registration number in airbnb listings

Ask you landlord for the number. If it cannot be provided, you may want to consider 'plan b'

The 13 digit registration number is required and displaying it is part of the law. If you do not see it, the owner does not have one. Owners not registering their apartments are likely not to be reporting the rental income they receive, are certainly not insured for business use of their homes, and operating rental properties clandestinely.

Your risks are primarily those of not have the property available for rental when you arrive.

What you should do, in my opinion, is rent from a legitimate owner, one who registers his property.

You didn't say if you are looking in Paris or elsewhere in France.

The big furore is in Paris.

If you are looking in a rural area the number is not required and the owner may be perfectly fine.

If you are looking in Paris, there must a 13 digit number starting with "95" prominent in the ad.

It is in Paris. I sent a message to the landlord so hopefully she'll get back to me soon because I'm now very worried!

I think it is '75' as starting digits for the registration number for Paris - at least that is what I am seeing for those lodgings with the number on their listing. Regardless, 13 digits and identified as a license, or registration number. Some list them, others provide on request. If not, then you have to decide what to do.

sorry - thinking number plates - 75, not 95.

As noted above, are you staying in Paris or elsewhere. The specific requirements differ from city to city where vacation rentals are regulated. With respect to Paris, in Airbnb listings with the number, it does not appear on the first page of the listing. You must click on where it says "Read more about this space." Just to be clear, the number is required for all listings posted on the internet and is extremely easy to obtain. So if a listing does not have the number, it does raise questions even if the number is provided in response to the question. I mean if you have the legally required number in the first place then why not initially put it in listing. Having a number in a listing is no guarantee of a legal rental, but it is all you have right now. In Paris, the law places all responsibility for legality on the owner of the property so your risk is that the apartment might be pulled from the market and you will have have to scramble to find a place to stay. How likely is that to happen? To me, that is the unanswered question as far as I can tell.

I contacted the landlord and she responded promptly. She said she has a registration number and will get it to me - she is out of town at the moment.

I contacted the landlord and she responded promptly. She said she has a registration number and will get it to me - she is out of town at the moment.

The registration numbers are obtained from the city´s website. She does not need to be in Paris to get one, nor does she need to be in Paris to post one on the Airbnb website. Giving you an un-posted number, or more likely a number she creates herself, really means nothing.

Tell her to post the number on the Airbnb site where both you and city inspectors can see it. Failure to follow through on her part is a very telltale sign she is operating clandestinely.

The landlord is a “certified host” Does that mean anything?

One would think an AirBnB certified host would be working above the law, but when you register as a host, you tick a box saying you have done the proper city paperwork to be allowed to legally rent....but it doesn't mean it has to be true. Whether AirBnB vets it is questionable. She may have become a certified host before the law came into effect.

Not saying to question her intentions to provide it, just saying, no, that AirBnB designation doesn't mean as much as you may want in this situation.
Barcelona has a website where you can go and check whether their registration number is legit or not. Not sure whether Paris has one, or whether you can check by address rather than number. I looked and found link to where to apply for the number, but my french isn't good enough to see if it covers a reverse look up option.
Personally, if the host is away, and states she has a number, and is a certified host, why not give her the benefit of a doubt she will come through when she gets back to town? There are always sceptics, anti-AirBnB posters, half empty types to add to the worries and nerves. One doesn't always need to play hard ball to get results.....but then I am a half-full, get more with honey sort of gal who hasn't been 'let down' by her hosts.
Recommending she list her number on the site is worth doing however, as some folks may ignore listings without it thus her losing business, particularly of a guest who is responsible enough to vet rentals in this way. That means guests she may prefer to rent to.

Iraditz, I am familiar with the AirBnB designation of "Superhost". Is it Superhost or certified? A Superhost designation is important to the person who has it, most would not want to jeopardize that status.