Paris is trying to crack down on illegal tourist flats and their key boxes. (Image: Getty)
Another European city battling has declared a major crackdown on illegal holiday apartments and their key boxes.
attracts a staggering 50 million visitors a year, all requiring places to stay. As a result, there are now an estimated 25,000 illegal rentals in the city.
As part of a city-wide effort to mitigate overtourism, key boxes attached to the walls of holiday properties have been banned after local officials estimated there were several hundred of them.
on January 24 and gave owners 15 days to remove them, after which they will be taken down by officials.
Jacques Baudrier, deputy mayor in charge of housing, declared that “illegal tourist furnished rentals in Paris will soon be over” and praised
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There are reportedly 25,000 illegal tourist apartments in Paris. (Image: Getty)
He called the measure a part of the “battle to win back the 25,000 illegal tourist accommodations” as “key boxes are an extremely clear signal” that a rental property is illegal.
Mr Baudrier continued: “[Paris has] 95,000 addresses of furnished tourist accommodation [and] 25,000 are . We will not let anything pass, knowing that the legislation is finally on our side, 10 years later.”
The rise of illegal properties on online platforms has reduced the number available to be rented out legally and sent rental costs soaring.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Centre, said removing key boxes would ” it from developing as in other cities” such as Marseille, which has also banned them.
Airbnb, a popular online platform used by tourists to find short-term stays said in a statement that it has “no tolerance for the illegal practice of placing key boxes in public spaces”, reported French outlet . It added: “The platform reminds the host community of the applicable rules, such as this ban.”
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Paris also began handing out fines for unlicensed holiday home hosts on January 1, which could see (£84,000).
Services deemend to be guilty of “being complicit in fraud”, such as those used by owners to manage bookings, could also face the same fines.
There are also plans to set a limit on the number of nights a holiday home can be rented out for, from 120 to 90 nights a year.