Guest of France Bleu Paris, Deputy Mayor Ian Brossat revealed on Tuesday an update on the platform for reporting excessive rents. €100,000 has been refunded to tenants “who were illegally charged”.
Since January 1st, and the establishment of a platform to denounce landlords who do not respect rent control in Paris, 1181 reports have been made. 183 formal notices have been issued and 20 fines have been imposed on landlords, announced Ian Brossat, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing and newly elected Communist senator, invited to France Bleu Paris on Tuesday, September 26.
The reports mainly concern the 18th, 11th, and 15th districts. 55% of these housing units are managed by real estate agencies and 30% belong to legal entities.
These numbers are not so high, admits the Communist elected official: “For us, the main thing is that there are reports, and that is very important. There are still many, over a thousand tenants who report abusive rents to us. What is essential for us is that in the end, the landlords in these cases adjust their rents and comply with what is provided by the law.”
According to Ian Brossat, there are “already 45 tenants who have obtained a refund of the amounts that their landlord had charged them and that were overpaid, since the landlord exceeded the authorized rent. In total, almost €100,000 has been refunded to tenants who were illegally charged.”
But the senator admits that there are also tenants who are afraid to make reports for fear of losing their housing. “There are still tenants who self-censor. The law is on their side, the city of Paris is at their disposal,” assures Ian Brossat, who recalls that after the report on the platform, “it is the city of Paris that takes care of all the steps on behalf of the tenant. It is us who will write to the landlord, it is us who will issue a formal notice, and it is us who will ensure that the amounts unduly collected from the tenant are returned to the affected tenant.”
45 landlords have committed to lowering their rent, which is not a lot, but “we will continue to mobilize our teams, and in the end, all the reports will be processed. It takes time, the files need to be studied, there is a process of opposing views, some landlords are defending themselves, including in court. If there is no refund, there will be fines, and it is the city of Paris that will impose these fines.”
Studios and 2-room apartments represent 80% of the abuses
The city of Paris has just “imposed a maximum fine of €5,000”, announces Ian Brossat, the maximum provided by law, for 10 landlords “and we will go up to this maximum because there is a law, it must be respected and it is not normal for tenants to be unlawfully charged.”
According to the Parisian elected official, rent control is effective: “what is extremely clear is that until 2019, there was no rent control and rents had literally skyrocketed in Paris. Since we implemented rent control, there has been a relative stability in the levels of Parisian rents.” But the elected official notes that there are “still abuses on small surfaces. The majority of the abuses today, 80%, are concentrated on studios and 2-room apartments. That is why we have decided to take action.”
