prices will “need to fall between 10% to 15%.”
Read more: Can we delay the final signing of our French house purchase?
3. Almost half of survey respondents did not know the cost of their water bill in France
Almost half – 46% – of respondents to a survey in France said they are unsure of the price of their water bill.
For young people aged 18-24, the number jumps to 69%, with 61% of 24-29-year-olds unsure of the price.
Property repair site HomeServe carried out the survey.
The main reason is that for renters – and those who live in shared apartment buildings – water costs are usually contained as part of their monthly charges and not billed separately.
Whilst most water mains are privatised in France, local mairies are responsible for the distribution of water and sign contracts with the owners of the supply. This means you cannot shop around for better deals as is possible with other utilities.
Despite their lack of knowledge of how much they do pay, 90% of respondents say they are vigilant about limiting water consumption for environmental reasons.
Furthermore, 67% said they do so to limit the cost of their water bill.
Despite the attention to detail, over four-in-ten people surveyed said they wait at least two days before repairing a leak.
“Dripping water leaks are seen as nothing. But a dripping tap means 210 litres of water lost, or the equivalent of 23 packs of water a week, so almost a euro a week,” said Nicolas Mogenot, a managing director at HomeServe.
“Small leaks are seen as a drop in the bill. They are more dangerous because we are less aware of their impact,” he added.
The worst offenders are those under the age of 35, 26% of whom say they leave leaks unresolved in their houses.
Read more: This is how the government wants you to save water this summer
4. First set of Olympic Village apartments up for grabs
The first block of flats in the Olympic Village set to be turned into residential housing are now on sale.
Currently, 174 of the nearly 3,000 units that will be available to move into after Paris 2024 are on the market.
The units, which have between one and five rooms, will be ready to move into by the beginning of 2025 – but their high prices are putting potential buyers off.
An average cost of €7,000 per m² – lower than in Paris itself but higher than other properties in the Saint-Denis area – means that as of June 27, only five reservations for the properties had been made.
Despite this, developers Vinci said the properties are eco-friendly and spacious and the “quality of [their] construction is unrivalled in the region.”
The dangerous reputation of the local area has also put off a number of potential buyers, although this fear is being partially offset by the Ministry of Interior announcing they would convert some of the remaining Olympic Village accommodation into office units.
This is only the first set of properties to go on sale, however, with a number of other companies both developing accommodation for the games and preparing to sell them after.
On July 1, over 600 properties in other sectors of the village from developer Icade will go on sale, including 88 flats for first-time buyers.
All in all, there will be four sectors of the renovated village that will be available exclusively for first-time property buyers.
Read more: Paris 2024: Olympic flame’s route through France is revealed
5. Millions of homes affected by excess heat in summer
France is home to over 5 million ‘thermal flats’ that become unbearably hot in the summer, according to a report from the Abbé Pierre charity.
All in all, 5.2 million homes suffer from ‘précarité énergétique’ (usually translated as fuel poverty) during the warmer months, unable to lower temperatures in the property.
Almost six-in-ten people said they suffered excess heat in the home for a period of longer than 24 hours, up 8 points from 2020.
The largest problem arises from properties that are ill-equipped to deal with the heat, particularly smaller flats.
“The thermometer didn't go below 35C at night... The main problem in our accommodation is the veranda and the windows overlooking the living space, which are single-glazed and have no sun protection,” said Laure, a 24-year-old student, to the charity.
“I've been thinking about 2022 since day one. I'm buying survival blankets to put in the windows… But that's not enough to last for several days, or even weeks [of a heatwave],” said Dahlia, a 35-year-old who lives in Paris.
Even for those who have the means to renovate properties, this is not always possible – in Paris, 30% of energy renovation projects are blocked because they are too close to historical landmarks.
This has led to the charity calling for rule changes to permit such renovations.
“We're not saying that Haussmann-style buildings should be repainted pink. Installing shutters is acceptable,” said Manuel Domergue, Director of Research at the charity to Le Figaro.
They are also calling on the government to provide aid for summer-focused energy renovations, such as in subsidies through the MaPrimeRénov’ scheme.
On top of this, they say summer comfort should be taken into account in the Energy Performance Diagnostic ratings of a house.
The charity added that in 2022, more than 2,800 people died in France as a result of heat.
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