Between the hunt for speculation and real needs, delicate trade-offs for furnished tourist accommodation in Sète

The different platforms house some 700 accommodations in the city of Sète, a good majority of which are on Airbnb. Midi Libre – EVA TISSOT

Objects of speculation which impact access to housing and the Sète real estate market, tourist rentals, including Airbnb, are in the eye of the storm. The examination of a text by senators, this Tuesday, May 21, could help local authorities regulate.

The examination of a text by the senators, this Tuesday, May 21, providing for stronger regulation and taxation of furnished tourist accommodation, cannot go unnoticed in Sète.

In a city where real estate pressure is ever greater and space is still limited, the proliferation of Airbnb-type apartments (700, in total, on the different platforms) ;nbsp;!) combined with the scarcity of permanent housing creates imbalances in the rental market. The bill aims precisely to rebalance it, in particular by better regulating furnished tourist accommodation, by toughening taxation and strengthening the power of mayors.

A response to local issues ? "Today’we are waiting for tools to be given to mayors to be able to regulate’supply&quot ;, confirms Tiphaine Collet, director of the Archipel de Thau tourist office. The objective is above all to fight against speculation. On the one hand, there are those who rent to ensure additional income or retirement. And on the other, there are big investors who speculate by buying entire buildings. We must make the distinction."

Balances to find

What are the tools to regulate? During the vote on the 2024-2029 tourism development plan at the Agglomerate Council in November 2023, the opposition elected official Laura Seguin had proposed establishing quotas by neighborhood, like in Annecy or Saint-Malo. "It’is a possible lever but it can be unfair between those&nbsp ;who already have an authorization and those who request one and therefore cannot have one, estimates Tiphaine Collet. There are others such as limiting the number of authorizations per person or the duration of these authorizations. In the end, it has to be fair."

The problem is broader, however. If the change of destination from classic housing to permanent accommodation in furnished tourist accommodation creates unacceptable speculation, it is difficult to persist on rental platforms."If they generate problems for housing, they also fill a hotel deficit in Sète which we are in the process of filling with two projects at the eastern entrance to the city and another on the beach side& ;quot;, recalls Tiphaine Collet. We must find a fair balance between the tourist offer which generates more than 1.1 billion euros in economic benefits on the Thau archipelago and supports one in five working people, and the preservation of quality of life. We cannot suddenly ban seasonal rentals because there is a need and it is important."

The City, which has opted for maximum taxation on second homes in order to encourage year-round housing, also hopes that the text of the law will differentiate the tax rate between classified housing – 2061 on the Thau archipelago – and the unclassified, for the benefit of the former. Balances to be found which continue to spark debate in Sète, in an increasingly tense housing market.

Tourist taxes that always bring in more

In 2023, no less than 1.2 million euros in tourist taxes have been paid. collected from the fourteen municipalities of the Thau basin, all platforms combined, approximately half of which were collected in the Thau basin. on the town of Sète. Airbnb is the main contributor with a collection of 484,000 euros; in 2023 for the City of Sète (420 000 in 2022, 360 000 in 2021), in the top 5 towns in Occitanie generating the most taxes; day. These sums are then re-injected into tourism development projects.

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