Paris Apartment Registration

I'm seeing many registration numbers on Airbnb, My Time In Paris, VRBO too. Unfortunately because there is no central listing of legal apartments, you just have to hunt. You might search previous posts on this forum. Quite a few links to legal apartments are posted . . . but again, the hunt. As the agency or platform bears no responsibility for the legality of the apartment, there is no advantage in their prescreening.

Things are not at all easy for people who wish to rent legally. Good luck.

What is the risk to renting "illegally"?

If you're the owner of the apartment, a 50,000 Euro fine probably forcing the sale of the apartment. The rest is speculation. As the rental situation tightens and tourist season gets in full swing, word of the levied fines will get out, listings will be pulled from the market and the renter can be out of a place to stay on very short notice. Considering the amount of money you are spending on a trip, is this a chance you want to take? Up to you. Obviously, none of these sites have any obligation to find you other housing. You're on your own.

You're right. Certainly not willing to take that chance. We'll find something else.
Would love to find something in the St Germain area with AC (at least in bedroom), near a Metro strop and an elevator. We can pay up to $250/night.
Any suggestions??

As regards to your preference, so would everybody else.

I'm painting with a very broad brush here. An apartment with AC is most likely ( but not 100 percent) to be owned by a non resident.and therefore not eligible for registration and thus illegal. Most Parisians do not have AC although gradually more and more are installing it.

To help others who might have possible ideas for you--whether apartments or hotels--how many people are in your travel party?

Just myself and my wife. Although we don't have to be in St. Germain we would prefer being on the left bank near a Metro Stop.

We would be willing to spend a little more if we have to ($300/night) if it has all the amenities we want and is in a great location.

I would not cancel it if I were you, and in a way I am...I have an Airbnb reserved for a long period in April which I do not know is registered or not. I am keeping it. I watch the listing occasionally and see reviews being posted from the current month. A good sign all is well.

There are several sites where you can read reports of this registration requirement. But my research has turned up the following:

There are approx. 65,000 rentals in Paris like this. of that, 11,000 are registered. In a city the size and complexity of Paris enforcing such a requirement is impossible and Paris has admitted as much. They resorted to asking airbnb and others to "De-List" those that did not have a registration numbers. AirBnb has chosen not to do this saying that they are not in a position to enforce local regulations. Which is a reasonable stance on their part.

Many think that the regulation is nothing more than a political bandaid to placate the irate hotel owners who are the ones losing money in this deal and that Paris never really had any plans to strictly enforce the rule beyond an initial half-hearted attempt as a show that "action" was being taken.

There is an awful lot of Chicken-littles-ness on the web making mountains out of relative mole hills. IMHO this is one of those cases. Is there a risk...yes but I think it is so small as to be less a possibility than the chance that a regular hotel has overbooked or made a mistake with your reservation.

If you are really worried simply make a backup reservation at a different place that can be cancelled right up to arrival with little or no penalty.

Go have fun and good luck

I expect there's more behind the new restrictions than just placating hotel owners. As in many other cities, affordable housing is being squeezed by the short-term vacation rental industry. And some residents don't like having a parade of tourists through their buildings.

That said, like the previous poster I'd suggest, at a minimum, reserving a hotel room as a backup, with a cancellation policy that gives you flexibility as you get closer to your trip. You should have many good choices in your price range. Then look on the apartment rental sites for one with the registration number.

Or, as some posters suggest, look for an "apart'hotel" like the Citadines chain. Not so atmospheric, maybe, but practical and affordable.

As the person renting the apartment from the owner, you are not breaking the law and if you are not breaking the law, the reason to cancel is the risk that the owner will be forced to cancel. How likely is that to happen? I have no idea but I have heard of more cancellations of rented apartments in the past few months that I have heard of in the 30 years that I have been going to France. I guess it's like that Clint Eastwood movie line "do you feel lucky?" If I were traveling as a couple or solo, I think I would risk it if I really liked an apartment because it would not be too difficult to find a replacement accommodation especially with a US$300 per night budget (of course, I am not wedded to staying in Saint Germain and would be willing to stay, for example, in the 9th or 14th arrondissements). If I were traveling with a larger group, I would probably not risk it because finding accommodations for a large group is not easy in Paris and doing that at the last minute would be a nightmare.

Check for apartments using Booking.com. I took a little look and discovered that the license number is in the section of the listing called Important Information all the way at the bottom of the listing. Could that be the registration number?

If you haven't used Booking.com before, be sure to check the filtering boxes for non-smoking, wi-fi and use a review score of 8 or higher. Beyond those, you can filter other ways as well.

There is a Citadines at Richard Lenoir which has individually-controlled air-conditioning in the room. It is legal, since it's a hotel, and is in the 12th arrondissement.
Just steps away from the Bastille market, which you might find interesting.
Good transportation options, too.

With all the confusion about this new registration requirement, my wife and I decided to stay in a hotel for the week rather than an apartment. We found what appears to be a really nice hotel in a perfect location -- Hotel Dauphine Saint Germain. Has anyone had experience with it?

I know nothing about the hotel but think that , in light of all that could go wrong in the confusion, you made a wise choice. Enjoy your visit,.

In 2014, I help a couple as they sorted through the many hotel options in Paris. Ultimately, they picked the Dauphine Saint Germain and they really like it. They really like the location and found it to be a good value especially when compared to hotels in the immediate area, specifically Relais Christine and Hotel d'Aubusson which is about 50 meters away. They had a junior suite and found the room to be spacious by Paris standards. They started out in the base room and upgraded because they found it to be too small, but they do travel with a good bit of luggage.