Property updates in brief - July 2017

Cities eye up extra cash from Airbnb landlords

More cities are starting to oblige landlords to declare themselves to their mairie if they are using online booking platforms such as Airbnb for holiday rentals.

Following Paris and Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg have also said they will act on the so-called ‘Airbnb law’ that forces the owners of holiday rentals to register in communes around Paris and communes of more than 200,000 inhabitants.

Another 62 cities including Toulouse, Nantes, Montpellier, Lille and Rennes are said to be considering the step, which allows them to ensure people renting their main home do not do so for more than the legal limit of 120 days and pay taxes due.

Airbnb says the average owner rents out their home for just 26 nights a year and it has started to collect the taxe de séjour from travellers in about 50 towns.

‘Exclusive’ agent contracts may be shared to boost sales

More independent estate agents are starting to look at sharing ‘exclusive’ contracts with other agents in a bid to broaden the appeal of their properties and, perhaps, seal a sale in which they will share the fees.

While long opposed to sharing contracts, the independent agents’ federation Amepi is rethinking its position after sales figures showed properties under exclusive mandat took an average of 157 days to sell... while those that were shared took 99 days.

There is a financial motive, as agents who shared ‘contracts averaged an extra €84,000 a year in fees. Selling fees are divided between the two agents if one holds the contract and the other clinches the sale.

Opening up the process could also make it simpler for buyers to find the location of houses, usually kept secret by the agent.

The higher the floor, the higher the price

Higher floors mean higher prices with a survey showing that flats on the top floor of a building will sell for 19% more than those on the ground-floor rez-de-chaussée, but only if the building has a lift.

Top-floor properties are sought-after for open views, sunnier location and height above street noise and that comfort has a price – with a 50m² ground-floor flat averaging €380,750 in Paris, while the dernière étage one six floors above costs €454,700.

The 19% price difference rises to 25% if the top flat has a chambre de bonne spare room in the roof space, as is often the case.

Sébastien de Lafond, of MeilleursAgents.com, which carried out the survey, said that ground-floor flats were less in demand as they faced more problems – but for the same budget could offer an extra room.

Yurts face property taxes in new ruling from taxman

Fashionable yurts, the Mongol tents that are appearing on more and more campsites, have been ruled as permanent structures by the tax office and liable to both taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation.

Seen as semi-permanent structures as they are not easy to dismantle and erect quickly, they face taxe foncière if they are ‘fixed to the ground or on concrete bases with electricity and water connections’.

They will also face taxe d’habitation if they are furnished and can quickly be made habitable, like mobile homes.