Zut Alors! French Property Renters Also Struggling to find Homes.
Well-intentioned legislation to make things better for property renters is leading to a crisis in the French property rental market.
Across Europe, courts are supporting the concept of the right to achieve profit from property ownership. However, as in the UK with the Renter’s Rights Act, governments are struggling to balance this right with their responsibilities: commitments to work towards Net Zero and protection for tenants from unscrupulous landlords.
In France, the consequence has been that property owners are removing rental units from the market. This is leading to competition for rental property which in turn is leading to higher prices. Major cities like Paris, Marseille and Lyon are particularly badly affected.
It is estimated that in 2025, tens of thousands of properties were lost to the rental market.
Energy Efficiency
In order to improve energy efficiency under strict EU directives, the French Government has imposed strict regulations on rental properties. These include a new classification for properties from A to G energy ratings. Properties in the F and G category are being banned, thereby reducing rental stock.
Frozen Rents
Exacerbated by the Government’s move to protect renters by freezing rent increases, property owners face a binary choice: make costly energy efficiency improvements or remove the property from the market. The latter choice is leading to a huge increase in sales of rental property. Either way, it removes opportunity to rent for ordinary citizens who cannot afford to buy.
Impact of Rising Costs
Add to this the global rise in cost of labour and materials for upgrading properties and the increases in property taxes, and no wonder owners of rental properties are choosing to sell or alter use to holiday lets.
Consequences for Flat-Hunting
This has left renters in the unenviable position, familiar to young professions working in London, where finding a rental property is viciously competitive and time-consuming. In France, landlords are becoming increasingly choosy, requiring confirmation that salary is at least three times rental charges. In addition, potential tenants must provide not just references but guarantors, alongside submitting comprehensive documentation of financial reliability.
A Euro-Wide Issue
The French are not alone. The well-intentioned desire to protect renters from excessive rent increases and improve the nation’s energy efficiency is at work in the UK and other EU countries. Governments are struggling to balance the books, so financial incentives to fund, or at least help, landlords make improvements to the energy-efficiency of their properties may not be viable.
Conclusion
All of which means those hunting for a rental property in France, as elsewhere in Europe, may have to wait even longer (40% longer, it is estimated in Paris), before finding somewhere to call home.