Suitcases rolling through the corridors at midnight, travelers ringing the wrong apartment, digital codes transmitted to strangers, blocked elevators or damaged common areas… In many large cities, tensions around Airbnb rentals are exploding. Against the backdrop of the housing crisis and rental shortage, furnished tourist accommodation has become a sensitive subject in certain co-ownerships.
The climate has further hardened since the adoption of the Le Meur law, validated by the Constitutional Council in March 2026. “There have always been disagreements, but over the past year and a half, it has become much more tense”notes Berkise Grillot, co-founder of the Angels concierge service, specializing in the management of short-term rental properties.
“My building has become a hotel”: tensions explode
Noise, incessant comings and goings, feeling of insecurity or damage to common areas: in certain buildings, the succession of travelers every two or three days is now enough to fuel conflicts between neighbors.
“The main fears of co-owners remain access to the building deemed less secure and noise pollution”explains Berkise Grillot. According to her, some residences now refuse key boxes or limit remote opening systems. “We have already seen neighbors spying on travelers, questioning them or trying to lower accommodation ratings with false negative comments”she says.
Co-ownership regulations can turn an entire investment upside down
Behind neighborhood tensions, it is above all the co-ownership regulations which are today becoming the main weapon against Airbnb. In certain buildings with “exclusive bourgeois housing”, tourist rentals may be deemed incompatible with the residential use of the building. Since the Le Meur law, co-owners can also vote more easily to ban furnished tourist accommodation. When a “bourgeois housing” clause already appears in the regulations, a majority of two thirds of co-owners can now be sufficient to prohibit Airbnb-type rentals in the building.
Before investing, several checks therefore become essential: consult the co-ownership regulations, analyze the latest general meeting minutes and check if restrictions are envisaged. “Many owners discover too late that their co-ownership regulations can jeopardize their project”emphasizes Berkise Grillot. To try to reassure trustees, certain concierge services are now putting in place noise sensors and physical check-ins. But control remains limited. “Travelers also pay for their privacy. I can check the number of people on arrival, but if, in the evening, they decide to invite friends, I will not go and check that”recognizes Berkise Grillot.
Up to 100,000 euros in sanctions
In the event of repeated nuisance or non-compliance with the co-ownership regulations, the trustee or several co-owners may take legal action against the owner. From now on, a single co-owner can also act to put an end to abnormal neighborhood disturbances linked to a tourist rental. Blocked elevators, forced doors or damaged equipment: short-term rentals quickly attract suspicion. “There is sometimes a form of automatic guilt”believes Berkise Grillot. “However, some damage could just as easily be caused by traditional occupants living in the building all year round. »
In tense areas, non-compliance with change of use rules can be extremely costly. Some sanctions can reach up to 100,000 euros per accommodation in the event of illegal tourist rental. Since the January 1, 2025ads must also display a registration number. Its absence may result in a fine of 1,500 euros per ad. According to Service-Public.fr, violations of the rules governing furnished tourist accommodation can also result in civil fines of up to 15,000 eurosparticularly in the event of exceeding the authorized ceilings for a main residence. A few repeated nuisances can now be enough to call into question an entire rental investment.
