Short-term apartment rentals in Paris

Although from Alberta, I am presently in Parksville and I read that article too. We stayed in a hotel when we were in Paris a few years ago, but more recently our son rented - I think - 2 different apartments in Paris and had no problem. It is unsettling to think you may turn up and the authorities may have closed the place you have booked. Not sure what to advise.

I have rented the same apt. for the past 4 years for 2 weeks at a time and I have never heard of anything like this.

Thank you for posting this concern. I located this 2010 New York Times article on the subject. What a shame if the practice of renting apartments would end. ;-( http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/business/global/07rent.html?_r=1 Debbie

I received an e-mail two weeks ago from the lovely woman at Jeu de Clefs, from whom I had rented before, and with whom I had already booked again for next May. She was removing her apartments from the short-term rental business as of the 1st of January, 2012. It left me having to look for another rental (which I found through VRBO). I wonder if her decision was a result of this...

If this goes through, it will turn out to be a classic case demonstrating the law of unintended consequences. Paris receives an immense amount of tourist business from people renting apartments for weeks and/or months. I've found that the difference in cost between an apartment rental and a hotel is not all that great unless you assume you'll eat some of your meals in the apartment. One big advantage of the apartment is that you are more settled and don't have the hotel staff rooting through your room everyday. I think Paris will lose a significant amount of their long term tourist traffic. A significant number of apartments will suddenly go on the market disrupting the value of all apartments. The practice of short term apartment rentals is very well established over the developed world. Many people will choose to go somewhere else.

That would be a real shame. We just came back from a week in Paris and rented a flat. It was the best experience ever. We could make our own coffee, had a washer/dryer which allowed for lighter packing. We 'self-catered' most of our meals which is where we saved a bunch but the real big advantage I think is we could eat more healthy. We did not encounter any hostile tennants, most were very pleasant and amused by my poor French. It really added to our experience, in a quiet neighborhood, lots of supermarkets, food places, a Starbucks..etc. If something like becomes a reality I would seriously re think my plans to return. People like me don't stay in 5 star hotels with multiple rooms, we get the 200 square foot 2 star places that make you long for home. A big mistake in my opinion.