Video - Real estate: causes of rental market tightness and the wave builds up

Published October 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm

Real estate in France is experiencing one of the most serious crises in the last thirty years.

In addition to the collapse in sales and purchases, the rental market has also suffered. The 20H program on TF1 explains why.

A real estate agent in Rennes (Ile-et-Vilaine) received 130 emails in one morning about renting an apartment.

In the end, he chose only five applications to view to avoid clutter. The lucky ones were the fastest and most affordable.

Students in Rennes are very familiar with this situation.

The announcements are so rare that some people entrust their relatives to visit. Naissen's aunt visited the apartment on behalf of her' 'niece because she had classes. She's been broke for two months now, renting a place through Airbnb. Anne has been sleeping on a friend's couch for three months. This is what the state of the rental market in Rennes is like. Demand is up 20% in a year. The city and its many universities are attracting more students, but at the same time housing supply has fallen by 43%, a record for France.

Frosted houses and furnished tourist accommodation

Why is there such a shortage of rental housing on the market?

"Frosted houses will be taken off the rental market," Jean-Yves Pensemen continues. Housing that has a G rating, the lowest energy efficiency rating, must be renovated for rent from January 1, 2024. But many owners are opting to sell rather than undertake expensive work. The phenomenon of furnished tourist accommodations is also contributing to the rental crisis. In a city like La Rochelle, one in three downtown rentals is Airbnb. To take the strain off the market, the government plans' 'to introduce an additional tax on these kinds of facilities.

TF1 | Reporting by Justine Corbillon, Armel Anut