Key safes targeted in latest anti-Airbnb measure in Marseille

No more getting your Airbnb key from a lockbox in Marseille; the city’s mayor has banned all lockboxes and key safes from the streets, in another measure to crack down on short-term rentals.

The Bouches-du-Rhône city confirmed the move in a press release on October 23, stating: “[Owners] have 15 days to conform to regulation, and take away their boxes.”

The lockboxes and key safes in question are typically mounted on the outside of Airbnb properties. Sometimes they are attached discreetly on walls or bolted on doors, but other times they are hung from street furniture such as lampposts or railings.

They are intended to make it easier for Airbnb hosts to hand over their property keys to guests, without having to be there in person. This is also useful for guests, as they can arrive at any time and get access to their rental, even if they are delayed or arrive at anti-social hours. 

However, the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, claims that the boxes litter the streets in tourist areas. 

Similarly, he is against the proliferation of short-term rentals in the city, saying that they are squeezing out residents and preventing locals from finding affordable, long-term accommodation.

The mairie has said that if any lock boxes remain after the deadline, it will remove the key boxes with steel lock cutters and take them to the city's lost property department. Owners will need to visit the department to retrieve their boxes and keys.

In 2023, almost 13,000 properties in Marseille were rented out on a seasonal basis, an increase of 45% since 2022.

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Stop ‘emptying neighbourhoods’

The move is the latest measure designed to crack down on the unchecked spread of Airbnb and other short-term rentals in the city. 

It comes just over a week since Mr Payan announced that he would like to force Airbnb hosts to buy a second property and put it on the long-term rental market, to stop them from “emptying neighbourhoods”.

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He said: “I'm going to use everything the law gives me as a weapon [to prevent this phenomenon]. We’re going to make [Airbnb hosts] stop wanting to make money off the back of the people of Marseille.” 

Mr Payan’s idea - and anti-Airbnb stance - is similar to rules already applied by some other authorities in other towns and cities in France (such as Paris and Bordeaux). 

Some require owners who put their second home on Airbnb to buy a property of equal or greater size, and put it on the traditional rental market as well as running their Airbnb listing.