H2. No, it is not a code name for winning a naval battle. These two little letters are causing a lot of trouble in Paris City Hall. It all started with a decision of the Court of Cassation of February 2021. The arsenal of “anti-Airbnb” (does not exceed the maximum 120 days of annual rent, city council approval must be obtained if this is the case or in the case of secondary housing …) was considered legal. Since then, the Paris City Council has believed that it will systematically win the lawsuits it contests with the more than 400 owners who have illegally rented their second home and risk, if convicted, a maximum fine of €50,000 (Article L651-2 of the Building and Housing Code). both!
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To do this, the city must already prove that the offending dwelling was indeed an apartment building on January 1, 1970 – and not after this date – as required by law (Article L631-7 Building and Housing). “This evidence is necessary to convict a landlord who engages in an Airbnb type rental without permission.“, confirms Maître Valentin Simonnet, an attorney at STAS & Associés. Problem: This document is 50 years old.”It does not always include the details requested by the judge, i.e. the name of the occupant, the rent paid on January 1, 1970 and the date of entry into the building“,” details of Me Xavier Demeuzoy, founder of Demeuzoy Avocats.
real obstacle courseThe municipal lawyer panicked when my client won in the first place“,” entrusted to figaro Owner’s attorney. The latter rushed into the breach with an outcome that was somewhat in their favour. “In nearly 80 files I had 90% of wins in the first place. I just got my first win in a city council appealLauren Derhy, a lawyer at the Paris Bar, who, in this appeal, defends the owner of 14 square meters in Montmartre (Paris 18) who received nearly 3,000 euros in compensation for expenses.
Running water, erased, unsigned form …
“Crossed out entries, undated, signed or illegible H2 papers may be enough to win your case against city council“, Demouzoy, who has obtained nearly half of the 150 files he defends, confirms to me that the city council refused his request with a fine of 50,000 euros. Even a simple matter of running water can get stuck in the city of Paris.”The residence does not have a bathroom, toilet and no running water, which interferes with residential use.‘, the Paris Court of Appeal, ruling in favor of the owner in question, ruled last September that Le Figaro have bought. He was contacted, and the Paris Municipal Council did not respond to our request.
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It remains to be seen whether these decisions favorable to the owners will set a precedent. “I reasonably believe that all files in which the Paris City Council reports a Form H2 that does not mention rent on January 1, 1970, will be won by the opposing parties if the City Hall does not provide additional evidence for reporting housing use from the buildings it refers to on this inevitable date.And that’s not all. What about the landlords who won their case? Will they be able to rent their second home again on Airbnb?” says Lauren Deere.In my opinion yes because they can invoke the principle of “resolution”. But I would advise them to wait and see if the town hall files an appeal in cassation. If not, answer them yes”, answers me Roman Rossi-Landy, who won, in the first place, 18 files out of a total of twenty.
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