Tough Airbnb rules in Marseille prompt many property owners to sell

More than one in 10 properties that were previously used as Airbnbs is now on sale in Marseille, figures show, after the introduction of new more stringent regulations on short-term rentals.

The Bouches-du-Rhône (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) city’s council recently lowered the permitted number of nights that a property can be rented to short-term guests from 120 to 90 per calendar year, in a bid to encourage hosts to put their properties on the long-term rental market instead.

Short-term guests are typically considered to be those who stay in a property for fewer than 30 days at a time, and who find their rentals via platforms such as Airbnb. Long-term rentals are considered to be properties that are rented for more than 30 days, and usually for at least six months at a time.

Rates for long-term rentals tend to be much lower than those charged for short-term holiday stays.

Marseille has long been attempting to discourage short-term rentals, and has particularly sought to crack down on those who breach the city’s rules on the properties.

For example, in October 2024, the city’s mayor, Benoît Payan, banned all lockboxes and key safes from public furniture in the streets. These boxes are typically intended to enable Airbnb hosts to enable guests to easily access a property, but Mr 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.

Mr Payan has also suggested measures such as a requirement to make Airbnb hosts buy a second property and put it on the long-term rental market (as well as operating their short-term rental), to stop them from “emptying neighbourhoods”.

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

He is not alone in wanting to introduce more stringent rules on Airbnb hosts across France.

Read also: MPs propose further crackdown on short-term rentals on France
Read also: South of France tourist town to strictly limit short-term lets

However, many hosts and short-term rental operators appear to have responded to Marseille’s new rules by putting their properties up for sale altogether, rather than switching to the long-term rental market.

‘A market effect’

Of around 1,500 properties in the city that appear on Airbnb and similar sites, around 220 have been put up for sale in recent weeks, estimates Stéphane Daumillare, co-founder of the property valuation platform Lycaon.

“This is a market effect where you suddenly have a whole group of owners who decide it is more profitable to sell now given the market dynamism, rather than trying to let a property that is no longer certain to be rented,” he told TF1 Info.

One owner, Florian, who had been renting a property out on Airbnb since 2019, said that “the change from 120 nights to 90 nights and a tax system that will certainly be tougher” are the main motivations for putting his property up for sale.

Property recovery

It comes after the property market in France is experiencing an upturn following months of slump.

Read more: French property bounce back: where is leading the way? 

Figures from the latest barometer from estate agents SeLoger-Meilleurs Agents, published in February, show that at the start of the year, the market saw more stability in prices in comparison to January, including a rise in prices in the top 50 cities.

The market is “doing better” now in comparison to the same time last year, the study reported.

Read also: New notaire data suggests easing of Paris property crisis 

Similarly, in their latest national quarterly report in February, notaires in France said that the property market slump was ending, with property prices recovering, and mortgage rates stabilising,