In Paris, rent control has since limited 2019 the amount that an owner can set when renting or renewing a lease. If Parliament does not extend the experiment, the cap could disappear at the end of the year. However, its effects are now measured. According to the latest study of theAPURbetween July 2023 and June 2024, without this system, the average Parisian rent would have reached 1,721 eurosagainst 1,580 euros actually observed.
Or an avoided increase of 141 euros per monththe equivalent of 1,694 euros saved per year for tenants. The moderating effect now reaches -8.2%with an even stronger impact on small areas. Georges Surena, manager of the House Partner agency, notes this: “It’s not necessarily the average owner who is the most stuck, but the one who thought they were renting at the free market price”. Well-placed studios, small renovated and furnished areas concentrate most of the tensions.
Why the studios in the center of Paris are the most protected
Since the 2026 municipal elections, housing has established itself as one of the most sensitive issues in Paris, between a shortage of rental properties, rents under pressure and the withdrawal of certain investors, management continues to divide. Supposed to protect tenants, it is also accused by part of the market of slowing down rental supply.
L’APUR shows that the impact of framing is particularly marked on small surfaces. For housing 8 to 18 m²the reduction in rent attributable to the system reaches up to -13.1%. However, it is precisely these studios which dominate in the most tense districts, notably the 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th and certain areas of 18th districthighly sought after by students and young professionals.
Around Saint-Georges, Pigalle, République, Canal Saint-Martin or the Latin Quarter, each vacated studio quickly finds a buyer. It is on these micro-surfaces that the disappearance of the frame would be most visible.
Up to 250 euros difference on a studio
The gap between the authorized rent and the rent actually expected by certain landlords can quickly become significant. “On a classic property, the difference remains limited, but on small areas and well-placed furnished properties, it becomes significant”observes Georges Surena.
In the 9th districtthe average rent is around 35 €/m²but small furnished spaces often rent well above, between 45 and 50 €/m². A renovated studio 20 m² can easily reach 950 to 1,000 euros per monthagainst a framed ceiling often located around 780 to 800 euros excluding chargesaccording to the official DRIHL map.
Result : the economy can reach 150 to 250 euros per monthi.e. until 3,000 euros per year for a tenant. “Large family stores are less affected, because the total rent quickly becomes very high and demand is more selective. The impact is especially strong per square meter on studios and small spaces”he summarizes.
Rent supplement: the gray area persists
Rent control does not eliminate all excesses. The main lever used by certain owners remains the rent supplement, authorized only in very specific cases. “Legally, it is not a joker to exceed the ceiling”recalls Georges Surena. It is only possible if the accommodation has exceptional characteristics comfort or location compared to comparable properties.
In practice, its use sometimes remains contested. Other strategies also exist: mobility leaseshort-term furnished rental or arrangements intended to artificially go beyond the framework of the main residence. But the rule remains strict: the mobility lease also remains subject to supervision when it falls within the applicable legal scope.
If the system disappears, rents will rise quickly
If the experiment ended without extension, the increase would be immediate in the most tense markets.
“Not everywhere, not on all properties, but on the most liquid properties, studios, furnished, small, well-located areas, the increase would be rapid”estimates Georges Surena. He remains cautious: no uniform outbreak at +20%but rather an average increase of 5 to 10% in the most tense sectors, with much more marked differences in certain highly sought-after studios.
For many Parisian tenants, the end of the supervision would therefore not mean a simple increase in rent, but sometimes the pure and simple impossibility of staying in their neighborhood.
