It has now been possible for five days: in Paris, since January 1, 2023, any tenant in the private sector who suspects his rent of exceeding the authorized legal ceiling will be able to report it directly to the town hall, via a dedicated tool. The city has indeed just recovered this competence from the State, which allows it to sanction accommodation that does not respect the law on rent control. “If we want Paris to remain a middle-class city, we must fight against the abuses that grab people by the throat, especially students,” housing assistant Ian Brossat told a press conference. .
First thing to know, before explaining the how this report works : the rents relate to leases signed after July 1, 2019 for a main residence. Another essential thing: you have three years to report a rent overrun, but only three months for the rent supplement, which is an amount that can be added to the basic rent when the accommodation has rare characteristics (such as a very nice view, a terrace, etc.). If your rent exceeds the reference rent because of the additional rent, the Paris City Hall cannot help you directly, but only refer you to the Departmental Conciliation Commission (CDC).
Reporting step by step
And now, reporting. You must therefore go to the address https://teleservices.paris.fr/cadredesloyers and enter these elements: the amount of the rent excluding charges, the charges, the additional rent if you have one, the period in which the lease was or will be signed, the number of rooms in the accommodation, the area, specify s it is a furnished apartment, and finally the address. The town hall’s verification tool will automatically calculate whether your rent complies with the rent control, or not.
If, of course, your accommodation exceeds the legal threshold, then you will need to download the verification sheet, which mentions this excess in red, and provide a certain number of documents: the signed lease and the energy performance diagnosis of the accommodation, which are imperative, and possibly all the documents that can facilitate the investigation of your case, such as email exchanges with your landlord, your receipts, etc. You will then need to enter your contact details and those of your landlord, and the address of your accommodation.
A third of Parisian housing concerned
And now, voila. The owner will receive a letter from the City of Paris informing him of his obligation to comply with the law, then a second letter if he has not replied within three months, until the fine from the fourth month. This can go up to 5,000 euros for an individual, and 15,000 euros for a legal person (a company for example). But Ian Brossat, housing assistant for the Paris City Hall, hopes it won’t come to that: “The goal is for tenants to stop being fleeced. »
In Paris, in 2021, around a third of leases exceeded the authorized ceiling, according to the Observatory of rents for the Paris conurbation (Olap). It is mainly small areas that are concerned, with an average of 192 euros per month between August 2021 and August 2022, according to the Abbé-Pierre Foundation. For surfaces of less than 20 m2, 68% of them exceed this ceiling, according to the same source. But in three years, only ten sanctions have been imposed, says the Paris City Hall.