Rent control: a sanctioned landlord in Lille, a “first” in the city

A "first" for the city.

The Nord prefecture said on Thursday that it had sanctioned an owner who rented a T1 in the center of Lille at 100 euros above the reference rent.

After Paris, Lille adhered in March 2020 to the rent control mechanism made possible by the Elan law of 2018, which aims to fight against abuses in "tense" areas, where there is a strong imbalance between supply and demand. housing demand.

The measure imposes on landlords a ceiling rent which varies according to the districts and the type of construction.

The T1 of 16.6 m2 of living space, unfurnished, was rented at 450 euros, while the increased reference rent in this district of the city center was "a little less than 350 euros", specified the prefecture.

The SCI owner of the property was therefore imposed a fine of 9,000 euros decided by the prefecture on Monday.

She incurred up to 15,000 euros.

The tenant of the property had reported the overrun on the dedicated website of the city of Lille.

Fifty reports

The town hall welcomed in a press release Wednesday this sanction constituting according to it "a first in Lille", stressing that around fifty other irregular situations had been reported to the prefecture.

She called for "other measures to control state services" in the coming weeks, considering that rent control is an "important and necessary measure, especially for small-sized apartments, subject to a strong speculation.

Real estate agencies must already mention the fact that a dwelling is located in an "area subject to rent control" and this obligation will extend in July to "all rental advertisements", including advertisements published on websites or by individuals, recalls the town hall.

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In addition to Paris and Lille, rent control now applies to Lyon and its neighbor Villeurbanne, as well as to towns in the northern and eastern suburbs of the capital, while Bordeaux and Montpellier should join the system in 2022.

In Paris, 26% of rents remained in excess in 2020, underlined in 2021 the Observatory of rents of the Parisian agglomeration (Olap), and the sanctions remain rare.

Since 2019, 10 administrative fines have been drawn up by the prefecture of Île-de-France, seizure of 98 files, indicated at the end of 2021 the former deputy Mickaël Nogal.